Medical Innovation Ecosystem

Some alarmists complain that the cost of new, innovative cancer treatments will soon bankrupt the health care system, arguing that we must find a way to limit patients' access to them. When we point out that the new treatments represent only 0.5% (one half of one percent) of health care costs, those people claim that it doesn't matter, because the expense of new treatments is increasing at an increasing rate, and we must do something. Horsefeathers, I say. The sky is not falling. Instead, the system is working just as it should, exactly as designed. A company innovates, inventing a new treatment and, after years of trials and against tall odds, finally makes a good, healthy profit on a treatment that saves and extends lives. This provides the financial and technological footing upon which that company can further innovate, advancing medical understanding to create an even better treatment, or a new treatment for another disease. The medical innovation ecosystem also includes governments, academia, research hospitals, and more, but the pharmaceutical companies always do the heavy lifting. That's the system we have, and it's working. Let's not mess with it. Deep in discussion at ASCO Costs of new treatments may indeed rise, but those new treatments will increasingly keep us out of hospitals and clinics, reducing those costs. Further, we will lead healthier, more productive lives, earning and spending, thereby contributing to the economy. Even more, as innovation ...
Source: Myeloma Hope - Category: Cancer Tags: ASCO Medical Innovation Ecosystem My Life Is Worth It petition Source Type: blogs