[SHIBUMI]

When a doctor prescribes a medication, how come they are not required to tell you what it costs and what the side effects are?

This seems to me to be the ethical thing to do. The patient should not have to ask for this info, many just accept it.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

When a doctor prescribes a medication, how come they are not required to tell you what it costs and what the side effects are?

This seems to me to be the ethical thing to do. The patient should not have to ask for this info, many just accept it.

Because doctors aren't pharmacies. You're not getting the medication from the doctor. You're getting it from the pharmacy. Doctors don't know how much each medication costs at each pharmacy, and whether or not your insurance covers it, and if it does, if there's a co-pay or co-insurance, and if that depends on which pharmacy you choose to go to.

That's YOUR job. His job is to recommend the meds and provide a prescription. The costs are available at whichever pharmacy you choose, AND it's available on your insurance company's website, after you log in to your plan and check for your benefits.

[retiredguy123]

Once, I asked my doctor if I could switch to a newer medication. He said that I could, but it would cost more than $300 out-of-pocket. However, when I checked with Walgreens, they said that there is a generic, and my out-of-pocket cost would be $3. Go figure.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

When a doctor prescribes a medication, how come they are not required to tell you what it costs and what the side effects are?

This seems to me to be the ethical thing to do. The patient should not have to ask for this info, many just accept it.

Post #2 pretty much answered the first part of the question. But the second part concerning the side effects is I believe the one that is the most important, and not just from the drugs themselves but the interactions one drug might have with another.

Case in point: some years back I was hospitalized following an asthma attack. Went in via the ER on a Sunday evening, saw the Hospitalist on Monday morning. While looking at my chart she stopped and asked "when was _____ prescribed"? Turned out that the med she questioned had the effect of interfering with one of my asthma meds! The doc who had prescribed it a couple of months back before my hospitalization knew about my prescriptions but didn't make the connection. The hospitalist switched the drug she questioned with another one of the same family but didn't interfere with my asthma med. When I mentioned it to my G.P. she didn't say much, something to the effect that "that seems like a good plan".

[village dreamer]

i think your new plan, would be a new doctor.....

[SHIBUMI]

Doctors should know how much your medications cost!....... they prescribe enough of them!
There is a general price for a drug, forget the pharmacy, won't change that much.

They dont talk about costs so they can over bill medicaid. No where do they list their fees!
And they do that so they can over bill medicaid as well.

Smarten up. This is not ethical behavior.

More importantly as mentioned, side effects. You're telling me a doctor does not know the side effects of a drug they have prescribed. dah! Yea, let's just blame the pharmacies. If you knew the side effects you may have refused the drug. '
Naivete'.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Because doctors aren't pharmacies. You're not getting the medication from the doctor. You're getting it from the pharmacy. Doctors don't know how much each medication costs at each pharmacy, and whether or not your insurance covers it, and if it does, if there's a co-pay or co-insurance, and if that depends on which pharmacy you choose to go to.

That's YOUR job. His job is to recommend the meds and provide a prescription. The costs are available at whichever pharmacy you choose, AND it's available on your insurance company's website, after you log in to your plan and check for your benefits.

[Nell57]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Post #2 pretty much answered the first part of the question. But the second part concerning the side effects is I believe the one that is the most important, and not just from the drugs themselves but the interactions one drug might have with another.

Case in point: some years back I was hospitalized following an asthma attack. Went in via the ER on a Sunday evening, saw the Hospitalist on Monday morning. While looking at my chart she stopped and asked "when was _____ prescribed"? Turned out that the med she questioned had the effect of interfering with one of my asthma meds! The doc who had prescribed it a couple of months back before my hospitalization knew about my prescriptions but didn't make the connection. The hospitalist switched the drug she questioned with another one of the same family but didn't interfere with my asthma med. When I mentioned it to my G.P. she didn't say much, something to the effect that "that seems like a good plan".

Your pharmacist should have caught the drugs interaction and contacted your doctor. You need a better pharmacist.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

When a doctor prescribes a medication, how come they are not required to tell you what it costs and what the side effects are?

This seems to me to be the ethical thing to do. The patient should not have to ask for this info, many just accept it.

When my urologist prescribed a drug a couple of years ago he knew based on our insurance what many pharmacies would charge. The info is out there.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

Doctors should know how much your medications cost!....... they prescribe enough of them!
There is a general price for a drug, forget the pharmacy, won't change that much.

They dont talk about costs so they can over bill medicaid. No where do they list their fees!
And they do that so they can over bill medicaid as well.

Smarten up. This is not ethical behavior.

More importantly as mentioned, side effects. You're telling me a doctor does not know the side effects of a drug they have prescribed. dah! Yea, let's just blame the pharmacies. If you knew the side effects you may have refused the drug. '
Naivete'.

This topic is about prescription medicine and costs. The doctors don't mention the costs, because the doctors aren't in business to sell you medicine. Doctors don't sell prescription drugs. That's not their job. Pharmacies sell prescription drugs. That's their job.

Just like if I need a wig because of chemo, my doctor won't know the price of wigs. My doctor doesn't sell wigs. The wig store sells wigs.

Or if I buy a golf cart and the golf cart store says I can get a nice wrap on the body with butterflies and my name on the front, and recommends a custom wrap shop that can make and install one for me. The golf cart salesperson doesn't tell me how much the wrap shop will charge me for the wrap. The golf cart salesperson doesn't sell wraps, so knowing the price isn't his job. If I want to know the cost for the wrap, I get in touch with the wrap shop.

The doctor isn't a pharmacist. The doctor hasn't memorized every possible side effect of every prescription drug, just so that some day, if he meets you and prescribes something for you, he can tell you what side effects your prescription might cause you. Every prescription comes with "patient information." Every pharmacist is trained in helping you to understand your medications, and how they act, and interact with any other medication you might be taking. That is THEIR job.

It has nothing to do with overcharging medicare. It has everything to do with staying in your lane.

[MrFlorida]

I always ask the Dr. if a generic is available, always cheaper than the brand name drug.

[BrianL99]

Anyone who knows how prescription medicine works in most of the world, a good example being Canada, would know the answers to above questions.

In the USA, drug companies spend more than any other sector, for Lobbying in Washington, DC.

Financial Institutions, Lawyers & Drug companies, control the US Congress.

[SHIBUMI]

I am sorry if you have had to have chemo. It is life threatening. The topic here is not life threatening medical. It is just life improving as a doctor would say.

The doctor tells you, you will lose your hair. Your choice of cover is your choice of cover. Not related.

If the cart guy has only been in business one month, I get it. But if not, he would have run into others that wanted that done and is aware of a price range for that work. A range is the issue it doesn't have to be exact.

When a doctor suggest an injection of a drug that he gets and does without telling any side effects or costs, that is unethical. So you get a 5,000$ bill and some side effects you were unaware of and its nobodies fault!

Even if it were at the pharmacy, he knows a cost range. He looked up the drug to suggest it and he saw the possible side effects and mentioned neither.

If the patient had been informed by the doctor, the patient could have refused it.
By the time you buy it at the pharmacy, the money is spent, they give you papers to tell you possible side effects and its your problem.

Just asked the pharmacist, when a doctor prescribes a drug are they aware of its side effects and approx. cost. She answered YES! They have that information. And the pharmacy does not determine the prices on drugs. Insurance companies determine the prices on drugs.

The bottom line point here is, everything starts with the Doctor. Ethically he should tell you about possible side effects, he recommended the drug, AND he should give you a price range for the drug. At that point the patient has enough info to accept or refuse the suggestion. It's just that simple.....

So given the current beliefs, the suggestion is for you to ask those two questions when getting medication suggestions. What is the approx. cost and what are the side effects..........wisdom first....

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

This topic is about prescription medicine and costs. The doctors don't mention the costs, because the doctors aren't in business to sell you medicine. Doctors don't sell prescription drugs. That's not their job. Pharmacies sell prescription drugs. That's their job.

Just like if I need a wig because of chemo, my doctor won't know the price of wigs. My doctor doesn't sell wigs. The wig store sells wigs.

Or if I buy a golf cart and the golf cart store says I can get a nice wrap on the body with butterflies and my name on the front, and recommends a custom wrap shop that can make and install one for me. The golf cart salesperson doesn't tell me how much the wrap shop will charge me for the wrap. The golf cart salesperson doesn't sell wraps, so knowing the price isn't his job. If I want to know the cost for the wrap, I get in touch with the wrap shop.

The doctor isn't a pharmacist. The doctor hasn't memorized every possible side effect of every prescription drug, just so that some day, if he meets you and prescribes something for you, he can tell you what side effects your prescription might cause you. Every prescription comes with "patient information." Every pharmacist is trained in helping you to understand your medications, and how they act, and interact with any other medication you might be taking. That is THEIR job.

It has nothing to do with overcharging medicare. It has everything to do with staying in your lane.

[Teleplayer]

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

I always ask the Dr. if a generic is available, always cheaper than the brand name drug.

That question is better asked at the pharmacy.

[Teleplayer]

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

I am sorry if you have had to have chemo. It is life threatening. The topic here is not life threatening medical. It is just life improving as a doctor would say.

The doctor tells you, you will lose your hair. Your choice of cover is your choice of cover. Not related.

If the cart guy has only been in business one month, I get it. But if not, he would have run into others that wanted that done and is aware of a price range for that work. A range is the issue it doesn't have to be exact.

When a doctor suggest an injection of a drug that he gets and does without telling any side effects or costs, that is unethical. So you get a 5,000$ bill and some side effects you were unaware of and its nobodies fault!

Even if it were at the pharmacy, he knows a cost range. He looked up the drug to suggest it and he saw the possible side effects and mentioned neither.

If the patient had been informed by the doctor, the patient could have refused it.
By the time you buy it at the pharmacy, the money is spent, they give you papers to tell you possible side effects and its your problem.

Just asked the pharmacist, when a doctor prescribes a drug are they aware of its side effects and approx. cost. She answered YES! They have that information. And the pharmacy does not determine the prices on drugs. Insurance companies determine the prices on drugs.

The bottom line point here is, everything starts with the Doctor. Ethically he should tell you about possible side effects, he recommended the drug, AND he should give you a price range for the drug. At that point the patient has enough info to accept or refuse the suggestion. It's just that simple.....

So given the current beliefs, the suggestion is for you to ask those two questions when getting medication suggestions. What is the approx. cost and what are the side effects..........wisdom first....

And the doctor is not privy to how much your particular insurance will pay for your drugs. They -may- be able to give you an estimate, but not an exact price.

Pt's insurance plans change all of the time.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

When a doctor prescribes a medication, how come they are not required to tell you what it costs and what the side effects are?

This seems to me to be the ethical thing to do. The patient should not have to ask for this info, many just accept it.

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

Doctors should know how much your medications cost!....... they prescribe enough of them!
There is a general price for a drug, forget the pharmacy, won't change that much.

They dont talk about costs so they can over bill medicaid. No where do they list their fees!
And they do that so they can over bill medicaid as well.

Smarten up. This is not ethical behavior.

More importantly as mentioned, side effects. You're telling me a doctor does not know the side effects of a drug they have prescribed. dah! Yea, let's just blame the pharmacies. If you knew the side effects you may have refused the drug. '
Naivete'.

Originally Posted by SHIBUMI

I am sorry if you have had to have chemo. It is life threatening. The topic here is not life threatening medical. It is just life improving as a doctor would say.

The doctor tells you, you will lose your hair. Your choice of cover is your choice of cover. Not related.

If the cart guy has only been in business one month, I get it. But if not, he would have run into others that wanted that done and is aware of a price range for that work. A range is the issue it doesn't have to be exact.

When a doctor suggest an injection of a drug that he gets and does without telling any side effects or costs, that is unethical. So you get a 5,000$ bill and some side effects you were unaware of and its nobodies fault!

Even if it were at the pharmacy, he knows a cost range. He looked up the drug to suggest it and he saw the possible side effects and mentioned neither.

If the patient had been informed by the doctor, the patient could have refused it.
By the time you buy it at the pharmacy, the money is spent, they give you papers to tell you possible side effects and its your problem.

Just asked the pharmacist, when a doctor prescribes a drug are they aware of its side effects and approx. cost. She answered YES! They have that information. And the pharmacy does not determine the prices on drugs. Insurance companies determine the prices on drugs.

The bottom line point here is, everything starts with the Doctor. Ethically he should tell you about possible side effects, he recommended the drug, AND he should give you a price range for the drug. At that point the patient has enough info to accept or refuse the suggestion. It's just that simple.....

So given the current beliefs, the suggestion is for you to ask those two questions when getting medication suggestions. What is the approx. cost and what are the side effects..........wisdom first....

Please stick to golf. Then read OBB's responses 10 times and memorize them, because the above is the biggest pile of crap I've since tracking elephants in Botswana.

PS: there is a difference between "side effects" and "drug-drug interactions" as well as their severity and likelihood. Also just because some rando hospitalist stated there was such an interaction, by no means can be interpreted that it was the cause of a specific asthmatic exacerbation.