[e-drug] New US coalition: RxHealth Value potentially a major ally

["Peter Mansfield" <peter.mansfield@Flinders.edu.au>]

E-drug: New US coalition: RxHealth Value potentially a major ally
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Does any one know how we could contact this new group?

The following report is copied from MEDSCAPE's Pharmacotherapy MedPulse(R)
http://pharmacotherapy.medscape.com for fair use.


New Coalition Forms to Influence Prescription Drug Decision-Making
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By Karen Pallarito

WESTPORT, May 11 (Reuters Health) - A newly formed coalition consisting of
some of the largest consumer, provider, purchaser, payer and labor
organizations in the US on Wednesday announced the results of a new study
on prescription drug spending and made recommendations aimed at influencing
how the nation spends those dollars.

Called RxHealthValue, the coalition's 30-plus members include such
household names as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the AFL-CIO
and the American Association of Retired Persons. Its mission is "to
determine value in new prescription drugs," John D. Golenski, acting
executive director of the coalition, told Reuters Health.

RxHealthValue made itself public on Wednesday by presenting results of its
first sponsored study, conducted for the coalition by Brandeis University
and PCS Health Systems. The study found that Americans are using more
prescription drugs at younger ages and for more conditions, boosting the
nation's drug expenditures by nearly 25% a year between 1996 and 1999.

The study shows average annual drug expenditure increases of 24.8% - more
than double the trends reported by the Health Care Financing
Administration. HCFA estimated that drug spending increased 9.8% to 13.7%
annually between 1995 and 1999, researchers reported.

The authors of the report suggest that a number of factors, including
sample size and methodology, play into the dramatic difference in drug
spending calculations.

"The study we are releasing today shows a fundamental shift in prescribing
patterns and dramatic increases in prescription drug use," Gerald Shea,
assistant to the president of the AFL-CIO for government affairs, noted in
a statement. "We need to better understand the dynamics behind this
phenomenon and more aggressively look at the 'value equation' to better
serve all our constituencies."

Golenski said that members of RxHealthValue have been meeting for the past
15 months. The group was organized around a shared concern over the rise in
pharmaceutical use and its implications for healthcare delivery.

"The way medical care is being delivered is changing and changing rapidly
to a primary emphasis on pharmaceuticals," Golenski told Reuters Health.
"We want to find a way, using independent data and information, to help
consumers, patients and providers to determine value in making prescription
drug choices," he said.

As part of that mission, the coalition unveiled three recommendations
pertaining to the health and economic value of prescription drugs:


It called for the creation of independent research institutes to conduct
and publish clinical and economic data on prescription drugs. Golenski said
that the group would like to see more efforts akin to RxIntelligence, a
not-for-profit drug research outfit being formed by the Blue Cross and Blue
Shield Association (as reported today separately by Reuters Health.)

It recommended that the Food and Drug Administration develop standards for
full disclosure of information on the indication, risks and benefits of
drugs directly advertised to consumers. Those standards, it said, should be
developed in collaboration with consumer and patient advocates, providers
and manufacturers.

It called on the FDA to require improved postmarketing surveillance by
manufacturers, particularly for "fast-track" drugs, to monitor adverse drug
reactions.


regards,

Peter

Dr Peter Mansfield
GP and consultant on marketing and quality use of medicines
Visiting lecturer, Universities of Adelaide, Flinders, South Australia,
Tasmania
Primary author, Healthy Scepticism
Director, MaLAM (Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing)
MaLAM aims to protect compassionate scientific health care from marketing
practices that may be detrimental to health.
peter.mansfield@flinders.edu.au
www.camtech.net.au/malam
PO Box 172 Daw Pk SA 5041 Australia
ph/fax +61 8 8374 2245

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