Do Prescription Drugs Add to, Shift, or Reduce Healthcare Costs?
One would think that by implying your prescription drugs keep
people healthy and out of the hospital you could also imply and
conclude that drug treatment will lower overall healthcare costs
for those patients.  The pharmaceutical industry has implied
this for decades.  And, this may actually be true in many cases
but the evolving new healthcare market is becoming much less
receptive to what would seem to be obvious and will be demanding
more and better data to support any claims of improving clinical
outcomes at lower cost.   Interestingly, some healthcare
providers have already determined this is not just a
pharmaceutical industry issue.  For example, pharmacists for
years have claimed that they can help patients avoid medication
errors and improve patient care through patient counseling and
follow up.  They are often the only healthcare provider with
that opportunity once a prescription is written, especially for
chronic conditions.  Seems l