Episode 15 - Controlling Drug Prices and Working at the Population Level

As the panelists suggest methods to help control the costs of agents for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and improve patient care, Gary M. Owens, MD, explains that the US needs to aggressively review a drug’s cost versus its value and make products that do not provide outcomes sufficient to their costs more difficult for clinicians to access and treat patients with.

Dr Owens explains that because clinicians treat their MS patients at a population level, clinical guidelines are a necessity.

Leslie Fish, PharmD, agrees and believes that it is important that healthcare professionals receive clinical data about treatment effectiveness for certain patient populations.

Patricia K. Coyle, MD, suggests that improvements in MS disease activity biomarkers can also help clinicians make more educated decisions about treatment.