I would suggest a government-sponsored insurance system so that those patients suffered from the likes of Vioxx could get proper reimbursement without going through the blood-sucking lawers. That should help to cut the drug cost by 30%.
Huge misconception. Think about it. Look at the Flu vaccine problems we had last season. Why was it a problem? Because profit margins are low in that sector and therefore there are too few manufacturers. So for as something simple as flu vaccines, we had people litteraly die in lines waiting to get shots. Where are a vast majority of drugs developed worldwide? America. Why? Because there is money to be made. Canada has universal healthcare and they regulate the drug costs, but I don't beleive Canada has any significant drug research occuring relative to the U.S. If you put severe penalties on the industry as a whole, you'll effectively eliminate competition and stiffle new development. So many of the AIDS, cancer, etc medications would be non-existant today if it wasn't for medical capitalism. So what is better? A limited # of new drugs that are cheap. OR An evolving pharma industry that is constantly developing new drugs? Mind you, they only hold patents for what, 12 years or something. Then these drugs can be mass produced cheaply.
That's true. If you couldn't afford prescription drugs, there are always much cheaper generic alternatives, and prescription drugs would go generic in 5 ~ 8 years (the patent lasts for ~ 15 years from the time it is developed, and then it takes 8~ 10 years to go through a sequence of clinical trials and get approved by FDA if the compound is proved to be 'good'). But doctors service are always expensive.
If corporations, particularly pharmacutical corporations, don't ensure that their products are safe (as in no one *dies* if the products are used properly) then they should go bankrupt. There is too much evidence that if they don't have the hammer of a multi-million dollar civil suit hanging over their heads that many corporations will cut corners.
Thankfully the world doesn't work like this. Otherwise we'd be still be using sticks to start fires and living in caves. On a side note: Can't wait for The Constant Gardener to come out. Looks like a good thriller.
Thats what the FDA is designed to do...to certify that products are safe. Might want to look into how the FDA is in bed w/ the pharma's...which is another big problem. FDA needs to be better. They said Vioxx was safe for American consumers. As a side note: Don't forget, that the FDA has yet to pull a single Cox-2 inhibitor off the market. Merck pulled Vioxx voluntarily. All of Vioxx's competitors, which fundamentally have the same problems, are still on the market. The only thing the FDA said was the maybe you shouldn't be advertising these drugs directly to consumers. Gee, thanks.
Honestly, what's the difference other than what they call it? My friend is a very prominent doctor that has his own practice and works at a major hospital in Dallas. I asked him about your point, and he says "...call it what you will, we can get paid for prescribing certain medications. It's not right, and it motivates some doctors to merely prescribe what they will get compensated for." He also says that it's not an "enrollment" into a trial. In other words, more often than not, the patient doesn't have any idea they are "enrolled" in any clinical "trial." They just go fill their prescription like they normally would and know no better. Anyway....I'll take my personal friend's word for it since a.) he's certainly in the know and b.) I know he'd have no reason to lie to me.
If that is true, then your friend should be fined. Patients MUST be educated and sign the informed consent before enrollment in ANY clinical trial. It is serious. On the other hand, kickbacks were reported a few years ago and quite a few companies were under investigation by FDA. I dont think big boys like Merck, Pfizer, J & J, Wyeth dare to do that right now.
I believe what you are saying, but I honestly have never heard of anyone ever getting paid to prescribe (in the past, but not now). That is incredibly unethical, and he would definitely have his licensce investigated if TSBME found out.
