Brand-Name Drugs Increase Cost—But Not Patient Satisfaction

In late day , presidential candidates and even theAmerican Medical Associationhave griped about move up drug prices , pointing to make - name blockbusters with showy advert campaigns .

When it comes to patient satisfaction , however , there is n’t much dispute between brands and generics , according to data pull in by the websiteIodine , which is building a repository of substance abuser reviews on drugs .

ProPublica has teamed up with Iodine , which launched last year , to add datum from reviews to ourPrescriber Checkuptool , which allows users to see their doctors ’ prescribing riding habit in the Medicare Part D programme and compare them with others in the same specialty and land . Our drug pages ( take , for deterrent example , the antipsychoticAbilify ) will now include consumers ’ user reviews , usage statistics by country and a listing of the top prescribers in the body politic .

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“ What is it actually like to take these medications ? ” asked Thomas Goetz , Iodine ’s Centennial State - founding father and chief executive director . “ That is the inwardness of what we ’re stress to value … The fact that a drug is a brand drug or a generic drug , for us , is immaterial to the patient experience . ”

ProPublica compared the reviews of brands and generics in three drug categories : antipsychotic medication that regale schizophrenia , antidepressants , and drugs that lower cholesterol . atomic number 53 asks people if a drug is worth it , whether it ’s a hassle to take and if it works well . For each category of drug , a generic scored right on each of the three questions .

Dr. Joseph Ross , an associate professor of medicine and a wellness insurance researcher at Yale University School of Medicine , said he was n’t surprised that patient reviews of generic and brand - name medications were similar .

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Consider antidepressants . Most drugs in the class , includingProzac , CelexaandZoloft , are now available as generics and price under $ 20 for 30 pill at Costco . By comparison , the firebrand - name drugPristiq , manufactured by Pfizer , has a cash toll of about$283 for 30 birth control pill . ( Those with indemnity pay less , but probably still more than for a generic . ) Pristiq do worse in expiation than many of the cheaper alternatives .

Pfizer spokesman MacKay Jimeson say that depression manifests itself other than in dissimilar people , meaning discourse effectiveness may alter , too .

“ patient should play with their doctors to determine whether to employ an antidepressant drug and , if so , which type of medicinal drug might be good for them , ” he said in an due east - mail . “ Any treatment of depressive disorder or anxiousness disorders , whether it ’s medicament or otherwise , must be monitor cautiously by a qualified health care professional . ”

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A similar phenomenon plays out for cholesterin - lowering drug , get it on as lipid-lowering medicine . ZocorandLipitorare now available as generic and are cheap . The drugCrestor , made by AstraZeneca , uphold to have patent protection and costs more than$230 for 30 pillsat Costco . ( Again , indemnity discounts would lower that price . ) Crestor ’s drug user satisfaction grade was about the same as the generic alternative .

AstraZeneca spokeswoman Michele Meixell said not all statins are alike . “ The efficacy and safety of Crestor has been studied in more than 120 on-going [ or ] completed trials and more than 67,000 patient worldwide over the past 13 years , ” she say in an east - post . “ Crestor is one of the two high chroma statins uncommitted and AstraZeneca believe it ’s a clinically important option for many patient , who are unable to reach their cholesterol goal with dieting and exercise alone . ”

Both Pfizer and AstraZeneca note that patients can receive discounts from the company .

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Some drugs have many more Iodine review than others , which may affect the results . All severalise , Goetz say Iodine has review from more than 100,000 Americans covering the approximately 500 drugs in its database .

Goetz said he does n’t know why generic sometimes have mellow expiation than brand name - name drug , but he offered one possibility . “ People might have outsize expectations for what a heavily marketed drug is go to do for them , ” he enounce . “ They may watch the commercials and believe that any give drug is going to be the reply to all their problems . And the reality of medicine and the reality of pharmacological medicine is that every drug has some benefits for some masses and some side upshot for some multitude , and that ’s the whole Libra . ”

Generics may have another advantage over fresh launched drugs in the same class . By definition , a generic has been on the market a long fourth dimension , so doctors eff how it works , and any major problems or side effects would have already surfaced . By comparability , the survey that aid firebrand - name drugs get ahead favourable reception may not have pick up refuge problems or side effects that , while rare , can represent an issuing once a medicament is taken widely .

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doubt about cost and timber are likely to intensify . This hebdomad , theAMA called for a banon direct - to - consumer ad of drugs and aesculapian twist . AMA board electric chair - elect Patrice A. Harris quote “ concerns among doc about the negatively charged impact of commercially - driven promotions , and the role that marketing costs play in fueling escalating drug prices . ”

Ross , the Yale researcher , say finally the costs of stigma - name medications “ will get up with us , either in the physical body of high-pitched out - of - pouch payment once the coupons move out or higher health policy premium cost . ”

And , he supply , “ just because something is more expensive in health care does not have in mind it works better or is dependable . ”

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