NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Dr. Melissa McPheeters, PhD, MPH, will return to the permanent faculty of Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine, beginning July 1.

Forty-four states are suing 20 drug manufacturers, alleging price fixing of generic prescription drugs.

The requirement to disclose the list price of prescription drugs in advertisements aims to reduce prices paid by consumers. Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy explains to NBC News why disclosing drug prices might not result in lower costs to patients.

Bloomberg reports that while antibiotics are essential to many clinical treatments, pharmaceutical producers are growing more reluctant to produce them due in part to declining revenue potential.

  Dr. Bill Schaffner, MD, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious disease expert, explains to Consumer Reports why it's important to get a measles vaccine or booster. The U.S. was experiencing the worst outbreak of measles in nearly two decades.

In this April 29, 2019, article from Reuters Health, Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy, explains why rising drug prices for neurological conditions like epilepsy and multiple sclerosis can create potentially riskier situations for patients and higher rates of emergency department use for hospitals. 

Hospitals Stand to Lose Billions Under ‘Medicare for All’ Proponents held up signs as Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the Medicare for All bill in Washington this month.CreditAaron P. Bernstein/Reuters

 

This story is part of NewsChannel 5’s community initiative known as “Medical Debt Rescue." The goal of the project is to shed light on a lopsided medical debt system that has left thousands of Tennesseans with crippling debt and forced many into foreclosure, while also wiping $1.8 million dollars of medical debt in Middle Tennessee. Learn more about the initiative here. NASHVILLE, Tenn.