Courtney Carlson BUS 345-01

Three Interesting Things: 1.)  I find it interesting that plans that have a general annual deductible only applies it to certain services such as non preventative care. For those events that do not require a deductible then the person has to pay a copayment or coinsurance. This makes me wonder why vehicle insurance is the opposite in the fact that if any accident happens to your vehicle then you have to pay your deductible but yet insurance does not cover care to the care such as oil changes, tire renewal, or brake fluid. I feel that comparing the two types of insurance shows the benefits and flaws to them....inpatient services : copay = $326, coinsure = 20%, doctors appt: copay = $40, coinsur = 19%, prescription: copay = $11,$33, $123 2.) I thought it was interesting how many businesses offer supplemental care such as dental, vision, and critical illness care. Of large firms 92% offered dental, 83% offered vision, and 62% offered critical. Of small firms 59% offered dental, 44% ...

This week we learned about Federal Regulation with Dr. Baker. When it comes to regulation there is much to take in because there are many boxes to check state and federal wise. The US is one of the most efficient countries when it comes to regulating the drugs brought to market. The reason for doing so is because with healthcare resources being so scarce, there is no room for medical errors. This means that the regulatory committees want to get drugs to patients that are safe and effective that will not cause controversy in the future. The FDA's job is to decide what is actually considered a drug, whether this drug is going to need a prescription or can be over the counter, double check marketing efforts of the drug, and then finally make sure that all drugs that need proper FDA documentation have it. To those trying to experiment with drugs, they may see this process to be over bearing but it is specifically put in place to make sure that patients are receiving proper care. The ov...

Three Interesting Things: 1.) I think it is interesting that samples were even allowed in the beginning. Once a drug is taken to market there has been so much research done to prove that this drug is safe and effective. Why would the manufacturing company want to risk the work they did in a clinical trial by distributing samples with improper instructions on how to store or package the drug. 2.) I find it interesting the drugs cannot be imported into the country due the fact that the FDA has not regulated them on safety and efficacy. This makes me understand more how individuals with certain conditions seek treatment in other countries because those therapies cannot be done in the US based on regulatory grounds. Unless they are imported in small doses and for serious conditions, they cannot be used in the US. I guess this could stop patients fro importing drugs not yet regulated and then reselling them to others for profit. 3.) I think it is interesting how the E-Sign has caused suc...

This semester we have touched base on many topics that relate broadly to the different aspects of the industry that all of us, as Pharm. B students, would be interested in for our future endeavors. The topics we have touched on are the pharmaceutical economy basics, health care professions, the drug discovery process, FDA regulation and approval of drugs and medical devices, drug utilization, physician & pharmacist relationships, and pharmacoeconomics.  The sections that most prevailed to me were pharamcoeconomics, drug discovery and its regulation process, and then health care professions and their relations with one another. When it comes to the industry, this class has taught me the essentials of how decisions are made and the factors that go behind it. Much of these decisions are based on "time, cost, and scope" according to what Roland Ortegon said during his lecture. Decisions must be made in a quick manner in order to get products to market for patient consumption ...

This week we learned about some of the behind the scenes work that is done in the pharmaceutical industry. Our first speaker was Dr. Shcherbakova who gave us a presentation on Pharmacoeconomics while out second speaker Dr. Houseman gave us his insight on the collaboration between pharmacists and physicians as well as drug utilization. All though both focused in different aspects of the industry, they both touched on topics that we have brought up in the past. Dr. Shcherbakova described pharmacoeconomics as looking at the costs and then the consequences of a drug as it is making its way to market. Cost is extremely critical in the industry because of the sheer fa that health resources are scare and they have to spent wisely. There is no wiggle room when it comes to spending which means that manufacturers have to get drugs to market for the least amount of money but also make sure that quality is still being represented. In order to do so there are a multitude of cost studies done depe...

Three Interesting Things: 1.) I think it is interesting the pharmacists are pushing to get more justification in the field of writing or editing prescriptions. When Dean Welch was here we touched on this concept and wondering whether this would effect the schooling of a pharmacist. They might have to take more disease state classes or be more involved in the medical rounds aspects in order to gain the excess information needed to write a prescription. I find the fact that they want to expand their limits interesting because they are crossing over a fine line that was made for a reason. 2.) One of the articles talked about how the pharmacists are at fault too because there are not enough educated pharmacists in the trade that know about all the drug interactions and the side effects that come with them. They referred to the uneducated pharmacists as "soda water dispensers, cigar, and soap sellers". If I am understanding this correctly this is referring to whole sale or commu...

This week we had two speakers come in who both had experience in the industry and both happened to be in the manufacturing side. Dr. Bose dove into the aspect of drug manufacturing while Dr. Gettens focused on the medical device manufacturing side. For both industries there is much oversight and regulation that goes into getting these product to market both safely and effectively. I think when it comes to the drug approval process there is much more entailed then in the medical device industry. Although both harp on the concept that all final products have to have legitimate proof that they are safe and effective, the drug process is much more extensive and taxing. Not only does it cost millions of dollars and take many years, there is a lot of excess time and effort put into to training employees, proper documentation, and general maintenance. During Dr. Bose's presentation he talked a lot about SOP and GMPC which are standard operational practices and good manufacturing practic...

Three Interesting Things: 1.) I think it is interesting that both drugs and medical devices are documented in the US Pharmacopoeia. I assumed that they would be classified in different areas because of their difference as well as the vast amounts of both that there are. 2.)I find it interesting that the FDA is trying to modernize the clearing process into the market since they allow class I to II or moderate to low risk devices to not have to be approved but rather cleared instead. I would think that you would want to clear and approve everything just to be safe. Even though devices can be low risk that does not mean the a problem can occur that could cause a bigger issues for manufacturers. From what I have read in the last two weeks it seems as the the FDA and other regulatory committees have "beat around the bush" in some ways to expedite the process to market. 3.) I think it is interesting that there are much connections between approval processes of drugs verses medi...