Brand-Name Drugs Increase Cost But Not Patient Satisfaction
“Generic medications are manufactured to be equivalent in all ways
(except appearances) to brand-name medications,” he said in an e-mail.
“Unfortunately, many patients and physicians are convinced to spend more
and use the brand-name medication by marketing initiatives, including
advertisements on the television or drug coupons that promise similar
out-of-pocket expenses for the higher-cost brand-name medications.”
"Goetz said he doesn’t know why generics sometimes have higher
satisfaction than brand-name drugs, but he offered one theory. “People
might have outsize expectations for what a heavily marketed drug is
going to do for them,” he said. “They may watch the commercials and
think that any given drug is going to be the answer to all their
problems. And the reality of medicine and the reality of pharmacology is
that every drug has some benefits for some people and some side effects
for some people, and that’s the whole balance.”
"Generics may have another advantage over newly launched drugs in the
same class. By definition, a generic has been on the market a long time,
so doctors know how it works, and any major problems or side effects
would have already surfaced. By comparison, the studies that help
brand-name drugs win approval may not have picked up safety problems or
side effects that, while uncommon, can represent an issue once a
medicine is taken widely."
Prescriber Checkup (Medicare’s popular prescription-drug program serves more than 42 million people and pays for more than one of every four prescriptions written nationwide. Use this tool to find and compare doctors and other providers in Part D)
FAQ: What You Need to Know About Prescriber Checkup
Doctor given prison for taking kickbacks to prescribe risky drug
"A
Chicago doctor who was once the nation's most prolific prescriber of the
risky antipsychotic drug clozapine was sentenced to nine months in
prison Friday for taking cash, vacation trips and other kickbacks from
the drug's manufacturers. Dr. Michael Reinstein, the subject of a 2009 Tribune-ProPublica joint investigation,
admitted to pocketing nearly $600,000 in benefits over the years for
prescribing various forms of clozapine, known as a risky drug of last
resort, to hundreds of mentally ill patients in his care."
"When he pleaded guilty last year, Reinstein also settled a massive civil
lawsuit brought by the U.S. attorney's office alleging that he
submitted more than 140,000 false Medicare and Medicaid claims as part
of the kickback scheme. He was ordered to pay more than $3.7 million in
penalties to the U.S. government and the state of Illinois."
Risky, Overused Medications Prescribed Far Less Often in the Aloha State
"Medicare patients in Hawaii take fewer opioid painkillers and fewer
antibiotics, on average, than those in any other state. Physicians and
health policy experts cite demographics and healthier lifestyles as
possible reasons why."
Medicare’s Failure to Track Doctors Wastes Billions on Name-Brand Drugs
PRESCRIBERS WITH QUESTIONABLE PATTERNS IN MEDICARE PART D
This is a study cited in the article above
Medicare Drug Program Fails to Monitor Prescribers, Putting Seniors and Disabled at Risk
"some doctors and other health professionals across the country prescribe
large quantities of drugs that are potentially harmful, disorienting or
addictive. Federal officials have done little to detect or deter these
hazardous prescribing patterns."
"Doctors barred by state Medicaid programs for questionable prescribing
remain able to dole out the same drugs under Medicare. So can dozens of
practitioners who have been criminally charged or convicted for problem
prescribing, or who have been disciplined by state medical boards."
"In lawsuits and disciplinary records, state and federal authorities
cite a number of reasons that doctors prescribe improperly. Some run
mills where patients get prescriptions if they pay cash for a visit.
Others have relationships with drug companies that influence what they
prescribe. Regulators say some doctors choose inappropriate medications
under pressure from families or facilities. Research also shows that doctors often don't keep up with the latest studies and drug warnings."
