US Pharm. 2006;7:2.
W
hen it comes to health care, our government just doesn't get it, and if
history is any barometer, it probably never will. Forget about the Medicare
Part D debacle, which will be the subject of law school case studies for years
to come, focusing on how poor legislation gets passed; what I am talking about
is a complete misunderstanding of what actually makes our health care system
tick, particularly the role of pharmacists.
As a pharmacist, I am
embarrassed by the actions of legislators and other government officials who
treat health care in this country as a commodity. Let's start with the obvious
fact that patient care has taken a backseat to profitability. Health care
today is all about quantity, not quality. The emphasis is on how many patients
a doctor can see or how many prescriptions a pharmacist can dispense, not on
the quality of the care offered by health care professionals. All I hear
lately are grunts and groans from politicians who complain about the cost of
lifesaving prescriptions and how much pharmacists are earning. As a resident
of New Jersey, I was particularly upset with N.J. Governor Corzine, who
recently announced he would be signing a bill into law that creates a state
Web site listing the retail prices for 150 of the most frequently prescribed
drugs, pharmacy by pharmacy. It just confirms my opinion that Corzine, like so
many other politicians, considers lifesaving drugs a commodity, and that is a
very sad commentary on our health care system.
When are politicians going to
learn that when it comes to prescription pricing, one price does not fit all?
Pricing a prescription should be, and usually is, based on several factors,
not the least of which is the pharmacist's vast knowledge that goes into every
prescription dispensed; this cannot be gleaned from a list of prices on some
Web site. But even more troublesome is the fact that listing competitive
prescription pricing encourages consumers to jump from pharmacy to pharmacy
for the best pricevery dangerous situation when pharmacists are attempting to
determine drug interactions and other potentially fatal factors involved with
dispensing a prescription. The lack of a comprehensive drug profile in front
of the pharmacist is a prescription for disaster, not savings.
Add to this lunacy the fact
that third-party programs are running our health care system. It is no wonder
that the U.S. is losing its prestigious position as one of the healthiest
nations in the world. Two recent studies confirm this. According to one survey
conducted by Harvard researchers and published in the American Journal of
Public Health, Americans are 42% more likely than Canadians to have
diabetes, 32% more likely to have high blood pressure, and 12% more likely to
have arthritis. Another study, published in JAMA, found that U.S.
citizens in late middle-age are much less healthy than their British
counterparts regarding diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, heart attack,
stroke, lung disease, and cancer.
Our legislators need to come
to grips with these data and seriously change the way our health care system
is being manipulated. Obviously, it needs an overhaul--and the sooner, the
better. Pharmacists can and should have an integral role in reducing the
nation's health care costs by providing quality care and important
consultative services. Now that is something politicians can take to
the bank.
Harold E. Cohen, R. Ph.
Editor-in-Chief
To comment on this article, contact
editor@uspharmacist.com.
