{"id":9753,"date":"2018-02-19T16:38:08","date_gmt":"2018-02-19T22:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/?p=9753"},"modified":"2021-08-01T10:03:35","modified_gmt":"2021-08-01T15:03:35","slug":"best-financial-health-advice-part-4-prescription-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/19\/best-financial-health-advice-part-4-prescription-drugs","title":{"rendered":"Best Financial\/Health Advice Part 4: Prescription Drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For Part 3 in this series, click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know you\u2019re all tired of the word collusion and especially the notion of government collusion, but let\u2019s face facts. If there\u2019s any single part of our egregiously expensive healthcare system in which the US federal government has given carte blanche to a single industry to rob its citizens, it\u2019s pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ever wonder why Viagra is $70 a pill at Walgreens, but in Toronto it\u2019s $10 for the brand-name version and $4 for the generic (which is not even available in the US)? Because the entire system is protected and encouraged by the Feds. From the very first research and development of a drug until you\u2019re handed the bottle by your pharmacist, the pharmaceutical industry is designed to enrich everyone except you. This includes the Big Pharma manufacturer, your health insurer, the pharmacy benefit manager (Allscripts and Caremark), and the drugstore chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does your physician make money in this system? Yes, when the physician is involved in administering the drug, like oncologists giving chemotherapy<\/a>. The list of physician-administered drugs is pretty substantial. Does knowing that they\u2019ll make money administering a medication affect doctors\u2019 clinical decision making? You decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can learn more about prescription prices in this very interesting wiki article<\/a> on prescription drug pricing. For example, that when a pharmacy benefit manager says it negotiates drug prices with a Big Pharma company, the money saved goes to the insurer, not to you. Or that when Medicare D, covering prescription drugs, went into effect, it was actually written into law that the government, acting as a pharmacy benefit manager, was not permitted to negotiate better prices with a Big Pharma company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the exact opposite of how prices are set in Canada and other single-payer countries, where the government negotiates with the Big Pharma companies to achieve the best price. If the government senses something unsavory about the price being offered, it simply doesn\u2019t put the drug on its formulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, you could be prescribed the antidepressant Wellbutrin XL as Forfivo XL (bupropion 450 mg) and pay $430 for 30 tablets or you could ask for two separate generic prescriptions, bupropion XL 300 mg + bupropion XL 150 mg and pay $35. Forfivo is\u2014quite sensibly–not on the Canadian formulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is your challenge
<\/strong>The problem faced by you as patient-consumer is that most physicians use only two toolboxes when treating illness: a prescription pad and the operating room. I\u2019ve already shared the fact that experts believe at least half of surgical procedures are unnecessary. My guesstimate is that at least 75% of prescription drugs are prescribed inappropriately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve written in previous Health Tips about the horrifying statistic that 15% of women over 60 are taking ten or more prescription drugs<\/a>. One woman was on 13 medications from three different physicians, most prescribed to treat side effects induced by the other drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, you yourself have to take some responsibility here. If you look at any list of widely prescribed drugs<\/a>, the majority treat either the results of unhealthy lifestyles and environments (diabetes, GERD, high cholesterol, asthma) or the reluctance on the part of both patient and physician to consider alternative therapies instead of reaching first for immune modulators like Humira (side effect: neuropathies<\/a>) or pain meds like Lyrica (side effect weight gain).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you remember, this series began with the title \u201cThe Best Piece of Financial Advice You\u2019ll Ever Receive: Stay Healthy\u201d<\/a> and certainly that phrase applies when it comes to prescription drugs. When you reflect on the fact that correctly taken prescription drugs are the fourth leading cause of death<\/a> you might, when you\u2019re given a prescription, put up your hand and say, \u201cUh, just a second.\u201d Don\u2019t say no reflexively because you might really need the meds, but ask if your doctor might consider alternatives to a drug-based fix.
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Ideas on proposing alternatives to medication:<\/p>\n\n\n\n