Helping sustain hypertension treatment

With a fresh mandate coming from the people, the new administration is setting the example for an austere and simple lifestyle to gradually overcome the country’s economic woes.

Many businessmen are taking the cue and pledging to sacrifice their profitability to some extent through a "socially responsible pricing" of their products and services.

Healthcare is one area where affordability of drugs and services is a major concern. There is specifically a clamor for pharmaceutical companies to reduce their prices to enable patients to sustain their treatment, especially if they have chronic diseases which require long-term treatment.

A major health problem arises when patients choose to forego their medical treatments, thus putting them at risk for greater emotional, mental and physical complications.

One of the common causes of non-compliance is the prohibitive cost of medicines, which may result in the cessation of treatment. Involuntary compliance is the unfortunate result when a patient has financial troubles, most especially when the treatment is long-term or lifetime.

Effective and affordable medicines are seen as an answer to the problem of treatment non-compliance. If a patient has the option to buy an affordable, yet bioequivalent medicine, it is most likely that he will be able to sustain the treatment regimen recommended by his doctor. Bioequivalence is a test which helps doctors assess the quality of two brands of drugs.

As a possible answer to address the problem of patient non-compliance, an affordable brand of felodipine, one of the most prescribed antihypertensive drugs, was launched recently in the country.

Several landmark clinical studies, such as the Hypertension Optimal Treatment (HOT) study, have shown that a felodipine-based treatment regimen helps achieve optimal blood pressure target levels which translate into a lower incidence of cardiovascular complications such as heart attacks and strokes.

The new brand of felodipine is available at approximately half the price of other similarly effective drugs for hypertension. The introduction of a pharmacoeconomic felodipine is highly expected to help hypertensive patients attain treatment sustainability within reach.

Felodipine is a prescription drug and should only be taken upon a doctor’s advice.