Abstract
PATIENT concern over drug prices frequently finds expression in questions asked of their physicians. What responses can be given? It is good to recognize the pervasive role of drugs in the lives of most patients. The total sales of prescription drugs in 1974 was more than $5 billion. The average patient received eight prescriptions in that year; the patient over 65 years old may have received 15 or more prescriptions. In addition, some $3.5 billion worth of nonprescription drugs were sold. The prescription drug has other characteristics that make it vulnerable to patient complaint. Remember that the patient first visits his physician, and then still must get his prescription filled. Also, as has been pointed out before by others, prescription drugs are unusual in being one commodity where the person who chooses is not the one who pays. To place these expenses in perspective, it is well to remember that
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