Patient/doctor dialog on Rx drug prices call

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has expressed its support for "efforts to make sure patients and [health  care] providers have high-quality information to guide their treatment  and health-care decisions. As noted by the Consumers Union, there is an  'enormous' volume of evidence available on prescription drugs."

The CU issued an opinion poll, which found that only 4% of respondents  had discussed the price of a drug with their physician at the point of  prescribing, and 60% only finding out at the payment point in a pharmacy  what the cost would be. The advocacy group's Consumer Reports magazine  carries a report of cheaper medicines, usually generics, across 20  therapeutic classes.

However, the CU's backing of a federal government-led comparative  effectiveness initiative is more controversial. Senator Tom Coburn  (Republican, Oklahoma), a physician and member of the Senate's Health,  Education, Labor and Welfare Committee, warned: "they're going to look  at cost, just like England does, and say, 'we can't afford it so we  won't do it'."