Today, Doctors for America held a webinar on how doctors and others can help to ensure fair drug pricing, which is not a small task!
Doctors play a key role in helping patients identify the best approach to their healthcare and medication choice and since prescription drug prices have skyrocketed, they are increasingly playing a role in helping patients navigate to the most affordable options for their medications.
Speakers highlighted the tough choices that Americans have to make when they cannot afford their medications, based on a Consumer Reports study.
People who have previously had an increase in the price of their medication said that they would either not fill the prescription (30%), decline a medical procedure (27%), put off a doctor’s visit (26%), or switch to a supplement or nondrug treatment (20%).
These choices are unacceptable, no one should ever have to make a decision that would compromise their health because of an inability to pay unconscionable prices.
Another study from Kaiser Family Foundation assessed public opinion on what should be done to lower high drug prices. According to the study, eighty percent of Americans believe that we would be allowed to import medications from Canada.
Aaron Kesselheim, MD JD MPH of Harvard Medical School said, “There is no reason why we can’t safely import these medications from other countries.” He pointed out that 40% of medications and 80% of active ingredients used to make medications in the U.S. are imported from other countries.
We applaud the provider community for supporting patients by taking a stand against high drug prices, and especially Doctors for America for hosting this informative and empowering webinar.
To register to gain access to the webinar recording, please visit this link: https://tinyurl.com/y5rymhkd
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