For as much as we all bitch about job, talk about how much we hate it and how unbearable it may be at times, at some point we must step back and look at a simple fact that not many can say today. Our jobs are relatively secure. That nature of the business dictates this facet. And if you are a pharmacist, you have quite literally little worry about applying for unemployment. It is one of the perks, if you wish to call it that, of the profession.
That being said one must wonder just where on Earth are we headed. We have become a society that is wasteful and selfish. Pharmacy is perhaps the epitome of this fact. Can someone explain to me why our state's medicaid will only pay for brand name Risperdal and Imitrex? How about only Xopenex being formulary? Do we really need Nexium when we have Omeprazole? Should they not be the first to jump on the lower cost bandwagon? I cannot fathom how they can be so wasteful with taxpayers money. Personally I am glad I am not a resident of this particular state and that my money does not go to such money pits. Yet this is what happens in numerous aspects of our cultures. We were blessed with many years of economic prosperity and seem to have forgotten that steps that brought us to that prosperity. We've taken it for granted and, in essence, have become lazy.
One of the reasons I voted for Obama was not that he was a democrat. It wasn't because I believed in his views 100%. It wasn't because he was African American. It wasn't because I was completely certain he was the better candidate. I voted for Obama because, to me, he appears to be the beacon of change. Whether or not it is for the good, I do not know. I am sure that we could not stay on the path we ride at the moment and expect to recover from our current situation. I believe massive changes are on the horizon and I am waiting rather impatiently for them.
Now what does this mean for us in pharmacy? I think it's time to start standing up to some of the bullshit we see on a daily basis. I know several pharmacists who call the state almost daily to ask them what the hell their problem is with their decision on Xopenex. Daily I hear of patients who are foregoing insulin and other needed meds just to save a few bucks.
This is more of a rambling post and I apologize for that. I have just become frustrated with our way of life and expectations. If I take solace in anything it is that this too shall pass. And when those changes finally do come... I'll be one of the first goddamn people on the front lines fighting for them.
4 comments:
Yup, I don't understand the price gouging either. This is interesting though. A customer came in tonight and asked about Aciphex. It was $136 for a 30-day supply. I told her Omeprazole was over the counter and works on the same problem. She told me her daughter had been on everything else and they did not work for her in particular. Now, I can't relate to you the differences between Omeprazole and Esomeprazole. All I know is that I have GERD and the Omeprazole takes care of it. Of course, I get it through the VA so I'm not paying much. I think the insurance company does this shit on purpose though because they believe nobody is paying attention. Take everyone off medicaid/medicare and see how fast sales plummet on medication. People would not pay for their medication and then some change will come about.
good post.
Esomeprazole IS Omeprazole. It is merely the S-enantiomer of omeprazole and it hasn't been proven to work any better.
I just looked that up. Apparently there is a Escitalopram. Now, your gonna have to forgive me. I'm not to this stage yet but If an Enantiomer is "one of a pair of optical isomers" than what am I looking at here? Esomeprazole IS Omeprazole. Escitalopram IS Citalopram. What is the claim of difference? If someone were to ask me what the companies say is different, what would I respond with?
Thanks in advance.
Omeprazole exists as a racemic mixture of S-Omeprazole and R-Omeprazole. When you injest Nexium, your body converts it into the same active drug as Omeprazole. As such you are effectively taking the same thing, it's just the initial structure that is different.
Celexa and Lexapro are yet another example of the same situation. So is Alubetrol and Xopenex. In a lot of ways it's Big Pharma's way of shafting the average joe who has little knowledge of chemistry. They look at it as being new and therefore better when in reality it's the same medication that's been around for years.
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