Opinion

Why not? I did. I stole every idea from Health and Human Services secretary Mike Leavitt, CMS acting administrator Kerry Weems, Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri and a few others earlier this month in Boston at the National E-prescribing Conference, hosted by CMS and some 34 other co-sponsors, including NACDS and NCPA. The two-day event focused on the potential electronic prescribing has to help fix so much of what is wrong with health care in America today.

You think retail pharmacy’s got it tough? Take a look at what the drug companies are up against:

Expiring drug patents

Increasing pricing pressure

Lower reimbursement rates

Laborious new drug launch processes

Black-box warnings

Endless reams of bad press

Prescription drug revenue growth is down; script growth is anemic

Few new blockbusters on the horizon