Corruption of the Pharmaceutical Industry in America Essay

In Money Talks: Profit Before Patient Safety, a documentary on the business behind drugs, states that sale representatives for drug companies only job is “to push for their products [to be sold] in doctor offices.” And quite frankly this statement is prevalent in today’s economy; the economy is centered around accumulating wealth, to the point where other factors to earn such wealth is not accounted for. Money is an object which makes everyone selfish. Drug companies only care about the benefits they’re receiving and the growth of their wallets. The society grew up to look upon doctors, because doctors are certified to diagnose and treat patients. Every time we have a health issue, we turn to doctors. Every time we have the flu, we turn to doctors.

Specify the types of country risks that pharmaceutical firms face in international business. How do the political and legal systems of countries affect the global pharmaceutical industry?

Bill Maher once mocked the aggressive nature of the drug advertisements that direct you to tell your doctor that their drug is right for you. “Tell your doctor? Shouldn’t your doctor tell you what drugs you need. When you tell your doctor isn’t he just a dealer at that point,” said Bill Maher. The American public generally trusts their government to protect them from the hidden dangers prescription and over-the-counter drugs. However, that trust isn’t fully warranted as the FDA has been featured in the GAO report of “high risk” agencies which need drastic reforms. After all, the FDA is in charge of regulating the shameless drug advertisements that inundate the airwaves.

Anyone who has purchased prescription medications has probably wondered why they cost so much, and rightfully so. Medication prices in the United States have been on a steady increase for decades, however, prices have been drastically increasing as of recent. Pharmaceutical companies have tried to justify these price increases due to the demand, the high cost of research, and the high costs of development and approval. Notwithstanding, the extent to which the prices have increased is not justifiable. Americans should be against these high medication prices and take action because pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of our healthcare system in order to capitalize from the sick. In order shed some light on this issue, the magnitude, scope, and consequences of these prices must be examined.

The Washington Post reported on June 16, “Once again, the United States has most the expensive, least effective health care system in survey.” It’s apparent that the United States healthcare system is in an economic crisis. Furthermore, the United States healthcare system is not only in economic turmoil, but the social systems currently in place offer little to no future economic resolve for the predicament we are currently situated in. The paradox that seems to have fallen upon American healthcare is that, “The system doesn’t want you to die, but at the same time doesn’t want you to get well.” Heineman (2012) It is bad business. In other words, medicine is a business and I have witnessed this approach towards business in medicine first hand in my over five years of clinical and business experience in the medical field.

On september 2nd 2011, a Twenty-four year old man from cincinnati named Kyle Willis´ fell victim to the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry(Gann, Carrie). Willis had a severe toothache on his wisdom tooth that resulted in its extraction. After the surgery, Willis´s face started to swell and was sent to the emergency room. He was prescribed antibiotic medications and also painkillers in order to follow standard recovery procedure. Kyle Willis’ could not afford both drugs so he just purchased the pain killers because of the swellings unbearable pain. The infection continued to spread into his brain which lead to severe brain swelling and eventually Kyle Willis’ death. Kyle Willis’ died because he could not afford the medication that would have saved his life. There are many other people that can 't afford the drugs they need, which results them losing their lives. According to harvard studies, over 45,000 people annually die due to lack of health care coverage(Harvard Gazette). According to their studies, those who are privately insured have 40% chance less of dying than those who have insufficient funds(Harvard Gazette). The monopoly and corruption of the pharmaceutical industry is un-american and inhumane because it causes the middle class to not receive the help they need to recover.

This week’s article by Liz Welch titled, Physician, Healthy Industry discusses why our health care industry should not be run as a business. The doctor interviewed by Welch is a Boston-based physician, Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle who runs a company called Iora. He addresses the primary care experience including the coding, billing, and copays in our current health care industry. His argument is that the system should not make a physician do what they do not want to do. He states, “I’d seen 40 patients, and had to stay two hours after work to finish up notes, because that’s what these stupid systems make you do” (Welch, 2015, para. 2). Dr. Fernandopulle frustrations are with the paper pushing process that our health care system requires of all physicians, but he decides to focus on the patient and their concerns, rather than the paperwork aspect. The purpose of Dr. Fernandopulle interview was to reduce the rising health care costs and start looking at the patient closely to prevent unwanted and unnecessary emergency room visits.

1. On balance, do you think Merck is an ethical and socially responsible company? Why or why not? How about Pfizer?

Society undermines these ads just as it undermines the promotion of various medicines on the market. Unaware of the dangers caused by pharmaceutical drugs, consumers are encouraged to purchase medications that are capitalistically endorsed. Pharmaceutical businesses and the government suggest that there are minor flaws with prescription drugs, but ultimately, they are safe to use. Although the marketing and promotional techniques for pharmaceuticals are completely different when compared to illegal substances, they are still extremely similar to one another. Several pharmaceuticals are just as addicting as any illegal drug and they are just as profitable as well.

In recent years, rising drug prices in the United States raises have impacted patient access to medications, including potentially life-saving medications. It has become extremely difficult for patient to receive medications. The blame is being shifted from insurers, drug manufactures, and the government. Insurers are protesting that specialty drug costs are forcing them to jack up premiums. State Medicaid directors say spiking pharmacy costs are coercing them to make unfortunate coverage trade-offs. From the consumer’s perspective, there is a constant cycle of blame and no actual progress. Fortunately, there are possible solutions the US healthcare can implement to help alleviate rising drug costs; for example, an expedited Abbreviated

Ever since the legalization of direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising in 1985, drug companies have grown and greatly increased their spending, making this the most popular type of health communication to the general public. From 1996 to 2005, the total amount of spending on pharmaceutical advertisements increased by 3252 million dollars and the percentage of drug sales increased by 1.4 percent (New England Journal of Medicine). This positive increase in sales is why the United States allows for these advertisements to be aired, they bring in revenue and as people become more sick, they will continue to buy more drugs and increase the revenue. However, even with all this spending, after observing hours of television on three different channels, I found it surprising on the limited amounts of pharmaceutical advertisements that were presented. For the network CBS, there were three drug advertisements, for CNN there were four and for the network AMC, there were only two of the same commercial. This trend shows how different airing times affect different populations of people. I watched CNN at 11:30 in the morning, a more common

“What I learned from the film was that generic drugs are selling better than the branded medication I assume it is because of the cost, of the branded are too high for consumers in the United States to afford to buy it. In the United States the pharmaceutical company’s go through a strenuous trial before they can get a patent for a medication to sell to the public. They are under strict regulations in the United States by the Federal Food & Drug Administration, they go through clinical trials before they can get a patent for medication to be distributed to the public. It also references the point that weak nations must have access to reasonably priced medications, treatments and vaccines is also creating a huge opportunity such as Africa.

Also prescription drug advertisements soften relationships between patients and healthcare provider’s. Edlin (2015) states that “About eighty of doctors researched in Apr. 2013 thought DTC prescription drug ads weakened doctor-patient connections.” Patients that watch television that show an advertised drug patients think that will solve their problems often ignore a doctor’s advice if the doctor uses a different solution. After being denied the requested for the drug, almost half of patients surveyed were not happy with their doctors, about a quarter responded that they would try to make the doctor prescribe the wanted medication or get the drug somewhere else, and said they would probably change to a different doctor. If a patient is not

(2002) argue in their study that most consumers, as a result of the emotional rather than informational ads, request for the adverts they have seen. With the aim of examining the link between the drug adverts and the patient’s request for the prescription. The study shows that a good number of the visiting patients to the hospitals normally request for the prescriptions that they have watched being advertised in the televisions (p. 279). Most of these patients have a higher possibility of influencing the decisions of the physicians, with a large number of the doctor having the highest tendency to agree with them in the quest for the advertised drug. Therefore, it is true that he advertising prescriptions through the direct consumer adverts has a greater appeal that also impact doctors when giving out their decisional prescriptions to patients who insist on

Pharmaceutical companies should attempt to be as transparent as possible when marketing prescription drugs to the public. Their marketing efforts should not only convey the benefits of the prescription drug, but also easily convey the possible risks associated with the prescription drugs. Many patients may tend to think the benefits outweigh the potential risks of prescription drugs and may pressure their physician to prescribe it. Due to the way the prescription drug is marketed, the consumer may believe the