athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush on what everyone gets wrong about high drug prices

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.


More articles on supply chain:

Trump vows to lower drug prices — pharma, biotech stocks drop
Medtronic, Fitbit join forces on mobile app to help individuals with diabetes
Trump's potential FDA chief has supported letting patients use drugs 'at their own risk': 7 things to know

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