How Drug-Makers’ Control over Research Papers Affects Your Pharmacy Costs

May 18, 2023

A recent article has highlighted the breadth of Big Pharma’s control of information regarding their medications, even reaching as far as drug research papers that are published in major medical journals.

The article “America’s Broken Health Care: Diagnosis and Prescription” in the Imprimis publication of Hillsdale College, cites studies finding that 74% of pharmaceutical research is conducted by for-profit research companies and only 26% by universities, which calls into question how much the results can be relied upon.

Even more surprising, 50% of contracts that drug companies have with academic institutions allow drug makers to ghostwrite articles and allow the named authors to only suggest revisions, but not make corrections or edit the articles. After seizing control of these “research” papers, the pharmaceutical companies will often use the published papers to market their expensive drugs and send their sales reps to doctor’s offices to convince practitioners to prescribe their medications … but at whose expense?

Many of these new drugs are extremely expensive and they may have a host of side-effects that plan sponsors and patients would want to avoid. Particularly since there are often alternative proven therapies on the market that are effective and significantly less expensive.

With that in mind, how can plan sponsors ensure their members are getting the best medications for their specific conditions and that they aren’t being steered towards expensive alternatives that may not be any better than established alternatives?

That’s where US-Rx Care can help by ensuring Better Outcomes and Lower Costs.

Through our fiduciary pharmacy risk management services, our clinicians work in your and your members’ best interest. They evaluate prescriptions written by your employees’ doctors with the goal of helping you and your members access the best therapies and where possible save money with less expensive pharmaceuticals. To ensure both the effectiveness and the health of your members, US-Rx Care relies on a combination of resources, including National Organizations’ guidelines, such as the American College of Rheumatology, American Academy of Dermatology, our practicing physicians that participate on our P&T Committee, in addition to academic research.

US-Rx Care’s programs are proven to deliver Better Outcomes and Lower Cost, the holy grail in care management.