Statement attributable to:
Robert McLean, MD, FACP
President, American College of Physicians
Washington, DC (May 9, 2019) —The American College of Physicians (ACP) is encouraged by the final rule announced by the Trump Administration to require pharmaceutical manufacturers to disclose the cost of drugs in television advertisements. ACP believes that this is a promising step in improving transparency in prescription drug pricing. Prescription medications are only as effective as a patient’s ability to access and adhere to treatment as prescribed.
ACP outlined its support for increasing transparency in the pricing, cost, and comparative value of all pharmaceutical products in our 2016 policy paper, Stemming the Escalating Cost of Prescription Drugs. We also support broad efforts by federal regulators to ensure that information about a drug's effectiveness and safety, and about alternative treatments, is clearly disclosed to patients.
ACP looks forward to continuing to work with Congress and the administration in implementing policies that promote transparency in drug pricing, supporting extensive research efforts into innovative and value-based systems, and improving access to getting prescription drugs to the market and into the hands of the patients who need them most.
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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 154,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Contact: Julie Hirschhorn, (202) 261-4523, jhirschhorn@acponline.org