The Challenge of High Drug Prices in U.S.; Physicians ' Use of Generics

I have posted a number of previous notes about our high drug prices and possible remedies to better align them with other healthcare costs (see:Researching the Cost of Stellara, a Drug Used to Treat Plaque Psoriasis;A Solution for High Drug Prices: Drug Lists with Maximum Allowable Prices;Pharma Money Flows into California Opposing Proposition 61). A recent article on this topic caught my attention because it was brief and to the point (see:The High Cost of Prescription Drugs in the United States: Origins and Prospects for Reform). Below is an excerpt from it:Per capita prescription drug spending in the United States exceeds that in all other countries, largely driven by brand-name drug prices that have been increasing in recent years at rates far beyond the consumer price index. In 2013, per capita spending on prescription drugs was $858 compared with an average of $400 for 19 other industrialized nations.In the United States, prescription medications now comprise an estimated 17% of overall personal health care services. The most important factor that allows manufacturers to set high drug prices is market exclusivity, protected by monopoly rights awarded upon Food and Drug Administration approval and by patents. The availability of generic drugs after this exclusivity period is the main means of reducing prices in the United States, but access to them may be delayed by numerous business and legal strategies.The primary counterweight against excessive prici...

Source: Lab Soft News - January 2, 2017 Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Bruce Friedman Tags: Health Economics Health Insurance Healthcare Delivery Hospital Executive Management Medical Consumerism Medical Education Pharmaceutical Industry Quality of Care Source Type: blogs