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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Drug benefits in managed care
— seeking ethical guidance from the formulary? | | Author(s) | Joseph J Fins |
| Journal title | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol 46, no 3, March 1998 |
| Pages | pp 346-350 |
| Keywords | Drugs ; Health services ; Commercial care ; Social ethics ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | In the US, pharmacy benefits accounts for 7 to 10% of total corporate health care expenditures. The organisational structure of managed care organisation (MCO) formulary committees (which deal with prescribing decisions), coupled with the power of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), makes drug purchasing, prescribing and dispensing a highly regulated activity in managed care. The creation of an environment which promotes cost containment poses serious ethical challenges, which have come to light in the press. This article suggests some policy recommendations with regard to: informed consent and consumer choice about drug benefits; doctors' independence as patient advocates; protection of patients' interests; avoiding conflicts of interest in relationships with drug manufacturers; and standards and quality assurance. The article concludes that good care can be cost-effective, if attention is paid to the process by which allocation decisions are are made. Attention to the integrity of the process is good both for the patient's health and the MCO. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980821009 A |
| Classmark | LLD: L: PI: TQ: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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