10 cents for an antibiotic pill: 'unaffordable'. Thousands of $ for a preventable hospitalisation or death? Not a problem.
On the sheer financial stupidity of the current approach to medication costs.
A year ago, the current government eliminated free prescriptions for New Zealanders. Because it would save some money. Even though there was plenty of literature showing this was a stupid decision. Stupid from a financial point of view, ignoring any concerns about patient well-being.
There were international studies that showed when people get “free” antibiotics, they are less likely to get sicker, require ED visits, hospitalisation, or die. What’s even more amazing than the evidence in the international medical literature was the fact that there were actually studies specifically from New Zealand looking at this question. Giving people free meds, for example cheap antibiotics, prevents some/many of them from getting worse and ending up with big, severe, expensive infections.
So what did this current government do? The same as any neoliberal/austerity/rightwing/conservative/ ‘looking out for the wealthy’ government would do: cancel the free medications to save a few bucks in the short-term. It’s “good business” from a business-savvy government, they said. Bollocks.
Well, now we’re seeing the trickle-down effect of this. A NZ ED being told they can give away a course of antibiotics to just one needy patient per day. It’s not a typo, it’s the state of things in our essential public services under the current government. There is only instant and unquestioned money for landlord taxbreaks, apparently. $2.9 billion of that.
After all, antibiotics aren’t free and it comes out of the budget, you know. And it’s a time of budget cutbacks.
Dear readers, these antibiotics cost approximately 10 cents per pill. $2 for an entire ten-day course.
$2 to prevent rheumatic heart (valve) disease that could require a $30,000 aortic valve replacement decades from now. $2 to prevent a cellulitis from a minor cut causing sepsis (bloodborne infection) requiring hospitalisation. $2 to prevent the occasional septic shock, $20,000 ICU stay, and death. Or just injury and suffering impacting someone’s ability to raise their kids, or work a job.
Absolutely mind-boggling levels of financial ineptitude bordering on the edge of ludicrous.
This ultimately goes right back to the top: to the foolish government decision to charge people $5 for medications that could save the public healthcare system literally millions in preventable costs not to mention lost productivity…not to mention unnecessary suffering…just unbelievable. But not unexpected.
-Dr Gary Payinda
Remember, these antibiotics come out of ED budget.... So less money for other Ed necessities.
If the patient is discharged home and doesn't get their meds at all, that doesn't come out of ED budget. Sure they bounce back sicker, but no direct financial penalty to ED.
So they've created an incentive to NOT do the best thing for the patient.
It's inhumane and fiscally insane.
It's insane, but look at all their other policy where evidence is dismissed (if even acknowledged to begin with) in favour of idology or just 'reckons'. Have had some interaction with the public hospitals in the past couple of weeks, supporting a relative who was admitted, and the one constant has been brilliant staff, working so hard, in plainly under-resourced facilities.