Drug prices continue to rise in the US. Many solutions have been proposed but few have been implemented. Drs. Janet Woodcock from the FDA and Aaron Kesselheim, author of The High Cost of Prescription Drugs in the United States from the Harvard Medical School discuss the role of brand name drugs and generics and how they influence the cost of pharmaceuticals.

Also see The Cost of US Pharmaceutical Price Reductions: A Financial Simulation Model of R&D Decisions by Thomas A. Abbott and John A. Vernon.

Edward H. Livingston, MD, discusses the British Columbia Ministry of Health’s 2015 guidelines on clinical management of opioid use disorder in adults with Keith Ahamad, MD,  Evan Wood, MD, PhD, ABIM, FRCPC, Tony L. Yaksh, PhD, and Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, MS, MACP, FACOI.

Articles and resources discussed in this episode: 

• Opioid Use and Addiction Microsite
• Clinical Management of Opioid Use Disorder (JAMA Clinical Guidelines Synopsis)
• The Vancouver Opioid Use Disorder Guideline
• Model Policy on DATA 2000 And Treatment of Opioid Addiction in the Medical Office