Sameer Awsare, MD, Shares How High Drug Pricing Can Affect Patient Health

Rising health care costs are driving many policy conversations, and prescription drug pricing is no exception. Sameer Awsare, MD, associate executive director, The Permanente Medical Group, joined other experts invited by the Alliance for Health Policy for a web event to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the generic and “biosimilar” market, how past administrations have approached this issue, and how different stakeholders are affected.

Biosimilar drugs are highly similar with only minor differences in clinically inactive components.

In a recap of the event in Fierce Healthcare, Dr. Awsare shared the story of a patient who struggled to afford expensive prescriptions. His patient had poor medication adherence because she couldn’t afford to take her medications daily. She became sicker and ended up going to the emergency room.

“High drug prices are actually affecting the decisions my patients are making,” Dr. Awsare said. “As a physician, this puts me in a tough position.” It’s really affecting their lives, he added.

To read more about Dr. Awsare’s participation in the Alliance for Health Policy event, visit the Fierce Healthcare site. To watch a recording of the event, click here.