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news.A new act has been introduced in both the US Senate and the House of Representatives, which aims to provide federal funding for programs that enable doctors and other health professionals to receive unbiased information on prescription drugs, according to PharmaTimes.
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Under the Independent Drug Education and Outreach Act (IDEA) of 2008, new programs will be established to train pharmacists, nurses and other health care professionals about the relative risks, benefits and costs of prescription drugs, including generics.
These healthcare professionals who will be recruited from medical schools and other non-profit organizations will then disseminate the independent, scientific research-based data gained about the drugs to all doctors and physician groups spread across the country.
The legislators who introduced the bill also cited a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which has projected that, for every dollar spent on academic detailing, two dollars could be saved in drug costs.
The legislators also contend that the new bill will help lower healthcare costs, as generic drugs are more likely to be prescribed compared to the branded drugs when doctors are better informed about the full range of drugs available on the market. They also hope that by providing all round information about the drugs to the physicians, the new bill will help improve the quality of healthcare and reduce the cost of prescription drugs in America.
PharmaTimes has quoted Scott Serota, CEO of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of health insurers, as saying: “Providing doctors with information based on independent, clinical research will help patients get the best treatment, and improve safety and affordability of healthcare for everyone.”