There has been a tremendous number of articles and a lot of interest in the use of ketamine in the treatment of depression and chronic pain. This prompted many drug companies to invest and Johnson and Johnson developed a new product to treat depression. However there are always challenges with new products especially effectiveness, side… Read More
Most Americans support requiring the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for public school children in order to protect public health. They see high preventive health benefits of such vaccines, and low risk of side effects, and they consider the benefits of the vaccine to outweigh the risks.Yet, public concerns about childhood vaccines linger in the… Read More
This January 31, 2017 JAMA Viewpoint article examines whether Hemoglobin A1c should be used as an outcome (quality) measure Type 2 diabetes and its complications are one of the most expensive issues facing U.S. healthcare. An obvious goal is to reduce the number and scope of diabetic complications which should in return improve diabetic’s quality and likely longevity. The… Read More
The Kaiser Family Foundation website looks at where the healthcare dollar goes. Apparently $2.3 trillion was spent on healthcare in 2010 Hospital care—31 percent Physician/clinical services—20 percent Retail Rx drugs—10 percent Net cost of health insurance—6 percent Investment—6 percent Other health, residential, and personal care—8 percent Other professional services—7 percent Nursing home care—5 percent Home… Read More
This article looks at the steep escalation of Pharma drugs The CMS on Wednesday released data on the price history of 5,000 prescription drugs over five years, shedding light on the fastest rising source of healthcare costs in recent years. The drug with the biggest rise in cost per unit in Medicare Part D from… Read More
This is a AMA website that looks at why US prescriptions have dramatically increased in price. Spending on prescriptions in the US increased nearly 20% between 2013 and 2015.* It’s clear – the cost of medications is rising. What’s unclear is just how prescription drugs are priced and whether we need laws to stem the… Read More
Adrenaclick, a similar epinephrine auto-injecting device, now available nationwide at CVS pharmacies. CVS Pharmacy announced January 12, 2016 that they have partnered with Impax Laboratories to market a generic epinephrine auto-injector for $109.99 for a two-pak. This is much less then Mylan’s Epipen two-pack prices, which list for more than $600 as a brand name… Read More
From October 2016 North Bay Business Journal Medicare began releasing records of reimbursements to doctors in 2013. That data revealed some numbers made doctors appear as they were making a lot of money when really the cost was pharmaceutical costs as the the data added those costs into the physician compensation. In 2012, 151 out… Read More
There is something wrong when companies can purchase another company’s product, limit competition, and jack up the price. Normally, one would say that is good business. But healthcare is not your usual business. Adding fuel to the fire, it appears the FDA did not approve two EPi-PEN competitors earlier in 2016 over non-safety issues. This… Read More
