BF2S Forums Cost of pharmaceutical drups

Canada.

Turquoise wrote:

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

Canada.

Yep

*sigh*






O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Truth. Drugs are expensive. There was a thread on here a while ago about how much it physically costs producers to make a drug, and everyone was complaining because some drugs only cost a few bucks worth of ingredients to make, but they charge hundreds of dollars.

But just like with anything in the world, you aren't just paying for the ingredients, you are paying for the work of the people who work at the factories, you are paying for all the research and development and all the testing that was done to come up with the new drug. Along with a profit margin so the companies actually make money, it isn't that ridiculous. New drugs are expensive because they had to do a lot of research to figure out what would work.

The#1Spot wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

Canada.

Yep

Heard the free heath care is worse. Hurts people in the medical field as well.

That's why you remain in the U.S. and import Canadian pills.

jamiet757 wrote:

Truth. Drugs are expensive. There was a thread on here a while ago about how much it physically costs producers to make a drug, and everyone was complaining because some drugs only cost a few bucks worth of ingredients to make, but they charge hundreds of dollars.

But just like with anything in the world, you aren't just paying for the ingredients, you are paying for the work of the people who work at the factories, you are paying for all the research and development and all the testing that was done to come up with the new drug. Along with a profit margin so the companies actually make money, it isn't that ridiculous. New drugs are expensive because they had to do a lot of research to figure out what would work.

Not only that, but thanks to US copyright and FDA laws, once the company who did the research and paid for everything and got the formula down and everything on the market, they only have 7 years to recoup all that money before generics are legally available on the market.  Those generics can take the exact formula being used and sell it for a fraction of the price because they do not have any R&D to pay for.  So brand-name companies have to push hard to make their money back FAST. 

They also keep looking for better drugs for known problems.  Usually, the drugs do the same thing, no better than before, but with different or fewer side effects.  The only way they can recoup their money in this case is to get people en masse to buy the new pill; thus, the huge commercial advertising push we see on TV.  And then they boost the price of the pills to cover advertising costs.

what I'm more worried about is if her insurance company refuses it, then I'm stuck paying the big bill


even though I did little research and read the side effects and told her not take anymore ( she only took 1 )

SEREMAKER wrote:

what I'm more worried about is if her insurance company refuses it, then I'm stuck paying the big bill


even though I did little research and read the side effects and told her not take anymore ( she only took 1 )

Okay.  First, if your wife was able to buy the pills at the pharmacy, the pills have already passed FDA testing.  That testing is in three phases, and takes YEARS; although it may very well still be in phase 3 testing (phase 3 is testing for long term results, and will continue for years to come).

Second, I assume that the doctor that prescribed them is her normal doctor, and is aware of things like her condition, and any other medications she is on?

Third, just because you looked online and did not like what it said, do not just tell her to discontinue them.  If you have worries, then either you or she should bring those doubts to her doctor and include his opinion in the discussion.  Unless, of course, you are an MD yourself.

And forth, that silly little spiel you hear about side effects at the end of the commercial comes from phase 2 testing, in which the human guinnei pigs are supposed to report any little thing they feel that is abnormal at all during testing.  If a certain number of them report similar things, it gets put on as a side effect.  For example, if half of the subjects told the testers they had headaches, it would be listed as a side effect; never mind that there is construction on the building on the floor above and that they were having to listen to a jackhammer for three hours.

jamiet757 wrote:

The#1Spot wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

Yep

Heard the free heath care is worse. Hurts people in the medical field as well.

Wrong. did you watch Michael Moores movie about the healthcare system?

The government lies to us telling us that free healthcare is bad, and it doesn't work. Most of the free world has free healthcare, and a lot of doctors in canada make a better living that those in the US.

You get your information from Michael Moore?  That is laughable.

Canada is suffering from an extreme nursing shortage.  Because most of the nurses move away (such as to the US) as soon as their contracts are up so they can make a better living in a country that pays better.

Wait times for appointments and treatments in nations with free health care can take months, mo matter the severity of the condition.  Here in the US, you may have to wait a day or two.

I do not work for the government.  I work in the healthcare industry.  My fiancee works in the healthcare industry.

You are listening to a man who wanted nothing more than to advance his political objectives and (in his extemely biased style) only presented a single side of the argument.

imortal wrote:

Wait times for appointments and treatments in nations with free health care can take months, mo matter the severity of the condition.  Here in the US, you may have to wait a day or two.

Unless you know someone who works at the hospital. My mom's an x-ray tech. I needed an MRI a couple months ago. I got it within 20 minutes of entering the hospital.

SEREMAKER wrote:

imortal wrote:

SEREMAKER wrote:

something that the doc recommended but I have sly suspicious that there might be a kick back in for the doc

but she only took 1 and I told her not take anymore


on a side note she said the pill worked great but I don't want to take the risk with her being pregnant

What was the name of the drug?  (or the names, if there are multiple.)

Zofran

Zofran is a catagory B drug.  My little PDR says that it is indicated for cautious use in pregnancy, but is not contraindicated.

It is usually used to combat nausea and vomiting in cancer chemotherapy.

Here is a list of the Drug catagories: http://www.brooksidepress.org/Products/ … gories.htm

What made it a concern for you?

imortal wrote:

jamiet757 wrote:

The#1Spot wrote:

Heard the free heath care is worse. Hurts people in the medical field as well.

Wrong. did you watch Michael Moores movie about the healthcare system?

The government lies to us telling us that free healthcare is bad, and it doesn't work. Most of the free world has free healthcare, and a lot of doctors in canada make a better living that those in the US.

You get your information from Michael Moore?  That is laughable.

Canada is suffering from an extreme nursing shortage.  Because most of the nurses move away (such as to the US) as soon as their contracts are up so they can make a better living in a country that pays better.

Wait times for appointments and treatments in nations with free health care can take months, mo matter the severity of the condition.  Here in the US, you may have to wait a day or two.

I do not work for the government.  I work in the healthcare industry.  My fiancee works in the healthcare industry.

You are listening to a man who wanted nothing more than to advance his political objectives and (in his extemely biased style) only presented a single side of the argument.

Listening to a guy from Texas trash the Canadian health care system is laughable, but don't worry, I'll set you straight though. Wait times in Canada are bad for NON LIFE THREATENING INJURIES, such as waiting to get a knee replacement. However, if you have a brain tumor and you need surgery asap, your going in for surgery tomorrow, thats where our system kicks your ass. If you think health care overall is actually better in America compared to Canada, your delirious, but that's not to say our system is any good either.

imortal wrote:

SEREMAKER wrote:

imortal wrote:

Zofran is a catagory B drug.  My little PDR says that it is indicated for cautious use in pregnancy, but is not contraindicated.

It is usually used to combat nausea and vomiting in cancer chemotherapy.

Here is a list of the Drug catagories: http://www.brooksidepress.org/Products/ … gories.htm

What made it a concern for you?

the " cautious use in pregnancy " is my number 1 alert and it didn't help that the Doc informed her that the drug is still in a " experimental stage "

we are being very cautious on everything with her during the pregnancy

Well, the drug is listed in my 2 year old drug refference guide, so it has been on the market at least that long.  Experimental stage covers a lot of ground.  I used to work in a building that housed a clinical research company, and learned a lot about these things in that time. Oh, and taking Pharmacology helped as well.  Catagory B is as safe as a medication gets for pregnancy, since they have almost no catagory A drugs (the catagory was made "just in case." 

Followup.  Here, I looked a bit, out of curiosity.

"Special information if you are pregnant or breastfeeding
The effects of Zofran during pregnancy have not been adequately studied. If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, inform your doctor immediately. Zofran may appear in breast milk and could affect a nursing infant. If Zofran ODT is essential to your health, your doctor may advise you to discontinue breastfeeding until your treatment with Zofran ODT is finished."

Source: http://www.drugs.com/pdr/zofran-odt.html

" The effects of Zofran during pregnancy have not been adequately studied " -- thats the part that worries me