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Profitable Prescriptions?
Increasing in costs each year, prescription pills are one of the most profitable and dominating industries in the nation, with annual sales in the hundreds of billions. Prescribed medications constitute a significant bulk of work that medical coders must transcribe.
The Rx Pill Industry
Shockingly, the prescription pill industry uses questionable practices to increase their bottom line, and in turn, increase coding workload through unnecessary prescriptions. Though pharmaceutical companies have long-earned a reputation for wooing doctors with gifts, bribes, and incentives, it was only revealed in recent years that they’ve also been paying doctors huge sums of money to promote certain products. And, some and doctors are taking up on these offers.
These pre-selected medications are not only violating a conflict of interest, but they can also be largely responsible for increases in patient and insurance costs: a doctor may feel obligated to prescribe an expensive “sponsored” medication over a cheaper alternative.
Assessment
This in turn, is reflected on the overall rising cost of healthcare, which unfortunately, is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Conclusion
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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma, Ethics, Glossary Terms | Tagged: “sponsored” medication, Doctors on Drugs, pharma, pharmaceutical companies, prescription pills, Rx drugs |
The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants 
Cool title – boring and largely untrue article.
Belmont
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Drug monitoring programs launched in two states
Did you know that as part of the Obama administration’s efforts to reduce prescription drug abuse, a pilot program will make prescription drug use data available to healthcare providers and pharmacists when they treat patients during office visits and in emergency departments.
DEA Agent
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CMS Misses Deadline on Sunshine Act Rule
The CMS missed its own 2012 deadline to issue the final rule for a regulation that aims to make financial relationships between healthcare providers and manufacturers more transparent. The Physician Payments Sunshine Act—a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—requires drug and device companies to report payments or gifts given to physicians and teaching hospitals.
It also mandates that manufacturers and group purchasing organizations disclose physician ownership and investment interests. However, multiple delays in the rule-making process mean that data collection is not likely to begin until well into this year and that the data will not be publicly available until 2014.
Source: Jaimy Lee, Modern Physician [1/3/13]
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49 arrested in illegal prescription drug bust
A New York City doctor is among those arrested in connection with a drug distribution network accused of putting $10 million of narcotics onto the black market.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/28/17506095-cops-arrest-ny-doctor-48-others-in-alleged-illegal-prescription-drug-schemes?lite&
Along with 48 others in alleged illegal prescription drug schemes.
Mary
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Drug Testing for Docs?
They’re calling it the “Pee in the Cup” initiative – a proposed California state ballot measure that would require doctors to be randomly subjected to drug and alcohol testing, the same way bus drivers are.
http://blog.sfgate.com/matierandross/2013/05/20/drug-testing-for-california-doctors/?utm_source=Copy+of+5.17.13&utm_campaign=11713&utm_medium=email
It’s being pushed by a tech mogul who’s on a very personal crusade to clean up the state’s medical practices.
Mary
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Inspector General Faults Medicare for Not Tracking ‘Extreme’ Prescribers
Echoing a ProPublica investigation, a report finds hundreds of doctors with questionable and potentially dangerous prescribing patterns.
http://www.propublica.org/article/inspector-general-faults-medicare-for-not-tracking-extreme-prescribers
In a response, Medicare says it will step up monitoring and review the list for fraud or abuse.
Ann Miller RN MHA
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Other Drugmakers Likely to follow GSK in Halting Doc Payments
Partly in response to new physician payment disclosure rules, more drugmakers are likely to follow GlaxoSmithKline’s decision to stop paying doctors for promoting its products at speaking engagements and for attending medical conferences. The company announced last week that it will stop making direct payments to healthcare providers for speaking engagements and attendance at medical conferences by the start of 2016. It also plans to roll out a new compensation system for every sales employee worldwide who works directly with doctors and other healthcare professionals who prescribe medications.
The moves come amid increasing scrutiny of the role of money in prescribing decisions. Under the Sunshine Act provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act effective in August this year, drugmakers and medical device companies are required to report payments and gifts valued at $10 or more to physicians and medical schools.
Source: Jaimy Lee, Modern Healthcare [12/17/13]
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