The nightmare of medicine is the absurd price we have to pay

A grandmother develops a boil that turns out to be a difficult-to-treat staph infection (MRSA). She needs high-powered antibiotics. A middle-aged man who received a blood transfusion decades ago now has hepatitis C and needs anti-viral medicine. A young woman with HIV develops golf-ball-size lesions in her brain, has toxoplasmosis and needs anti-parasite medicine. The marvel of medicine today is that we can treat all three infections, and save the lives of these patients and countless millions of other Americans. Yet the nightmare of medicine today is the absurd price we have to pay. Pfizer Pharmaceutical charges $56.31 per pill of Zyvox which treats the MRSA infection. So a 10-day treatment course costs over $1,000, equivalent to the cost of a dozen doctor visits. Gilead Pharmaceutical charges $1,000 per pill of Sovladi to treat hepatitis C. So a 12-week treatment course costs over $84,000, equivalent to over a month’s hospital stay. Turing Pharmaceutical charges $750 per pill for Daraprim to treat toxoplasmosis. So a course of treatment is hundreds of thousands of dollars, equivalent to providing health insurance to hundreds of individuals. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Meds Medications Source Type: blogs