Health: why drug pricing have generated huge profits

Wu Jie (doctor)

Source: health

        Who was behind drug profiteering? New wave, said guangdong provincial health department deputy director liao medicine is the result of the government pricing for artificially high. Questions about who is profiteering medicine behind, many netizens pointed the finger at the hospital, the doctor thought to be receiving kickbacks pushing up prices; Also been accused of drug centralized bidding and squeeze out the water price cannot effectively. Manifold new wave is that hospital is profiteering interests chain downstream of medicine, point out the source - the government department is priced artificially high prices. (March 4, the nanfang daily)

        To be fair, drug pricing, actually is not easy. On the one hand, drug research and development, not only has a high input, more need to bear the risk of failure, if drug pricing is too low, will inevitably weaken pharmaceutical research and producer's enthusiasm, so that the drug supply is difficult to meet the needs of the treatment of disease. On the other hand, once the drug prices too accommodating market, subject to completely, even drug makers with profit maximization as the goal, is hard to avoid formation of high drug prices, thereby limiting treatment and drug use rights of the public. See not hard, both to allow profits for pharmaceutical research and development manufacturing enterprise, and drug prices can allow the public to afford, how to achieve the right compromise between in the both sides of the battle, and fully guarantee the rights and interests of all parties, drug pricing how can take hold, definitely has some technology content.

        Not only that, but drug pricing since only pricing, and is a price ceiling, arguably can't set too low, otherwise, if the "ceiling price" as a "floor price", did some say don't in the past. Now that will allow profit margins for companies, some guidance price set too high, no no its rationality, blamed high drug prices on the price is too high, it is somewhat too hard.

        , however, is for medicine, profits will become the general phenomenon of drugs on the market, in addition to the medicine medicine, drug kickbacks, bidding issue, if drug pricing can be really appropriate, extruded and drug prices artificially high space, there would be no day price, profits to set aside too much space. From this perspective, how the drug pricing set? Why has the price, still can guide the day price and profits? In the face of profiteering medicine, guided prices at least to blame.

        Visible, drug pricing too high even if not the only cause of drug profits, is also an indispensable necessary premise. Because of the guided left a windfall profit space, profiteering medicine there is a possibility of a "legal" PanGaoZhi. Drug pricing purpose, it is limit drug profits in appropriate range, with reasonable and affordable prices supply patients. In this sense, for profiteering medicine provides space to hide the guided, clearly contrary to its purpose and principle.

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