The Panini Parade

Want to see your health care dollars at work? It’s easy – just go see the ‘Panini Parade’





On almost any given weekday, go to your local trendy bistro around 11:30 in the mooring – right before lunch. For best results, choose a restaurant near a major hospital or medical center. Then watch for the cute blonde 20-something women in a business suits picking up large lunch orders. In a particularly busy restaurant, there may be enough of them to start a small parade.

Now, most of these lithe cuties look like they haven’t eaten a full meal in years, but they will be picking up lunch orders that cost hundreds of dollars and pay for them with their corporate credit cards.

Who are these women? Why, they are drug company representatives, buying lunch for an entire medical office just so they can get the doctor’s ear for a few minutes, and convince them to prescribe their company’s medications. Their hot bods, bubbly, flirtatious nature and trays of delectable goodies are a time-proven way to get the doctor’s ear. Amazingly, these free spending sweetie pies may represent only one particular drug!

Their generosity does not stop at lunch – they gleefully dispense tickets to the play or ballgame, or other tantalizing goodies.

How can they afford to do this? Economics! Let’s look at some of the most widely prescribed drugs and the modal cost per pill:

LIPITOR 40 MG TABLET ...$5.23
NEXIUM 40 MG CAPSULE ..$7.17
LEXAPRO 20 MG TABLET ..$4.00
SINGULAIR 5 MG TABLET CHEW ..$5.73
AMBIEN 10 MG TABLET ..$6.20
PREVACID 30 MG CAPSULE DR ..$6.43
PLAVIX 75 MG TABLE ..$6.33
VALTREX 1 GM CAPLET ..$15.20
LUNESTA 3 MG TABLET ..$7.97


(Source: NJ Attorney Generals Office)

https://www6.state.nj.us/LPSCA_DRUG/search.jsp

This is the MODAL RETAIL PRICE PAID (or in simpler terms, the price most commonly paid) per PILL (ONE PILL) by consumers in my area. Some pharmacies charge significantly more per pill.

When you realize that the average 30 day prescription is for 30 to 60 pills – wow – those lunches are paid for when the doctor writes just one lousy prescription. Factor in that a busy doctor might treat (and prescribe for) 30-40 patients per shift, each patient might get 2 or 3 different prescriptions, and these prescriptions may have 3 or 4 renewals, and wow – the money piles up faster then smoked turkey on cibada bread.

Hurray! Hand tossed salads and Broccoli Cheddar soup for everyone!



Oh, some of you will say ‘pharmaceutical companies don’t do that anymore – they are really cracking down on this practice’. SSSHHH! I won’t tell if you won’t – it still goes on, albeit a bit more quietly then before. Don’t believe me? Just visit that trendy bistro right before lunch and enjoy the parade!


Just be sure to take your prescription antacid before you go – the sight of these parades really can get your stomach juices churning! And the next time you visit your doctor, make sure that he or she thanks you for lunch. After all, recalling Star Trek Economics, you paid for a little bite of that panini sandwich.

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