BNURS20 Nursing Care

Prescription drugs are sold in the United States over the counter and bring in revenue for the pharmaceutical industry. The news article in my review is prescription drugs prices and its burden on the American citizen(Sarah,2018). The Vox, May 10^th 2018 published a news article regarding the cost of Humira a prescription drug by the generic name Adalimumab used to treat arthritis, psoriasis and ulcerative colitis. The cost of Humira in the United States is $2669 which extremely expensive compared to other countries. The United States lacks an agency to review and control the prices of drugs which makes it easy for pharmaceutical companies to sell low benefits drugs at a very expensive price.

The United States doesn’t regulate the prices of drugs in the pharmaceutical industry as this will lead to reduced profits hence minimal research in the particular field. It will also cause a low number of investors who are willing to engage in drug trials. However, in other countries such as Australia and Britain, there is tight and strict regulation regarding drug prices by considering their efficacy and side effects. These countries also ensure that the drug is available to the citizens regardless of the income. In the United States, some drugs with minimal efficacy are sold at high prices and they are covered by Medicare insurance as long as they have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

According to Trooskin, Reynolds and Kostman(2015) hepatitis C drugs are too expensive in the United States and insurance companies are reluctant to pay for the drugs. This raises ethical concerns about the people who are unable to raise high amounts of money. It is the right of every human being to access drugs to improve their health. Limiting the access of essential drugs in a bid to retain investors for research is unethical. Kesselheim, Avorn and Sarpatwari(2016) state that the high costs of prescription drugs in America is due to the monopoly of the Food Drug and Administration board.

Another ethical concern is the availability of expensive drugs with low efficacy and many side effects. There has been a concern about the availability of drugs whose efficacy is reduced and this has resulted in spending too much money on medications that are not effective yet they are in the market. The need for a regulating agency is imminent to control the prices of drugs while at the same time rejecting drugs that lack efficacy.

The community health nurse has a role in championing for the rights of the patients against exorbitant costs of drugs and insurance companies. The nurse should reach out to relevant authorities such as America Nursing Association and raise her concerns on the high costs of the prescription drugs.Choi(2015) states that the nurse is the advocate of the patient, therefore, having networks to access with subsidized prices for prescription drugs for those who can’t afford.

Conclusion

Prescription drugs in the United States of America are expensive limiting their access to the majority of the patients hence undermining the right to health. It is important for the nurse to act in terms of policy making to change these tough terms regarding prescription drugs.

References

Choi, P. P. (2015). Patient advocacy: the role of the nurse. Nursing Standard (2014+), 29(41), 52.

Kesselheim, A. S., Avorn, J., & Sarpatwari, A. (2016). The high cost of prescription drugs in the United States: origins and prospects for reform. Jama, 316(8), 858-871.

Sarah K.,(2018, May 10).The true story of America’s sky-high prescription drug prices.The Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/11/30/12945756/prescription-drug-prices-explained.

Trooskin, S. B., Reynolds, H., & Kostman, J. R. (2015). Access to costly new hepatitis C drugs: medicine, money, and advocacy. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 61(12), 1825-1830.