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SERMO Polls Reveal U.S. Doctors' Sentiments on Healthcare Issues at the Forefront of Policy DebatesAs candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton prepare to face off in their first presidential debate, SERMO, the leading global social network exclusively for physicians, polled its network of U.S. physicians on crucial healthcare issues facing the next administration. Poll Key Findings
"Conversations about the U.S. presidential election are dominating social media, and doctors are taking part in political discussions on topics ranging from EpiPen prices to gun policy every day on the SERMO network." said Osnat Benshoshan, SERMO's Chief Marketing Officer. "With election rhetoric boiling over, SERMO offers physicians an anonymous space to speak their minds, debate the issues, and consider the profound impacts that healthcare policies can have on doctors and patients among their peers." For an infographic of selected poll results, please click here.
Prescription Drug Pricing This month, SERMO polled 993 physicians on potential solutions to address skyrocketing drug prices. 65 percent of those surveyed agreed that pharmaceutical companies should be required to disclose their budgets for developing, manufacturing, distributing and advertising each of their products. A staggering 89 percent agreed that the FDA should expedite generic drug applications for competing products when the original drug has significantly jumped in price. When asked to select the best option from a slate of proposals to rein in drug prices without restricting the development of new treatments, doctors chose:
In October 2015, 1,594 SERMO member physicians responded to a SERMO poll on what they think should be done to lower drug costs. Fifty-six percent of the U.S. physicians polled believe the government should stop allowing drug companies to strike deals with generic drug makers that delay inexpensive versions of brand-name drugs. One pediatrician stated on the SERMO network that there is no silver bullet to solving the inflated pricing of prescription, noting, "This is a multidimensional problem that cannot just be laid at the feet of pharmaceutical companies alone. Pharma helps to design, study, and manufacture the meds. They o spend a great deal on marketing, as do all major players in most industries." Similarly, a family medicine physician added, "One of the main reasons that prices skyrocket is that big pharma companies have been allowed to buy up small pharma companies and create a monopoly on the manufacturing of these long lead-time, very cheap generics. They can then charge whatever they like for these meds. If it's not the responsibility of the FDA, then surely the FTC (News - Alert) should be stepping in to protect the public from price gouging. This is not free market level field competition, but a cornering of the market on certain drugs for which there is no comparable equivalent."
Opioid Abuse One U.S. physician suggested, "Utilizing PDMPs across state lines would enable prescribers to identify more easily those individuals seeking drugs for non-medically indicated usage." Doctors are more concerned about awareness of opiate antidotes like Naloxone (Narcan), the medication used to reverse the effects of opioids especially in overdose, than they are about access to those antidotes. An overwhelming 81 percent of physicians agreed that awareness campaigns to educate the public about Naloxone would be the most important step in the fight against opioid abuse.3 By contrast, only seven percent of physicians believed increased access to Naloxone for those at risk for overdose would be the top priority, and when asked whether Naloxone should be available over the counter, doctors were split 50/50.4
Affordable Care Act If the ACA were to be kept in place during the next president's term, 63 percent of physicians would want consumers to be able to purchase insurance across state lines. Furthermore, 62 percent of responding physicians support a proposed nationwide marketplace that would allow consumers in all 50 states to shop for health insurance, instead of each state having its own exchange.
Abortion One U.S. emergency medicine physician commented, "The passage of Roe v. Wade did not mean suddenly women got abortions; it reduced the number of women dying from abortions. Whether one thinks abortion is murder, unethical, against society's interests, or appropriate, it will continue to happen. Sanctioning it or not, if we go back to the days of back-alley abortions, it will be a grim spectacle." For more information on the methodology of SERMO polls, please visit http://www.sermo.com/polls.
About SERMO Learn more at www.SERMO.com
1 http://www.sermo.com/media/press-releases-view/73
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