I can only speak for my own country (Belgium), but there are a few things in play. First of all, we have incredible access to health care and we can pick and choose our GP's. I live in a rural area, but I have about 11 GP's in a 5 mile radius that - if I call them today - I can see them this evening or tomorrow at the latest. The downside is that people start "shopping". People also expect pills here. If a GP doesn't give you pills, it's not a good doctor.

I'm lucky to have a very good relation to my GP. I have been with her for 15 years now, and because I can make her laugh (I tend to make fun of my ailments) but also provide good info and feedback, and am honest about my lifestyle (I told her of my alcohol problem, which enabled her to help me...), we often have a chat when I need to go see her. Last time - even before I mentioned it - she was shaking her head when she was reading new guidelines. I asked why she was looking rather angry, and she said if she had to follow the new statin guidelines (this was 4 years ago), she would have to give them to 70% (her words) of her patients, which is obviously ridiculous. I asked her about her opinion on statins overall, and in all honesty she didn't think they helped, but - like you say - when it's a guideline you don't just play cavalier seul and ignore it. So she just tries to minimize the number of patients that have to take them, and tries to give info about additional lifestyle changes. Patients take the pills and forget the lifestyle changes. (or go find another doc who gives them the pills)

Can't even blame them without being a hypocrite. "We are busy, we need a quick fix, the diet can wait". It's just that she could do a lot more if those guidelines weren't there in the first place.

I think I told this story before on here, and I got a violent reaction about "her being a hypocrite and a bad doc for still giving scripts for statins". Hmmm, that's not how I see it, it's not black and white.

She listens to her patients, she makes time for them, she does for example refuse to give a script for D2 (despite the guidelines...) and tells her patients to get over the counter D3 ("D2 doesn't even work"), she does listen to/acknowledges my stories about B12 and cyanocobalamin, methylcobalamin fixing potential methylation problems etc. so I think she is a fantastic doc as long as you don't force her into giving you medication she doesn't really believe in (but has to because of the guidelines).

Post is getting to long (sorry) but I do think it throws a light on how statins still get the light of day even when GP's don't believe they are helpful.