We wanted to take a break from talking about prescription savings, online pharmacy, big Pharma this, the FDA that, personal drug importation, etc. You know how strongly we feel about your right to find medications you need at affordable prices. We’ll take this time to remind you about the problem of overprescribing in America. In other words, millions of Americans may be taking medications that they don’t even need! America’s crazy spending on prescription drugs – which is the highest in the world – is in part due to high prices, but it’s also partly due to patients, health plans, and government buying medication that is not even needed.
The satirist website The Onion just published a piece that pokes fun at the problem of overprescribing and we thought we’d keep it light this Friday afternoon. They cover GlaxoSmithKline’s “release” of Placidex – a drug used to treat people who just “feel sort of weird sometimes.” If you think you might need Placidex, or know someone who does, read more about it here. Of course, you can expect that if this were an actual drug, its price would be untenable, at least for Americans.
And if you are feeling less silly, here’s one more infographic on overprescribing in America.
