Dear Dr. Massimo Scaccabarozzi,
Is it possible that companies penalized in this way do not care about the fate of thousands of employees or collaborators, but play around with the sale of company branches? Is it possible that it is unthinkable to legitimately sponsor and organize a large demonstration in Rome against the massacre in the pharmaceutical sector? Is it possible that you don't realize the limitation of individual freedom on the choice of drug? For example: if my doctor prescribes atenolol, my pharmacist can offer me a generic from an unknown company, perhaps produced in Cambodia, on which, however, he probably has interesting extra discounts... Having had (real fact) tachycardia problems with generics, I refuse them and want Tenormin by paying the difference, however the pharmacist may no longer supply it to me, I repeat: even if I paid the difference, as the doctor did not specify the brand drug. If instead I were a new patient and the doctor wanted to start a therapy with atenolol, with the newly approved decree the same doctor is obliged to prescribe the active ingredient and the pharmacist, therefore, would have to give me a generic of his choice which could change continuously according to his commercial interest: if I were educated, for my health, I would demand Tenormin and, therefore, I would not run the risk of having the sudden changes in frequency due to the continuous changes of the generic by the pharmacist. Let's spread a pitiful veil over the "RIGHT MOTIVATION" request to be able to write, by doctors, "NOT REPLACEABLE": the diligent and co-interested (rewards?) bureaucrats of the Pharmaceutical Offices are ready to challenge any justification with exhausting litigation. Is it possible that in a state, which in words is liberal, it is accepted that there is a sector, that of GENERIC DRUGS, which is in the hands of foreign companies for the 95%, protected and not subject to competition which instead could finally improve even the generic drug itself? Is it right to allow the pharmacist, out of thirst for profit, to make a bundle of all the generic companies (some, few, valid) of each herb? We could perhaps ask the incompetent Minister (has he ever been in business? Has he ever created a job?) to also propose generic salami, generic apricots, generic toilet paper, generic small cars, etc, etc…. we could offer these genericized goods on the market without VAT or deductible from Irpef to make them more attractive… In short: Italy would be an example of a new new Soviet state. Please: for once... let's bang our fists on the table and not be dominated by a few companies (they have already abandoned their general practitioner...) which, with the history of hospital super specialties and for rare diseases, want to direct resources towards their products, thus increasing hospital pharmaceutical spending; and the patients themselves… once they are discharged from the hospital, they can manage! I have been working in the sector for 40 years and I have never seen a sector as resigned as the pharmaceutical one. Let's defend ourselves from the incompetent! I would like an answer.
August 11, 2012
Luciano Ferrarini
