Many docs give in when patients want brand drugs

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Doctors often cave in to patients’ requests for brand-name prescription drugs even when generic versions are available, a new study suggests – a tendency that adds billions in costs for patients and the health system. “This is, by definition, a wasteful expense,” said the report’s lead author, Eric Campbell, from Harvard Medical School in Boston. “Doctors have the professional responsibility not to waste scarce medical resources,” he told Reuters Health. “We have to educate doctors and patients about how wasteful this practice is.” The U.S. …

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