Prescription Drugs: Related Links
Developed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, kaiserEDU gives health policy students and faculty easy access to data, literature, news, and developments regarding major health policy topics and debates. While kaiserEDU.org is targeted to the academic community, it provides a wealth of information that can be used as an integral part of an educational program, as an additional source for independent research, or as background material for a variety of audiences.
Patients not Patents Patents on drugs, biologics, and medical devices increase health care costs, putting them out of reach for many individuals and leaving patients without adequate treatment. Patients not Patents challenges the validity of medical patents before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and educates the public about how patents affect health care availability. The Patients not Patents Web site tracks the progress of patent requests, offers updates on the industry, and outlines the organization’s efforts to reduce barriers to affordable health care.
The Prescription Access Litigation Project (PAL) was created to make prescription drugs more affordable for consumers by undertaking class action litigation against prescription drug companies and their exorbitantly priced brand-name drugs. The initiative targets pharmaceutical companies that use various unfair and illegal practices, such as keeping generics drugs off the market, maintaining patents beyond their legal life, and deceptive advertising, to maintain excessively high prescription drug prices. Community Catalyst, state-based consumer health care advocacy organizations, and senior citizen groups from across the country have come together to launch PAL.
Prescription Project of Community Catalyst: The Prescription Project advocates at both the state and national levels for policies that are designed to reduce conflicts of interest in the medical profession and to appropriately expand the use of evidence-based medicine to maximize benefits and minimize risks to patients.
