No parent wants to get a phone call from a college student 12 hours from home that the doctor has again diagnosed strep throat. With a third prescription for antibiotics in a year and half, the strep throat diagnosis is concerning. And while on the one hand the parents are concerned about the health of their daughter, they are also concerned about the price of this latest prescription.
From the required qualified person services involved with drugs that are transported from one country to another to the extensive testing and patenting process, the cost of some drugs are prohibitive. In the case of qualified person services, European Union investigational drug or pharmaceutical product manufacturers have to follow the protocol that is in place. Every one of these hurdles and protocols, however, can add to the price of the product once it is finally released. Medical packaging companies offer products like carded packaging designs that make the products more safe for the consumer can also add to the cost of a prescription. No one wants to argue about the best blister packaging techniques, but the resulting cost can be difficult to manage.
Have You Recently Been Given a Prescription from Your Doctor?
Nearly 48.5% of Americans have used at least one prescription drug in the past 30 days. Given this statistic, it should come as no surprise that in the year 2011, U.S. pharmacy and drug store sales amounted to about $231.46 billion. In a time when science and research experts are constantly making new discoveries, it only makes sense that the prescription drug industry is an ever changing platform. If not for advancements, in fact, many Americans would not be getting the treatment that they need every day. This constant research and development, however, comes with a number of unpredictable costs.
Today’s health insurance and prescription development can seem puzzling, but it is comforting to know that pharmaceutical companies continue to work and develop technologies like clinical label design and print procedures that make dosages easier to understand. The resulting safety is a comfort, even when the price of such advancements can add to the cost of the already skyrocketing costs of some medications.