Kaiser Sued Over Pill Cutting

S A N   F R A N C I S C O, Dec. 7 -- A public interest group has sued KaiserPermanente, accusing the state’s largest HMO ofjeopardizing patients’ health by prescribing double dose-sizedpills they must cut in half.

The Superior Court lawsuit filed Wednesday covers Kaiser’s 6 million Californiapatients but not 2 million others nationally. It asks the court toorder a stop to the practice.

Profits Over Patients? Kaiser said patients were not endangered by the 7-year-oldpolicy and that pill-splitting was voluntary. Of the 1,000medications it dispenses in pill form, only seven qualify forsplitting, said Kaiser spokeswoman Beverly Hayon.

Those are for conditions such as high blood pressure anddepression, and include some antibiotics, she said.

Kaiser: Only Voluntary

“We encourage patients to split those kinds of pills. It isvoluntary but at the discretion of the physician,” she said.

She said this is done to counter the skyrocketing price ofprescription drugs. Drug companies often charge the same for varieddoses of medication.

“Why not buy the larger dosage and essentially get two forone?” Hayon asked. The American Medical Association, the American Society ofConsultant Pharmacists and the American Pharmaceutical Associationoppose mandatory pill-splitting. Research shows that dosages mayvary greatly, resulting in overdosing and underdosing.