Kevin Schulman, MD, is a renowned clinical researcher and faculty member of Duke General Internal Medicine. This week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows Dr. Schulman as co-author of a Viewpoint article titled "The Evolving Pharmaceutical Benefits Market." The second author is a colleague from Duke Law School, Barak D. Richman, JD.
Their paper analyzes how the pharmaceutical benefit managers (or PBMs) have become industrial behemoths in the US health sector. The authors discuss the growth of PBMs and what integration with medical benefits could mean for patients.
The article states:
"Continued scrutiny of business practices of PBMs and calls for transparency of pricing models in the pharmaceutical market will remain important to ensure that patients are protected and directly benefit from these major changes in the health care financing system"
Citation:
Schulman KA, Richman, BD. Options to Promote Competitive Generics Markets in the United States. JAMA. Published online April 6, 2018. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.4269. [Link]