PHARMACIST STEVE

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/250213.php

Here is a article stating that the in 2011 the average prescription price is approaching $80 each.

Here is CPI ( Consumer Price Index) information from the government  http://www.bls.gov/ro3/fax_9160.htm  whose base year is 1967..

Conveniently, 1967 was the first year that I worked in a pharmacy as a student and that summer I was given the task to do a Rx price survey for this particular store. Likewise, 1967 was a point in time just as Medicare/Medicaid was getting started and “drug cards” were unheard of and the term “generic” was generally considered a “dirty word”

The decade of the 70’s could probably be considered the first decade of  the “cost containment era”

The CPI index indicates that in 2011 prices – in general – were approximately SEVEN TIMES what they were in 1967

In 1967 Pharmacists were paid $5 -$6/hr (Minimum wage was $1.40) and the average Rx price was in the $4 -$5 (gross profit was 40% +/-)

Now we have some 70%-80% generics… total Rx volume has EXPLODED… computerization/automation is ubiquitous… no more Bates numbering machine or calculating prices by hand.

Looking at the “averages”… it would appear that the mechanism that  has evolved over four decades to “save money”  is  now costing us  $40/Rx to support

One has wonder how much more of this type of “savings”  our society can afford ?

Filed under: General Problems