"Pharma-driven"

I saw a specialist at Epworth Eastern Hospital for grass pollen allergies. The consult itself was fine, but the pricing info I was given for Oralair turned out to be very off. I was told to expect around $600–$700 per year. After checking with Chemist Warehouse and a few online pharmacies, it was more like ~$700-$800 for six months, which makes the yearly cost much higher than what I was led to believe.

It also felt a bit salesy to me (I was given a sample in the appointment). When I followed up about the price difference, the reply didn’t really acknowledge the mismatch claiming when the medication came out "a few years ago" (it hit the market in 2011) $100 was the monthly price but that would still mean a $1200 yearly cost, which makes me think this doctor is not very good at maths for convenience. Despite being told this is a 3-year treatment for lasting benefit, I was then casually told it would “still have benefit” if I could only do 5 months, which felt inconsistent and not very confidence-inspiring.