ABSTRACT
During the 1980s the average prescription drug price increased at nearly three times the general inflation rate. As a result, Representatives Byron L. Dorgan and Pete Stark asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to examine price increases for twenty-nine widely used drugs that are commonly purchased by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as well as by the general public. Pharmaceutical manufacturers have real concerns about protecting their uniquely remunerative position among American industries. The drug companies are increasingly squeezed by institutional buyers who demand and get deep discounts. Corporate mergers, joint operations, buyouts, and reorganizations are a major part of the strategy to preserve profit margins. Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York offers an array of continuing medical education (CME) classes to help physicians earn enough CME hours to retain specialty certifications and hospital privileges and to keep their medical licenses current. Physicians consider peer-reviewed medical journals to be one of their primary sources for unbiased medical information.
