Despite the recent attempt of the government to reign in the amount of antipsychotic medication that nursing homes received, recent studies have found that in 2008, antipsychotics still represented 9 percent of all prescriptions in this group.
Anti-psychotics, developed to treat psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are widely used “off label” to control difficult behavior in elderly people with dementia.
Indeed, Dorsey said he suspects that the vast majority of the use documented in his research is “off label.”
In the United States, no anti-psychotics are approved to calm behavior, although one such drug, risperidone (Risperdal), is approved for that indication in Canada. Black box warnings are rare for off-label use.
The problem is that the only medications that have been shown to help sway these behavioral problems are antipsychotics, and even though the side effects may not affect some patients, some patients experience significant problems.
In 2005 the FDA had issued warnings and since there has been a noticeable drop in over prescribing. The declines were evident within one month of the warning and by 2008, antipsychotic use among this older population decreased more than 50 percent.
However, it’s not clear if that drop is enough, or if the drugs are still being over prescribed and over used for off label uses, leaving the elderly still at risk to experience unnecessary side affects.
Over all, the study found that “If you enter a nursing home that has a higher proportion of people on antipsychotics, you are also likely to be put on antipsychotics.” So be aware of this if you or a loved one is thinking of staying at a nursing home.
The pharmaceutical industry predicted that if the drug importation proposal succeeded that we would be at risk from unsafe drugs. I think what they meant to say is that the pharmaceutical industry’s profits would be at risk.
The new proposal from Senator Dorgan would have allowed importation of prescription drugs from countries that are verified safe by the FDA. Allowing importation from countries such as Canada, Europe, and Japan, which sell their prescription medications from 35 percent to 55 percent lower do to price controls, would have saved consumers more than $100 billion over the next 10 years.
Even though the bill would put money back into hard working Americans pockets, the bill hit the wall in the Senate, and got shot down with a 51-48 vote. Senators attest that the bill would not be safe, because the drugs would be coming from untested sources.
This couldn’t be farther from the truth. According to the New York Times
Senator Dorgan’s office says the industry’s safety alarms are false ones, because his measure would permit exports only from factories approved by the Food and Drug Administration and would assure high-quality imports by setting up a new registration procedure for pharmacies and wholesalers.
If safety isn’t the real reason why the drug import proposal failed, then what is?
According to the Examiner, its because the government has already found a better deal.
The pharmaceutical industry made a deal with the White House to commit 80 billion dollars over the next 10 years to health care reform. The deal was supposedly contingent upon Congress not asking for more cuts in their profits.
The article in the Examiner also pointed out that pharmaceutical sales in 2006 were $289 billion, over half of the global total. If the price of our drugs fell by just 15%, it would save the American consumers over $43 billion annually. This price cut would also allow those who are currently not taking their medication due to cost, to finally be able to afford the medications they need.
So the real reason the drug import proposal failed isn’t because the government is concerned for our safety, they are concerned with profits.
Don’t wait to save on your prescription medications, use Freebee’s comparison shopping search engine to save on the drugs you need today.
Today the FDA announced a new program aimed at reducing the amount of needless injury do to miss use of prescription medication.
Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the agency’s commissioner said,
Too many people suffer unnecessary injuries from avoidable medication misuse, errors and other problems. The FDA is launching the Safe Use Initiative to develop targeted solutions for reducing these injuries.
The new initiative will also aim to remedy the dosage problems with over the counter medications and their deliver devices, such as droppers, spoons or cups found packaged with drugs like liquid Tylenol and Benadryl.
According to CNN, over 4 million cases of miss use a year result in a trip to the emergency room or the doctor, with over 100,000 having to ultimately be hospitalized. The FDA said that over half could have been prevented.
Hopefully these new guide lines will help, but I have my doubts. Many of the problems with dosing aren’t with the instructions or the delivery device, but are human error. It is good that they are simplifying the instructions as much as possible, but I fear we won’t see much of a downturn in overdosing.
A new study by the pharmaceutical research firm Decision Resources has determined that European prices for 170 top-selling prescription medications averaged 40 percent less than U.S. prices in 2008, with even greater drug discounts is some countries.
Some of the best bargains, relative to U.S. prices, were on Prozac, Ambien and Tegretol, the study reported.
Neil Grubert, director of pricing research for Decision Resources, said such price discrepancies are not only a concern to U.S. consumers, but also to insurance providers and pharmacy benefit managers:
The current economic downturn will focus increasing attention on the cost of prescription drugs, and many payers will look to compare the prices they pay with prices in other markets. The United States is widely assumed to be by far the most expensive pharmaceutical market, but pharmaceutical companies and payers need to be aware of the enormous price variations by therapeutic area and drug type from one country to another.
Decision Resources’ 2009 Chartbook of International Pharmaceutical Prices examines overall price differentials among the world’s largest pharmaceutical markets, including the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Many Freebee Foreign Pharmacy members have discovered discounts greater than 40 percent — even up to 80 percent — using Freebee’s comparison shopping search engine.
I was reading a PharmaTimes story on President Obama’s healthcare plans and their implications for the pharmaceutical industry, and one big statistic flew off the page. As the article states:
Drug re-importation would lead to big revenue losses for the industry, given that drugs sold in the US are priced at an average 67% premium to the rest of the world.
If you’re not familiar with the term, “drug re-importation” simply means allowing U.S. citizens to buy back from Canadian pharmacies the drugs that U.S. pharmaceutical companies sell to them at much lower prices.
The biggest reason drug prices are so high in the U.S. is that the Big Pharma lobby has secured long-term monopoly pricing on most brand-name drugs — so there is little price competition for non-generic prescription medications.
Polls show that 80 percent of Americans are in favor of drug re-importation from foreign pharmacies in Tier One countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand. And President Obama has promised to finally push through legislation to allow all Americans to purchase drugs from Canada.
In the meantime, even though buying drugs from Canada is technically illegal, the FDA has decided not to enforce this law against individuals — because when it has in the past it has suffered serious consumer backlash.
That’s why you don’t have to wait for Congress and our president to fix this problem. You can start saving up to 80 percent on your prescription drugs today!
The important thing is to choose a foreign pharmacy that you know is safe and properly licensed — because saving money isn’t worth it if you put yourself at risk. That’s why Freebee Foreign Pharmacy ensures that every foreign pharmacy in our pharmacy network is properly licensed and accredited.
I came across a press release this morning that offered some alarming stats about the use and costs of prescription drugs in the United States. A few key numbers:
Every year more than 3.6 billion prescriptions are sold in the United States — an average of more than 12 prescriptions per person!
More than 50 million Americans are without health care or prescription drug benefits and must pay full retail prices for their prescription drugs.
These prices continue to spiral upward at a rate of more than 7.5% per year.
From 1994 to 2006, drug costs soared from an average of $28.67 per prescription to $68.26 — almost triple the annual inflation rate.
Annual U.S. prescription drug spending is projected to increase from about $200 billion today to nearly $500 billion in 2016!
Wow, that’s scary stuff. And with all the current economic problems on President Obama’s agenda, it is questionable whether he will have the time (and money) to address the crisis of rising healthcare costs gripping America.
Until we have across-the-board reform that makes prescription drugs affordable for all Americans, the single best solution for high drug costs is the Freebee solution — to comparison shop online and purchase your medications from licensed foreign pharmacies in Canada and other Tier One countries.
Despite the recent attempt of the government to reign in the amount of antipsychotic medication that nursing homes received, recent studies have found that in 2008, antipsychotics still represented 9 percent of all prescriptions in this group.
The pharmaceutical industry predicted that if the drug importation proposal succeeded that we would be at risk from unsafe drugs. I think what they meant to say is that the pharmaceutical industry’s profits would be at risk.
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