Healthcare Hullabaloo: Bizarro #8

Remember SY Syms? He was the clothing magnate who used to advertise on TV with the tagline ‘an educated consumer is our best customer’.

I never understood what education had to do with discount double-knit polyester leisure suits, but ‘ol Sy sure used to move a lot of schamtas, so I’m certain there’s some correlation.

Sy understood that we’re a nation of consumers. He understood that we love a bargain. And that we want to get the most for our money. Most of us have learned (the hard way) the dangers of being an uninformed consumer.

I remember back in the 1970’s when my brother needed to by a new car. He came across a unique model neither of us have ever heard of before – a British model called an Austin Marina. It was a late model with low mileage and in excellent condition. The only defect was a dent in the roof above the driver’s door. Try as we might, we could never figure out how that dent got there. Well, the price was too good to be true, and my brother became the car’s new owner. Over the course of the next 3 weeks, the car broke down 4 times, costing my brother in repairs close to what he paid for the car. The fourth and final breakdown so agitated my brother that he got out of the car, swore, and slammed his fist down on the roof – dead center of the existing dent. Mystery solved.

Of course, nowadays, with the internet, he would have never have made the mistake of buying that lemon. A quick google of ‘Austin Marina’ shows that the car is universally recognized as a lemon. The British Automotive show ‘Top Gear’ has named the Marina ‘the worst car ever made’ and has taken glee in destroying a number of them on camera over the years – most notably by dropping a piano on them. In the 1990’s, it was determined that less than 1 in 1,000 Marinas ever sold were still on the road – making it the most scrapped car in British motoring history. Expensive lesson learned.

For many of us, even before the internet, the magazine ‘Consumer Reports’ has given us the tools to be an ‘educated consumer’. Their monthly product reviews and annual buying guides help us determine everything from what car to buy (or not to buy) to what is the best coffee maker or toaster oven. Many Americans read their publications religiously and depend on their expert reviews to make informed buying decisions.

The bizarre thing here is that few of us put as much research and effort into our health care purchases that we do when we purchase a new vacuum cleaner.

Fortunately, the good folks at Consumer Reports are out to change all of that. They recently published a report on prescription drugs and published it online for all to see. Everyone who takes prescription meds should check out this particular report – it’s a real eye opener:

http://www.consumerreports.org/health/best-buy-drugs/best-buy-drugs/generic-and-brand-drugs/index.htm

With Big Pharm spending close to 11 billion a year in advertising to consumers and physicians, it’s difficult for anyone to get unbiased information on the relative benefits of various prescription drugs – until now. Consumer Reports web site has let the cat out of the bag – and what a cat it is. It turns out that many so-called ‘generic’ drugs (that Consumer Reports have re-labeled ‘Best Buy’ drugs) are not only just as effective as their name brand counterparts. In some cases, these ‘Best Buy’ drugs are even more effective then the new name brand formulations that cost 50 to 75 times as much. As a further insult to Big Pharm, ‘best Buy’ drugs are also usually much safer than the new name brand meds. Their data is based on US Government reports and not on reports that were financed by Big Pharm.

If most Americans were to become ‘educated consumers’ and switch over to ‘Best Buy’ meds, we could make a real dent in the cost of health care. So if you take any prescription medications, be sure to read over Consumer Reports fascinating web site, and then discuss your findings with your doctor on your next visit. A few minutes of research might save you serious money. It might even save your life.

Just tell your Doctor that Sy sent you.

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