Envisioning 2.0

A survey released this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Harvard School of Public Health and USA Today, provides a great deal of information about public opinion of Big Pharma.  As it turns out, the public does not universally hate the drug industry.  Instead, people have a complex view of pharmaceutical companies.  In general, they believe drug firms do good work, but charge too much for drugs.  Some of the survey results I found most interesting include:

-    People don’t like the pharmaceutical industry, but love the drugs they take – and some of the companies that make them
-    Poorer, less educated people are more likely to have a favorable opinion of drug firms
-    Despite the furor over drug advertising, most Americans aren’t that bothered by it; however, they do think that money spent on ads contributes to the high price of medications
-    People buy drug firms’ argument that medications reduce overall health costs by limiting expensive hospitalizations and procedures

Overall, this study provides a clear roadmap for pharmaceutical industry executives seeking to get back into the public’s good graces.  Specifically:

-There is little chance that drug prices will decrease significantly in the US, mainly for regulatory and economic reasons.  However, many people think that drug firms’ programs to provide free and discounted drugs to many Americans don’t go far enough.  If the industry did more for the 41% of Americans who say they (or their families) have a difficult time paying for prescription drugs, public opinion could shift.

-44% of the public does “not trust drug companies to notify the public quickly about safety concerns” and nearly 30% believe drug firms act unethically when testing drugs on people.  This is a significant problem.  We all know drugs have risks and that clinical trials are complex.  The industry needs to be much more aggressive about communicating the risks and benefits of medications.  And, it needs to educate the public on how studies are conducted.  Research is the lifeblood of the industry and it can’t prosper if people don’t trust it to conduct research ethically.

This new study is very valuable.  It should be required reading for industry insiders and anyone who wants to understand Americans’ complex feelings about drug firms.

Image Source: Neil Caldwell, http://www.typophile.com/blog/9690

The latest edition of the Health Wonk Review is up at Workers Comp Insider.  Many thanks to Jon Coppelman for highlighting my post re: Merck’s Gardasil.  To clarify, while I’m not sure Merck and the government have been mum about HPV’s status as a STD because of abstinence-only proponents, I’m quite sure this is not an issue Merck is comfortable tackling.

This morning, the New York Times reported that “after more than a decade of struggle” the US House of Representatives passed a bill requiring most “group health plans” to provide better coverage for the treatment of mental illness.

This is an issue close to my heart, as I worked for many years on public education programs designed to reduce the stigma associated with depression and other mental illnesses.  A big part of the problem was that most insurance companies do not provide adequate benefits.  For example, people often wind up paying for very expensive “talk therapy” sessions out-of-pocket.  This was a tremendous problem for those with dangerous and debilitating mental illnesses who need more intensive treatment.  We know that drug and therapy sessions are the most effective ways to help people with a mental disorder.

Of course, there is always the issue of cost and what illnesses will be covered.  The often controversial Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists numerous conditions as psychiatric illnesses.  I’m not a supporter of covering every one, or even most.  However, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, acute anxiety and other major disorders should be covered without question. Conditions like jet-lag induced sleep problems should not.

The White House opposes the bill and it still must get through the Senate, so it is unclear whether the law will pass.  However, this shouldn’t diminish the fact that this is a great day for people afflicted with mental illness.