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August 30, 2007
The Hanging Chad of Health Care
by Peter Pitts
Guarantees are hard to come by. Even with medicine, doctors would be hard-pressed to tell patients that the drug they're prescribing is certain to work. After all, thanks to different medical histories, personal biochemistries, and physiologies, everyone is different. There's no such thing as a "me-too" patient.
That's why patients and their doctors often try a variety of different drugs before finding one that works - because there's no such thing as a "me-too" medicine. But in the interest of saving a few bucks, such personalized treatments may soon become a thing of the past.
This fundamental misunderstanding is being advanced by politicians grasping for answers to questions on health care. For an example, look no further than Reps. Tom Allen, D-ME, and Jo Ann Emerson, R-MO, whose Enhanced Health Care Value for All Act would increase spending on one-size-fits-all, top-down solutions.
The bill would authorize $3 billion of investment on new research "on the comparative effectiveness of health care services (including prescription drugs, medical devices, procedures, and other treatments) to inform health care providers' decisions." Senator Hillary Clinton also has advocated a similar program.
Here's the rest of the story, courtesy of the Tampa Tribune ...
Comparative Effectiveness -- the Hanging Chad of Health Care.
Posted by peterpitts at August 30, 2007 12:15 PM
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