Pharmaceutical Drug Companies Essay Example for Free

Pharmaceutical Drug Companies Essay Pharmaceutical drug companies comprise the main driving force behind drug design, production and marketing. Pharmaceutical companies are very active in research, wherein they devote 80% of their funds for research and development and only 20% to sales of their drugs. The concentration of these companies in research and development has significantly expanded in the last two decades, resulting in the introduction of a large number of drugs to the public. It has been observed that the amount of funds spent on research and development is strongly correlated with the strength of a company’s drug sales. Potent novel drugs generally result in huge drug sales that can be utilized or recycled for further research and development. Other resources such as stock market investments have been determined to be inferior tools for financing of activities of pharmaceutical drug companies because supplementary expenses are always part of such joint ventures. Unfortunately, fluctuations in actual drug prices directly affect the activities for research and development of drug companies because more expensive drugs result in an increase in the amount of income that drug companies generate, and only a small portion of the income is needed for investment. The continuous research and development activities of pharmaceutical drug companies only slightly stimulate the speed of development of new drugs that will be introduced to the market. The main governing body that controls the endorsement of prescription drugs is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This administrative group is also responsible for establishing standards for regulation and advertisement of drugs to both potential consumers and medical practitioners. The FDA provides requirements that advertisements accurately explain all pertinent information of the drug and appropriately present the benefits and risks of using the drug. It is required that drug advertisements be submitted to the FDA as soon as these forms of media are released to the consumer public. These forms of media include any types of publications, flyer distributions and broadcast media, including radio and television advertisements. In the past 5 years, the amount of advertisements for pharmaceutical drugs has grown significantly. Consequently, the number of communications released by the FDA regarding regulation of drug advertising has also increased. These communications explain the dangers of presenting deceptive and confusing information regarding the pharmaceutical drug that a company is promoting. Should the FDA determine that a drug advertisement has misinformed the public, the advertising pharmaceutical company is asked to change the content of their advertisement, or else the entire advertisement will be removed from further exposure to the public. Currently, there are fewer pharmaceutical advertisements that have been advised to be modified or removed, suggesting the pharmaceutical drug companies have lately been following the FDA regulations cautiously and properly. Society has been increasingly procuring pharmaceutical drugs during the last ten years. Drug purchase comprises approximately 10% of health care expenses in the United States, and it has been estimated that almost 3% of the entire household expenses of elderly adults are spent towards buying medicines (Kreling et al. , 2001). Such amplification in the general drug expenses per household results from variations in the price of the pharmaceutical drugs and the frequency of usage of drugs. A higher frequency of drug usage, as also influenced by the amount of prescriptions given by a medical practitioner to a patient, plays one of the major influences on the general increase in drug expenses. An increase in general drug expenses in a household is also influenced by the increase in price of the particular drugs that the household routinely procures for medication and health maintenance. Another force that generates an increase in the household expenses for drugs involves the switching from previous medications to newer prescription drugs. Old medications are usually replaced by newer drugs because newer drugs tend to be more efficacious and potent that the old medication. Unfortunately, newer drugs are commonly more expensive. It has been estimated that there has been a 17% increase in the purchase of pharmaceutical drugs recently, wherein 6% of such increase was due to inflation in the price of the pharmaceutical drug, and another 6% was due the actual increase in price of the drug itself, and another 4% increase was influenced by the switch from an old prescription to a new medication (NIHCM, 2002). It has been determined that the consumption of pharmaceutical drugs has increased yearly for the last 10 years, mainly due to the aggressive advertising and promotion of pharmaceutical drugs by the corresponding drug companies to medical practitioners. In addition, the increased utilization of pharmaceutical drugs is also influenced by the number of elderly patients that are being prescribed multiple pharmaceutical drugs for treatment and maintenance. Among such drugs are those effective to management of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and depression. The increase in the price of pharmaceutical drugs provides a way for a pharmaceutical drug company to acquire resources to funds their activities in research and development. Hence, there is always a factor to consider when picking a pharmaceutical drug. A drug that is preferentially bought by the consumer public significantly raises more revenue for the pharmaceutical drug company, and in turn, the pharmaceutical drug company is thus encouraged to design and develop additional new drugs that the consumer public will appreciate in the same way as they did with the principal pharmaceutical drug. However, the price of a pharmaceutical drug does not automatically determine whether the consumer will purchase that particular drug. An example to this dilemma can be observed in certain pharmaceutical drugs that are sold at such a high price when bought through its brand name, but the same active ingredient or the generic form of the drug can also be bought at an affordable and cheaper price. A certain fraction of the consumer public will purchase generic drugs instead of brand-name drugs, mainly to decrease their average household expenses of medication. Unfortunately, there are certain drugs that are unavailable in its generic form, hence the consumer has no choice but to buy the brand-name drug, which is usually very expensive. A comparative research has determined that the efficacy of a brand-name medication is as good as its generic form (Liebermann, 2005). The employment of insurance companies has facilitated consumers in reducing the prices of pharmaceutical drugs, wherein the health insurance companies have indicated that specific drugs with reasonable prices will only be included in their formulary of prescription drugs. Health insurance companies have also adapted co-payment options which guide the consumer to procure cheaper yet effective drugs for their treatment. In addition, medical practitioners are also advised that they provide their patients with both brand and generic names of the prescription drugs they are handing out to their patients, so that the patients will have the freedom to choose which pharmaceutical drug they will buy from the pharmacy (Lanjouw and Cockburn, 2005).

Dying with Grace, Living in Peace: Hospice Care in America Essay exampl

The beginning of life is celebrated. Books and resources are shared among friends and family in preparation for becoming a new parent. So, what happens as one approaches the end of life? Unfortunately, the same care and sharing rarely occurs in those circumstances and many face the process of dying unprepared. Though most people state they would prefer to die at home, this is often not where death occurs. Many Americans spend their last days attached to medical apparatus that keeps the body alive, but it does not allow for communication with family and often requires heavy sedation. Additionally, this level of treatment comes at a high price. As a society, we must become as comfortable in addressing the end of life process as we are with the beginning of life. One way that this can be done more effectively is through increased knowledge and use of hospice care. Hospice care is a viable option that provides health care cost savings, comfort to the patient, and support to the caregivers, however as hospice systems become more commercialized, care must be taken to avoid the pitfalls that are inherent in larger organizations. Hospice care is a relatively young option in the United States, with the first hospice organization founded in 1971 after gaining acceptance in England in the 1950s (Jensen, 2012). Hospice care is provided to those who are diagnosed with a terminal condition that is expected to culminate in death within six months. Unlike regular health care which focuses on curative procedures, hospice services focus on the comfort of the patient in order to ease the process of dying. These services provide benefits to the patient and the caregivers, as well as showing cost savings. It is no secret that health... ...NHPCO facts and figures: Hopice care in America. Alexandria, VA. Perry, J. E., & Stone, R. C. (2011). In the business of dying: Questioning the commercialization of hospice. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 39(2), 224-234. doi:1111/j.1748-720X.2011.0059.x Robinson, L., & Segal, J. (2012). Quality of life at the end of life: A guide to hospice and palliative care at home or in a hospice facility. Retrieved from Helpguide.org: www.helpguide.org/elder/hospice_care.htm Seeger, P. (2012). Turn, turn, turn lyrics. Retrieved from metrolyrics.com: http://www.metrolyrics.com/turn-turn-turn-to-everything-there-is-a-season-lyrics-the-byrds.html Taylor, D., Ostermann, J., Houtven, C. V., Tulsky, J., & Steinhauser, K. (2007). What length of hospice use maximizes reduction in medical expenditures near death in the US Medicare program? Social Science & Medicine, 1466-1478.

Reading skills Essay

Q1: Explain 5 strategies that a teaching assistant might use to support literacy development. The teaching assistant could read to the pupils on a daily basis, this will help pupils learn how fluent reading sounds and this will help them understand how sentences and text can make sense, and will learn when to pause for full stops, question marks etc, and they will also learn how using expression in reading can make a story more exciting and understandable. The teaching assistant can have one to one sessions with a pupil, getting them to read certain passages aloud from a story and then getting them to repeat the passage, this will help with word recognition, and their speed and accuracy will improve the more they are asked to do this. Games or structured computer games where there is some reading can also be used to help with literacy skills, the teaching assistant can play games with a group of pupils, appropriate age related games with simple instructions can be a good learning resource. Building a child’s vocabulary is very important to a pupil learning to read, write and being able to express themselves, a pupils vocabulary will grow if they are in a rich language environment, this will help them when they try more challenging text, so they teaching assistant can help by talking to the pupil and asking if they understand the words and if not explaining what they mean, which will help them learn more words. The teaching assistant could in a group have a reading session, where each pupil could try to guess what will happen next from the line they have just read, this will help to see if any of the pupils do not understand any of the text, the teaching assistant can then help explain any parts that are not understood which will then help the pupil in the future to understand that type of text. Q2: outline the stages of reading development skills. Early emergent readers: these readers are just beginning to understand the concepts of books, they are learning the alphabet and maybe recognise upper and lowercase letters. They are also learning high frequency words and sound words, books in this level include: repeated words, picture support and content that will be very familiar. Emergent readers: these readers understand the alphabet, they also know a lot of high frequency words and they are also grasping how to attack words they don’t know better, books in this level include: more lines per page, harder words in the sentences and less picture support. Early fluent readers: these readers are reading harder text and have more of an understanding of the text, they read more automatically rather than trying to attack the word, they are able to recognise different styles and genres of books and understand what is being read, they are becoming independent in their reading and require a lot less help, books in this level include: books with a lot more pages and much longer sentences, and a lot less pictures to help with their reading and understanding. Fluent readers: these readers rarely need help with any text, they can pause at the correct time, they can also have expression when reading out loud, they are able to read many genres of books and understand what they are reading, and they are able to keep learning reading skills if they read a harder book, they are no longer learning to read, they are reading to learn, books in this stage include: more varied topics, a lot more text and pages, books with no pictures as they are capable of understanding the text without visual references and a lot more challenging vocabulary. Q3: describe the main methods used to teach reading skills There are three main methods that can be combined to teach reading skills, they are: Auditory training, this is where an adult talks, sings and reads to their child, this will put language and sound into the child’s brain, the more they hear the bigger their vocabulary will be, which will help them to learn to read when they are ready to, playing and singing rhyming games will all help the child with learning to read. Phonics: this is the most known and used method to teach reading skills, phonics teaches children the relationship between letters of the written language and the sounds of the spoken language, it teaches children to use these relationships to read and write. This will teach them the alphabet and how these words are written and spoken which will be predictable, this will help them recognise familiar words and help them with harder ones. They are taught to sound out words by learning certain rules that they will memorise, some of these are: blending sounds such as br, fr, wr and bl among others, digraph sounds such as sh, th these letters combine to make a different sound, double vowel sounds. Phonics will start to be taught in nursery or reception and a child will not be able to learn to read without proper understanding of phonics. Whole language: this is a whole-part method of teaching children to read, children are taught to memorise words as one whole word not as parts or broken down, they can do different activities like writing in journals and using pictures to help memorise the words. Children can begin to write early using this method and it can make reading more interesting, but the only problem with this method is that some children may not be able to use phonics and may find it harder to learn new words without the understanding of phonics. Q4: give 5 examples of how a teaching assistant could support and demonstrate writing and spelling skills 1. Get children to discover how different sounds can be written, this can be done by reading books or rhymes that they know and asking the children to listen out for words with a particular sound, for example words with a T sound, words like bite, height, light. They can then be helped to find these letters that make that sound by finding them and circling or underlining them in any book. 2. Choosing words that the children know from a song, poem or book they can learn how a word they know can help them to write new words just by changing the beginning letter, for example the teaching assistant can write words that sound the same but have different beginning letters and then ask the children if they can think of any other words with the same sound that can be added, the examples could be: hat, cat, mat. This can help with phonic awareness which is vital in writing and spelling skills. 3. Correct letter formation is the start of learning to write and develop writing skills, there are many ways a teaching assistant can support a child in this, a couple of examples are: get the child to say out loud how they are writing the letter like a ’round , up and down’, p’ down, up and around’ . The teaching assistant can make some dot to dots of the correct letter formation. 4. Teaching children about different spelling patterns, the teaching assistant and child could look through a book they know and look for spelling patterns, looking for ones that have been chosen like ea, words like: break, treat, bread and lead, the child could then mark the words they find and say them out loud as they find them. 5. The teaching assistant can help children learn how to use a dictionary to help them spell a word they are unsure of, they need to teach them that words in a dictionary are in alphabetical order, so if they know the first letter then they can try to find the word they are looking for, the teaching assistant or teacher can make an individualised dictionary with words that are aimed at a particular level of writing and spelling stage, they could also leave spaces for children to write any words they have learned that are not in the dictionary they have got. Q5: How can a teaching assistant encourage learners to use speaking and listening skills correctly. The teaching assistant can encourage these skills by asking the child to write down what has just been said to them, this is a good way to make sure they are listening properly. Or to ask them to repeat something that is being said, for example another child could be telling a story or event that has happened and if the teaching assistant thinks that someone is not listening then they can ask them to repeat it. If a child does not understand anything that is being said then they should be encouraged to ask questions to help explain, this will show that they are listening to what is being said. Children can show they have listened when they can follow instructions properly and this can seen by asking them what they have to do, or when they make responses or comments to anything they are listening to. If they have watched a film or other type of programme they should be able to recount some or all of the story if they have listened, a group talk on certain subjects would be a good way to encourage speaking and listening skills, letting everyone have a say while all others listen but have some input or comment if they didn’t understand anything. Having a weekly time for any children to stand in front of the class and tell the class of anything they have done or somewhere they have been would be very good for speaking skills, the rest of the class should be encouraged to listen and to ask any questions at the end, if there are any children that are reluctant to speak in front of people, then trying to to encourage them in group discussions will hopefully help them to be more confident and eventually want to speak in front of everyone. Allowing children to have time to chat amongst themselves can also help develop these skills as they will learn to listen and speak at different times, and they should be encouraged not to ignore people because if they do no-one will want to talk to them.

Battle of the Parenting Styles Authoritarian V.S....

Parenting style refers to the way parents behave around their children. A parenting style is not determined by individual events, like a moment of conflict. Instead, it is defined by the overall demeanor that a parent has when he or she is engaging his or her children. There are two popular parenting styles that most people are aware of: Authoritarian and Permissive parenting. The authoritarian style is a restrictive style of parenting focusing on following rules and assuming that the child is incompetent. The authoritarian parenting style is sometimes referred to as the military parenting style. On the other hand, the permissive style includes parents who are involved and loving with their children but who fail to set limits or provide†¦show more content†¦They want their children to live and enjoy the carefree life they couldn’t have. However, authoritarian parents are strict with their children because they experienced the life of a child of permissive parents. F or this reason, they know how it feels to be out on the streets and how dangerous life can be without the guidance of loved ones. So in order for their children to not feel this grief, they make sure that they do the complete opposite of their parents and lead their child in the right direction. Children imitate and learn much more from their parents than most parents realize. Even the slightest behaviors are picked up by children and acted out in their own lives. Styles of conflict and the way parents carry themselves will be relived to some extent in their childrens lives. Therefore, its important for parents to pick a parenting style that best fits how they would like their child to behave now, and as he or she grows to be an adult. After all, its a parents responsibility to prepare his or her children to survive in this world without them. What parenting style do you consider the