Who Is The Doctor Here?
Story from the Detroit Free Press

More than four of five Michigan osteopathic doctors feel pressured by an insurance company or managed care plan to use a different medicine for their patients than the one they originally prescribed, a survey released today has found.

The survey of 500 doctors by the Michigan Osteopathic Association found a wide range of concerns among doctors about a practice known as therapeutic substitution. It describes how a health care plan suggests use of a less costlier drug instead of one ordered by a doctor but not covered by the plan.

Dr. Craig Magnatta, association president, recommends that consumers ask their pharmacists if they received the medicines their doctor ordered or to find out why a substitute was made. Consumers also need to ask the pharmacy to notify their doctor that the prescription was declined and to tell the patient what side effects the ordered medicine has.