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CalifChick -> RE: I Admit It I........ (1/24/2010 10:45:44 AM)
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I wasn't really paying attention to who said what, I just saw "in cahoots with the drug companies" and then "kickbacks." Most psychiatrists I know see the drug reps (who are the contact point) as a necessary evil. And the ability to give patients a couple of weeks of free samples to see if a drug is going to work for them, before they pay a drug copay or an expensive drug deductible, seems to contribute to good patient care, not detract from it.
Further, most psychs I know will NOT prescribe the latest drugs, because it takes a while for drugs to get on the covered drug list for the insurance plans. Why prescribe a drug you know the patient cannot afford? If it's a new drug of its kind, with no other good alternatives (for instance, some of the more recent drugs for alzheimers and psychotic episodes), then they give the patient the full information and let the patient decide (because, after all, unless they're locked up in a hospital, no one can force them to take a drug).
The last time we did an internal compilation of data, we found that well over half of our patients (I'm trying to remember the exact number, but I cannot), were on older drugs that were available in generic form, and that cost less than $25 per month to the patient with no insurance whatsoever. Some, such as prozac, cost as little as $9.50 for a month's supply.
In the last five years, drug companies have GREATLY relaxed their requirements for their patient assistance programs, so that more people can get the medication they need free of charge.
Whew. Now I'm gonna climb down off my soapbox before I get a nosebleed. [;)]
Cali
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