1. By Emanuel Ghebremariam & Robert Keller

2.  Direct consumer advertising of prescription drugs is an issue that has taken off since the FDA relaxed its standards in 1997. This image was made from a composite of more than 7 images, the largest being the background of the House, which was darkened as to better highlight the other layered images. Items like the various pigs (pork barrel), pills and money bags were cut and free transformed to fit discretely into the over all image. The large over laid image of the pill vile full of money was created from two separate images and then layered on top with a high opacity. Finally the central image (doctor examining patient) was added as the focal point, cut from another separate image and brightened.

4. Investments in advertising has led to increased patient demands and dependency on drugs Image was made by a combining four visuals. The first image is that of a government building. Adjustments were made to brightness and contrast levels. Next, an image of several pills in the shape of the money symbol as adjusted to fit the projector screen. The image of the skeleton fixed on a television was added to top left, and I used a noise filter, toggled the brightness/contrast levels, as well as used the burning tool. Finally, the image of a female desperately taking pills was edited using the magic lasso, free transform, and glowing edge filter.

6.  According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (in 2006), the drug industry spends $21 billion on marketing I used an image of downtown /city with many ads and blurred/liquefied the background. I added image of female on top by cropping, warping, and adjusting the opacity level. The image of the man being served medicine was adjusted in same manner as the previous image, but I added static to the image to mimic a television feel.

8.  $7.3 billion toward direct spending for gifts to healthcare providers  Has the money and investments put toward healthcare providers influenced their care?  Who are they representing? This image was compiled from six different images. The original image of the patient in a bed was cropped and heavily edited to remove advertisements from the hospital website it came from. The board members were cut, arranged and layered from a separate image and there faces were blurred to give an element of anonymity. An image of progress was cut and added to the heart monitor and old black and white images of nurses were repaired, cut, arranged and layered with a high opacity to reference old times. Finally, the surgical gloves holding a medical chart was crafted from two separate images, placed before the board members as an element of whimsy.

10.  What about investments in clinical trials?  How long before people express frustration toward all the money and politics behind the pharmaceutical industry? The first image is a crowd waiting at the free clinic. The opacity and fill levels were adjusted. The same was done to the second image of people rioting and starting a fire. The third image is that of pharmaceutical production. The image was cropped, and adjustments made to hue/saturation/color balance.

12.  In between doctors, pharm. reps, and politicians, the supposed beneficiaries of medicine are forgotten This image has a empty clinic/doctor setting that was liquefied a bit. The medical team led by the pharm. representative was cut with use of the magic lasso, and blurred. It’s level of brightness was also adjusted. Finally, images of a judge and pills were carefully cut, and added behind the counter. Adjustments were made to make sure the color and brightness fit well with the background.