Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Currently the FDA requires that drug companies conduct 3 phases in order to secure the approval of a pharmaceutical. These are: Phase I. These are smaller (20-80 participants), clinical trials which determine a drug’s safety and pharmacologic properties among healthy volunteers. Phase II. This phase tests a drug’s efficacy and optimal dosage. Typically 100-300 individuals…
When and how regulators allow drugs to come to market is an complex and fascinating process. In order for drugs to be sold to the public, they must gain approval by the FDA (U.S.) or EMEA (EU). This involves multiple stages of clinical trials, often costing many millions of dollars. The uses these trials to…
Consumer Reports writes that “66% of those polled by Consumer Reports said they found out the cost of a drug when they picked it up at the pharmacy counter, while just 4% said they had a conversation with their doctor about the cost of a drug.” Because doctors do not discuss cost with their patients, these…
Cuba is well known for its high quality cigars and sugar production, but is less well-known for its production of high quality pharmaceuticals. According to MSNBC, “With more than 7,000 scientists dedicated to researching new drugs, Cuba has one of the most sophisticated biotech industries in the developing world. Last year the country earned $350…
Markets win. Meloso D, Copic J, and Bossaerts P. (2009) “Promoting Intellectual Discovery: Patents Versus Markets” Science” Vol. 323. no. 5919, pp. 1335 – 1339.
How do doctors know which drugs to give to which patients? Of course there are clinical trials giving the relative efficacy of each drug. With less than perfect adherence, however, clinical trials may not accurately predict a drug’s efficacy or the potential side effects. A paper by Chintadunta, Jiang and Jin (2008) look at two…
What percentage of your prescription drug costs should your insurance company cover? You may say “100%, of course!” However, if health insurance cover all pharmaceutical costs this will drive up premiums. One solution to this problem is reference pricing. If generics are available for $10 and name brand drugs are available for $100, the…
Should doctors prescribe pharmaceuticals to patients who have heart disease. Statins and ACE inhibitors are frequently prescribed to patients with cardiovascular problems. These medications have been shown to decrease the risk of heart attack in clinical trials, but could they actually increase the risk of a heart attack in the real world? The answer is…
For many illnesses, Medicare pays physicians a lump sum for the entire episode of care. This is known at the prospect payment system (PPS). But how does Medicare determine the payment amount? How should Medicare determine the payment amount? Medicare generally looks at 1) what treatments are generally used on average to treat a patient…
NPR’s Marketplace reports that the Cleveland Clinic has announced it’s going to disclose its doctors’ ties to the drug industry, upfront, on its website.