It’s no lie that there is a need for transparency in the healthcare industry. A few weeks ago, Discount Drug Network talked about the industry’s lack of financial transparency; this week, we will be talking about transparency in the prescribing habits of doctors.
Would you rather see a doctor who is willing to use generic drugs to help keep your prescription prices low or a doctor who prefers to prescribe expensive brand name drugs? Obviously, you would choose the doctor who prescribes less-expensive, yet just as effective drugs. Even more importantly, you would want to know if your doctor is up-to-date with what medications have negative counteractions with each other. No one would want to see a doctor who has a habit of prescribing medications that don’t mix well together.
Until recently, only pharmacy benefit managers had access to the prescribing habits of doctors. But now, thanks to extensive research, ProPublica, an investigative journalism firm, has produced an exhaustive list of doctors and their prescriptions.
If you’re looking for a doctor or have a referral to a doctor, ProPublica’s list should be an essential part of your research. Using their search tool, you can look up any doctor who wrote more than 50 prescriptions.
Are you not sure which drugs counteract negatively with one another? Visit Drugs.com to get a complete, updated list of every drug on the market, plus interactions.
If you have a loved one who is about to enter a nursing home or even if you are just looking to save some money by visiting a doctor who prefers generic drugs, visiting both ProPublica and Drugs.com should be high on your to-do list. And as always, you can save money on every FDA approved generic or brand name drug by using Discount Drug Network’s free prescription discount card, as well as the drug pricing tool on Discount Drug Network’s website.
