Is pharmacy getting ready to “step off shore”? Right now it is illegal to import drugs from off shore.. even though many are manufactured in other countries… even some of the brand names. In the past.. there has been numerous discussion about importing drugs from off shore.. Just looking at where we are trending over the last few years… The chains have been establishing central call centers and central fill centers.. leaving the “corner pharmacy” to be not much more than a “stat house”. Collectively, we are trying to “train” patients not to wait until the last minute to get their refills… mail order has done a great job in this regard… we have been pushing auto refills…. text messaging when ready and a whole host of programs that are de-personalizing the service that we provide and turning medication into a commodity. Look at the recent comments from the heads of MEDCO & ESI.. if there is a doubt.
Over the last 20-30 yrs.. we have been able to keep the amount being spent on medication growing at a fairly stable pace. A good reason for this is that we have been able to grow generic utilization 2% +/- per year… At one time… it was believed that 75% generic utilization was going to be the ceiling… recently have seen some saying that 85% is going to be the ceiling… none the less… we are quickly approaching that ceiling…. combined with that… the LAST of the baby boomers will be entering their 50’s in a couple of years… peak medication taking years.
As the total dollars spent on medication starts to grow faster than in the past… our system is going to seek a way to put the lid on this growth. India is a large producer of generics… what if Congress permitted the same drugs that are imported from these Indian source to be filled in India and sent via overnight air from India.
Imagine… with the internet communicating with a pharmacy in India is but a blink of a eye difference in time than doing so with one in the US. A patient first fills a maintenance med in the US… auto refills are set up in India… Nightly flights by UPS/Fed-X leave India with medication destined for the US… UPS central hub in Louisville KY and Fed-X central hub in Memphis… sorts the packages… for either delivery to the local pharmacy … or directly to the patient’s home/office.
Filed under: General dumb-ass problems
Are we there yet as my kids used to sa, lol YES!!! WE ARRIVED! California will meet on March 21 to discuss “offshore entities”! Look it up!!