Is the medical industry affected by politics and corruption?

[Scepcop]

Have any of you asked your doctor the following questions before? Why is it that when I ask a doctor these questions, he/she seems uncomfortable, making me feel like I've asked a taboo question? Aren't they valid questions? Why are they such a taboo?

1. To what degree is the medical industry affected by politics, money and corruption? How does that affect the education you received in medical school?

2. If the medical industry and establishment are affected by politics, money and corruption, then how does that affect the credibility of your trusted authoritative organizations such as the NIH, FDA, CDC and AMA? How do you know you can trust those organizations? How do you know if everything they say is true, objective and unbiased?

3. Since government and authority often lie (which is very provable and documented by many examples), even in the USA, how do you know if the authoritative medical organizations mentioned above lie too? How do you know when they are being honest and when they are being deceitful?

4. Doesn't the medical industry have a conflict of interest in that if they were able to get everyone healthy or prevent all illness and disease, then they would be out of business? If so, does this conflict of interest affect the information, studies and recommendations given by the medical industry in any way?

5. Why is it that the medical establishment never recommends any natural supplements? They always claim that there is no evidence for their benefits (meaning of course, that they have no financial incentive to conduct any studies on them). But suppose there was "scientific evidence" for the benefit of a natural supplement. Would they then recommend it, and would doctors recommend it, even if there was no profit in it for the medical industry or big pharma?

6. To what extent does big pharma influence the medical establishment? What government policies or checks and balances are in place to prevent collusion between big pharma and the medical establishment and the education of doctors?

Why are doctors uncomfortable with these kind of questions? It's as if they are not programmed or trained to deal with such questions. Have you ever asked a doctor such questions before? If so, how did he/she respond?

[NinjaPuppy]

[NinjaPuppy]

I do have to add that I tend to be blunt when I ask this question, so my wording and tone of voice may play a part in my perception of their response.