A recent poll, collectively carried out by USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, has revealed that 40% of Americans have difficulty affording essential prescriptive medicine.
The nationally representative telephone survey of 1695 adults, aged 18 or over, was undertaken in January of this year in the United States. Half of the participants were found to regularly take at least one medication. The research concluded that the high cost of prescriptive medicine has serious implications with 29% of individuals not filing a prescription due to these high prices and around 23% cutting pills in half or skipping doses in order to make their medication last for a longer period of time. This can potentially lead to a considerably increased health risk as a result of the vital drug treatment not being administered.
The pharmaceutical trade is unarguably a multi-billion dollar industry. The use of prescriptive medicine is extensive, with half of all adults taking at least one prescription drug daily. Eight in ten Americans concur that the cost of these prescription drugs is unreasonable – a large proportion questioning the pharmaceutical companies’ motivation and their overpowering concern with revenue. The study found there to be mixed opinion with regards to the pharmaceutical companies themselves – 47% favourably viewing the industry. They are thought of as carrying out their research complying with ethical and moral regulations, with the testing and monitoring of drug production believed to be at a high standard, as would be expected. A slightly lower percentage of the public, 44%, view the companies in a negative light. Making a comparison across the professions, they are viewed as faintly more favourable than health insurers but extensively less than doctors.
Despite there being a large number of individuals that possess this attitude, there is a clear optimistic consensus that drug developments over the past 20 years have improved the lives of people in the States. In a number of cases their availability has reduced the need for expensive medical procedures and/or hospitalisation. There are clearly implausible benefits from prescriptive medication, which is highly valued.
Over the years, the progress made in scientific research and development is outstanding. This is not contestable. The problem lies in affordability; resulting in many calling for stricter governmental regulation to place a limitation on the individual has to pay for required medicine.
This poll was the third in a series of polls conducted by USA Today/Kaiser Family/Harvard. The whole report can be viewed at http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/pomr030408pkg.cfm.
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