While pharmaceutical companies are largely blamed for high drug prices, athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush says a lot of this criticism is misplaced, reports Business Insider.
According to Mr. Bush, people don't think about the total cost associated with treating a patient when condemning innovative drugs hitting the market with hefty price tags. He believes if these drugs are keeping patients out of the hospital and offsetting the more expensive cost of surgery, they are worth the money.
"The only legitimacy of pharma in this next wave of healthcare is its ability to replace — to more than replace — hospital costs," Mr. Bush said, according to Business Insider. "I think if we get to a fix, if we get to more Medicare Advantage and more risk contracts, the opportunity for pharma is specifically measured by their ability to replace surgeries or hospital beds."
Mr. Bush also said physicians need to make more informed decisions and weigh price differences when choosing or prescribing drugs.
"There is no consequence to bad shopping decisions, which is the fundamental reason why you have such a sloppy fat supply chain," said Mr. Bush, according to the report.
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