Opinion

You think retail pharmacy’s got it tough? Take a look at what the drug companies are up against:

Expiring drug patents

Increasing pricing pressure

Lower reimbursement rates

Laborious new drug launch processes

Black-box warnings

Endless reams of bad press

Prescription drug revenue growth is down; script growth is anemic

Few new blockbusters on the horizon

Why not? I did. I stole every idea from Health and Human Services secretary Mike Leavitt, CMS acting administrator Kerry Weems, Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri and a few others earlier this month in Boston at the National E-prescribing Conference, hosted by CMS and some 34 other co-sponsors, including NACDS and NCPA. The two-day event focused on the potential electronic prescribing has to help fix so much of what is wrong with health care in America today.