How Honest is Your Doctor?

If you had an option, would you rather pay $10/month, or $80/month for a prescription medication that accomplished/did the exact same thing?

Research shows that the results of the 2 differently priced medicines have never been shown to be any better in any way.

Which would you choose?

Why?

What if your doctor prescribed the more expensive medication for you based on the fact that s/he got money from the company that made the medication?

What would you think, and how would you feel about that?

“If financial relationships influence physicians to choose pricier brand-name drugs that have little benefit over generics, everyone pays the cost — particularly taxpayers, who spent $62 billion last year subsidizing Medicare Part D.

“A survey published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2010 found that physicians with industry relationships said they were more likely to prescribe a brand-name drug when a generic was available. And federal whistle-blower lawsuits against several pharmaceutical companies have alleged that payments are little more than thinly veiled kickbacks, which are illegal. Companies have paid billions of dollars to settle the cases.

“To date, only 16 companies have publicly reported their payments to physicians. All companies will be required to report such payments next year under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, a part of the broader 2010 health overhaul law.”

(To clarify, “the broader 2010 health overhaul law” would be the PPACA – Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka “ObamaCare.” And the Physician Payment Sunshine Act may be found here:
http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/National-Physician-Payment-Transparency-Program/index.html. The law requires that by March 31, 2014, many pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, biotech companies and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) must report all such data/information on the financial relationships they have with physicians and teaching hospitals to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which will display the information on a public website by Sept. 30, 2014.)

Details, and the full story may be found

here:
http://www.propublica.org/article/top-medicare-official-we-can-and-should-do-more-to-oversee-drug-plan

here:
http://www.propublica.org/article/part-d-prescriber-checkup-mainbar

here:
http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-02-09-00603.pdf

-AND-

here:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/06/25/195232541/top-medicare-prescribers-rake-in-speaking-fees-from-drugmakers

—

“Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.”

—

“…if anything was not well said, that is to be attributed to my ignorance.”
–St. Thomas Aquinas, upon his deathbed, 7 March 1274

Sent from my typewriter.