Provision of drugs is a very key component in any healthcare delivery. Once a patient is diagnosed with a condition, the almost sure bet is that they shall get a prescription for drugs. For clarity, the prescription drug here means medication that is prescribed by a medical practitioner and not necessary only those that are referred to as “prescription only” medications.
Prescribed drugs in most circumstances from the bulk of the bill that have to be paid. Whereas consultation fee in most facilities is a known amount from the onset, other parameters are dependent on what the doctor requests to be carried out – whether any diagnostics are required and what medications will be needed. Even for individuals suffering from same condition, drugs can be as different as the route of treatment is also different and yet it remains very highly priced. With high prices of medications, attaining UHC can be a very expensive affair or completely unattainable. It begs the question why prescription medicines are so expensive and how this trend can be reversed for best outcomes.
Jayesh Saini, admitting that the cost of healthcare increases as the price of drugs increases, said that there have been various methods that have been tried to ensure that the drug prices are controlled but many have not been as effective as has been anticipated. Rate negotiations and capping has for long been considered as the solution to lowering of the prices of medicines. But with each passing period, this has been found wanting and there is need to align all the various components to ensure value is achieved at the most optimal rates. It is noteworthy that pricing of drugs does not translate to value – expensive medication does not make the end result more valuable.
There is need for all that are involved as leaders in the health sector to think beyond profits and concentrate on value of healthcare as a whole. No item in the provision of healthcare should be considered as standalone but as part of a bigger scheme of things. For example, with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is noted that hospitals have increased the prices, to more than double, of almost all their drugs, not just those that being used for the virus and associated complications. This price hike did not increase the value of treatment but increased the cost to the patients. Some trying to justify that the increase was because their suppliers had also increased the prices were at stakes to explain how their old stock was affected by any of the changes in prices, while there was evidence, they had not ordered any extra stocks. Unfortunately, some pricing is done without focus of the long-term impact and industry goals, and some do it as though they were just there to get a quick profit and exist the scene.
It is opined that the best way out of the pricing problem is to realign the payments with the values that are aimed at delivering the best healthcare to the patients.
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