Mylan Pharmaceuticals is in hot water over continued price increases for EpiPens.
Mylan has increased the price of EpiPens by 400% since they acquired the auto-injector technology in 2007. Then, an EpiPen cost $57. Today, it costs $600.
Price increases, sometimes occurring twice a year, were happening all while manufacturing costs were decreasing dramatically.
Higher Manufacturing Costs for Unchanged Instruments
Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) has certainly benefited patients and reduced hospital stays and overall healthcare costs.
Yet, just like the EpiPen, the costs for instrumentation has continued to rise even though the instruments have remained unchanged for decades.
With shorter hospital stays and reduced infection rates, MIS has been a boon for hospitals increasing profits substantially.
The first laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed in 1985 and now 4.0 Million laparoscopic procedures are performed annually in the U.S.
Most of the instruments used in laparoscopic surgery have remained unchanged since the 1990s, yet hospitals still pay increasingly higher prices for hand instruments and telescopes.
Hospitals are paying in excess of $1,000 per instrument and $4,000 per scope all while manufacturing costs of these instruments has decreased dramatically over time.
For the most part, instrument companies are charging higher prices just because they can. But unlike the EpiPen, there has been no outrage.
Hypocrisy in the Healthcare Industry
Advanced Endoscopy Devices (AED) has been selling instruments at lower than original prices and, in fact, has been steadily decreasing prices.
With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), hospitals can no longer afford to waste money on instruments while costs have been escalating without check.
Yet hospitals and surgery centers have remained complacent, choosing higher cost instrumentation.
Why is there no outrage over the waste going on in the Surgery Department?
As a society, we need to demand more transparency in the healthcare delivery system and force hospitals to be as fiscally responsible as we are in our daily lives.
When provided with an alternative that reduces costs, increases profits, and complies with ACA guidelines, shouldn’t hospitals be compelled to use them?
All health insurance plans force preferences towards generic drugs on us to be fiscally responsible. It’s time hospitals and insurance companies use some of their own medicine.
High Quality Instrumentation at a Fraction of the Cost
Advanced Endoscopy Devices has been manufacturing MIS instruments since 1985. As an OEM/ODM manufacturer, we have been at the forefront of the MIS revolution.
AED’s advanced manufacturing process enables them to sell instruments at lower prices than original purchase prices.
With the same performance, warranties, and services as larger companies, AED provides hospitals with MIS instruments and scopes manufacturer direct at prices 30-60% less.
With over 30 years of experience, AED continues to offer hospitals and surgery centers consistently higher quality instrumentation at lower prices.
AED’s online shopping cart, Endoscopy Superstore, allows you to comparison shop and place an order instantly. No high-pressure salesmen will call on you or occupy your operating rooms and disrupt your surgical schedule.
Visit Endoscopy Superstore at www.endoscopysuperstore.com to comparison shop and see for yourself how AED can make your budget go further.
