Doctors want big pharma to advertise the retail prices of drugs; will this force them to lower prices? Drug prices year over year continue to increase at rates that are much higher than inflation. Whatever the reason, the current prices are unacceptable and are partly responsible for the high prices for healthcare in the USA. The American Medical Association (AMA) is suggesting that part of the problem is a lack of transparency. The AMA, citing an unnamed study says that price increases on drugs advertised to patients directly are over 34% higher than those that were not directly marketed 5.1%. They are suggesting that patients who knew the prices of the brand name drugs that were advertised to them would be more informed about the drugs and may perhaps be better consumers, looking for better priced products. Drug companies for years have found that directly marketing drugs to patients has been effective, since it forces healthcare providers to prescribe when their patients ask them to. You can read more about it here Doctors Call On Big Pharma To Advertise Retail Prices Of Prescription Drugs June 16, 2017 By Ashlee Kieler@akieler Think of the last prescription you had filled: You probably know how much you had to pay the pharmacy, but do you have any idea of the full sticker price for that medication? With many drug prices soaring, the nation’s largest physicians organization has called on the pharmaceuticals industry to be more transparent about the sometimes huge price tags on their products. During a presentation at the American Medical Association’s annual meeting this week, the AMA argued that additional drug pricing transparency will help patients by allowing them to compare costs. The AMA contends that patients are often asking for specific, high-cost brand-name prescription drugs because they see those meds advertised in print and on TV. “Pharmaceutical companies know their advertising pays off by having patients pressure physicians to prescribe certain medications that cost more than lower-cost alternatives and are not necessarily as efficacious,” the organization said in a statement. Because patients seek out these prescriptions, AMA, citing an unnamed study, suggests that manufacturers are then able to increase their prices with little warning or fanfare. The study referenced by AMA found that prescription medications advertised directly to potential customers saw a 34.2% increase in price, compared to the 5.1% price increase for medications that were not directly marketed to patients. Read more