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pharmaceutical industry global strategy
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Introduction The lives of a lot of Canadians are highly dependent on the prescription drugs that they take. Pharmaceuticals have become a part of almost everyone’s day-to-day life. However, over the past thirty years or so there have been dramatic increases in both the demand for drugs and their cost. On February 28, 2013, Steve Morgan published his article entitled “Canadians Are Over-Paying for Pharmaceuticals Year After Year” in the Huffington Post. He addressed the cons of a multi-payer system and talked about how a single-payer system would be beneficial to the Canadian health care system. This paper will address the reasons for which Canadians are paying an excessive amount for pharmaceuticals. Comparisons with various countries abroad and strategies to reduce drug costs will also be discussed. Canada’s Drug Expenditures and Our Ranking on an International Scale Most drugs have allowed people to live longer and better lives, which is why we have become so dependent on them (Armstrong 51) However the rising costs of drugs are preventing a lot of Canadians from seeking the treatment that they need (CBC). In Canada, total government drug plans cover approximately forty-six per cent of total prescription drug costs (Armstrong 52). In 2013 Canada’s total drug expenditure reached to $34.5 billion or sixteen per cent out of our total health budget compared to $33.0 billion in 2012 (NHET 2). Since 1985, drug expenditure has increased from $160.01 per capita compared to $955.44 per capita in 2012 (CIHI 3). The breakdown of drug expenditure in Canada is as follows: prescription drug spending makes up to eighty-four per cent of total drug expenditure, while spending on non-prescription drugs reached to about $5.3 billion in 2012 (CI... ... middle of paper ... ...er year (Ventola 1). In Canada DTCPA is not completely illegal, it allows pharmaceutical companies to mention only a drug’s name, price, and quantity (CHSRF 1). “Reminder ads” are the advertisements that tell consumers to “ask their doctor” and they usually only promote the drug name (CHSRF 1). It is claimed by the pharmaceutical industry that drug advertisements are meant to simply educate the public by raising awareness of newer therapies, which as a result will improve the overall health of the country (CHSRF 1). The problem with any kind of direct-consumer advertising is that it only stimulates the sales of new drugs that have been recently released into the market that are also more expensive than pre-existing medications on the market. Another problem with new drugs released into the market is that they are not necessarily any better than existing medications.
Bruce K. Alexander’s essay “Reframing Canada’s ‘Drug Problem’” is about shifting the focus from intervention to prevention. Alexander explains that in Canada there have been three major waves of drug intervention: “Criminal prosecution and intensive anti-drug” (225), “medicinal and psychological treatment” (225), and the ‘“harm reduction’ techniques” (225) being the most resent. The “’harm reduction’” (225) consisted of: clean injectable heroin, clean needles, methadone, and housing for addicts. Although each of the methods is devoted and knowledgeable, they have done little to decrease the deaths or suppress the unhappiness. While clean heroin did work well few addicts quit using and many found
In America today, many people are in need of medical help. In fact,the Federal Trade Commission estimates that 75% of the population complain of physical problems (Federal Trade Commission 9). They complain, for example, of fatigue, colds, headaches, and countless other "ailments." When these symptoms strike, 65% purchase over-the counter, or OTC, drugs. In order to take advantage of this demand, five billion dollars is spent by the pharmaceutical industry on marketing each year . This marketing, usually in the form of advert...
First, when viewing DTC prescription drug ads, the public cannot understand the wording used to describe the drugs. Because of this, the producers of these ads are able to manipulate the drug’s effects to sway people into buying them. According to the article, 74% of surveyed doctors believe that the benefits expressed in prescription drug ads are embellished (paragraph 5). This inaccurate information causes patients to be misinformed as to the effects of the drug. Opposingly, 48% of doctors state that these ads inform and educate patients about DTC prescription drugs (paragraph 6). The percentages
DTC advertisements aim to persuade that their possibly less effective drugs work better than other drugs rather than to inform consumers of correct information about drugs. The reason that pharmaceutical companies abuse the power of DTC advertising is because the pharmaceutical industry does not have a strong ethical code for advertising; their sales are so obsessed with profits. To solve this problem, policy makers should prohibit indiscreet DTC advertisements on air and fund more informative services about new drugs so that patients could make clever
At the beginning of the 20th century healthcare was a necessity in Canada, but it was not easy to afford. When Medicare was introduced, Canadians were thrilled to know that their tax dollars were going to benefit them in the future. The introduction of Medicare made it easier for Canadians to afford healthcare. Medicare helped define Canada as an equal country, with equal rights, services and respect for every Canadian citizen. Medicare helped less wealthy Canadians afford proper healthcare. Canadian citizens who had suffered from illness because they could not afford healthcare, were able to get proper treatment. The hospitals of Canada were no longer compared by their patients’ wealth, but by their amount of service and commitment. Many doctors tried to stop the Medicare act, but the government and citizens outvoted them and the act was passed. The doctors were then forced to treat patients in order of illness and not by the amount of money they had. Medicare’s powerful impact on Canadian society was recognized globally and put into effect in other nations all around the world. Equality then became a definition which every Canadian citizen understood.
Pithoven, A. A. (2009). Why U.S. health care expenditure and ranking on health care indicators are so different from Canada’s. International Journal of Health Care Finance & Economics, 9(1), 1-24. doi:10.1007/s10754-008-9044-0
More than often, American’s argue that if we have the technology to gain access to these “miracle meds”, then we should take advantage of it. To receive an opposing view, the National Institute of Drug Abuse asked teens around America why they think prescription drugs are overused, and the results were shocking; 62%: “Easy to get from parent's medicine cabinets”, 51%: “They are not illegal drugs”, 49%: “Can claim to have prescription if caught”, 43%: “They are cheap”, 35%: “Safer to use than illegal drugs”, 33%: “Less shame attached to using”, 32%: “Fewer side effects than street drugs”, 25%: “Can be used as study aids”, and 21%: “Parents don't care as much if caught”. I believe the major problem here isn’t the medication, but instead the fact that our nation is extremely uninformed on the “do’s and dont’s” of prescription medication. When “the United States is 5 percent of the world’s population and consumes 75 percent of the the world's prescription drugs” (CDC), there is a problem present, no matter the reason. Clearly, many critics believe the breathtaking amount of pills we consume in America is simply for the better good, but tend to forget the effects that are soon to follow.
According to the oxford dictionary the term drug is defined as “A medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body” .Broadly speaking drugs can be classified into two group’s pharmacological drugs and recreational drugs. Pharmacological drugs are usually prescribed by doctors or pharmacist and recreational drugs are usually legal or illegal drugs. Pharmacological drugs are chemical substance used to cure or prevent diseases or to enhance the physical and mental well-being of a person. Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system which are generally used to have a good time or for enjoyment purposes because these help in forgetting unhappy memories for a time being and create pleasure. Unfortunately both the pharmacological and recreational drugs have created problems in the Canadian society. A UN report said, "The global drug trade generated an estimated US $321.6 billion in 2003”, and Canadians are among the top participants on illegal drug.
The drugs issue is a major problem in Australia. A simple solution cannot be found to solve this great problem because there are so many decisions, thoughts and sacrifices that need to be made. All sides of the issue must be considered when making such a large decision. To find a solution, several tests, meetings, interviews and research need to be made, to name a few. Extreme care is needed when challenging such major issues, all aspects of the problem need to be considered.
American people look at their insurance bills, co-pays and drug costs, and can't understand why they continue to increase. The insured should consider all of these reasons before getting upset. In 2004, employee health care premiums increased over 11 percent, four times more than the rate of inflation. In 2003, premiums rose 10.1 percent and in 2002 they rose 15 percent. Employee spending for coverage increased 126 percent between 2000 and 2004. Those increases were lower than expected. (National Coalition on Health Care, 2005, Facts on health care costs). Premiums have risen five times faster than workers wages, on average. If medical spending continues to rise by just two percent more than personal income, by 2040 Medicare and Medicaid would hit 18.5 percent of the gross domestic product, leading the federal deficit to be 20.7 of the gross domestic product. (Melcer, R., 2004, St Louis Post-Dispatch, Rising Costs of healthcare pose huge challenges).
Riley, D. Drugs and Drug Policy in Canada: A Brief Review and Commentary. Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy and International Harm Reduction Association (Prepared for the House of Commons of Canada). November 1998
Alexander explains that in Canada there has been three major waves of drug intervention, the ‘“harm reduction’ techniques” (225) being the most resent consisted of: clean injectable heroin, clean needles, methadone, and housing. Although, each of the methods are devoted and knowledgeable they have done little to decreased the deaths or supress the unhappiness. While clean heroin did work well few addicts quit using and many found the conditions of reserving the drugs to be repulsive. Yet another method is legalization which is nothing new and will do little to help.
There are three issues when it comes to the health care cost rising. The first is the rising cost in prescription drugs. The second area of rising cost is the increased technologies when it comes to the medical industry. The third problem is the aging population. Prescription drugs are the area of the fastest growing health care expense, and it is projected to grow at 20 to 30 percent each year over the next several years. There are many newer, more expensive drugs on the market, and the use of these prescriptions is exploding. In addition, with so much television advertising, many consumers ask their doctors for expensive, brand name drugs when there may actually be a generic drug that works just as well.
In recent years’ health reform has been a driving force in the United States political system. If you watch the news you will undoughtabley hear how citizens, the government, or the economy is or might be effected by some sort of change in medical regulation. One of these hot topic issues is the cost of prescription drugs. Every major drug market besides the United States regulates the price of drugs in some way (Abbott and Vernon). By the United states not doing so many believes it opens consumers up to be exploited by large pharmaceuticals companies. Other believe regulating drug prices limits investment, innovation, and competition in the pharmaceutical industry. In many ways both views are correct yet the later may have more long term lasting
In the business of drug production over the years, there have been astronomical gains in the technology of pharmaceutical drugs. More and more drugs are being made for diseases and viruses each day, and there are many more drugs still undergoing research and testing. These "miracle" drugs are expensive, however, and many Americans cannot afford these prices.