Why can’t people agree on strategies to fix health care? It is due to many things, including disagreements on health economics, self-interest, and fundamental differences in ideology. Every public intellectual has an idea that may, or may not, do anything to improve health care.
Author: Devon Herrick
Should Drugmakers Have to Prove Their Drugs Work?
New drugs benefit American patients. Increasing the number of drugs in the pipeline will likely boost drug spending but also increase the number of new or improved drug therapies. It will also increase the number of generic drugs 20 years down the road. Shortening the length of time it takes new drugs to gain approval would also boost competition with earlier drugs that are still under patent protection.
The Cost of Pet Cancer Care Rivals a Car, Yet Texas Limits Competition
This topic became an issue for me because of my dog Clementine. I recently wrote about her experience at the veterinarian. She had surgery for bladder stones, but the surgery did not resolve her problems. We took her back twice more, finally getting a referral to a specialist. A veterinary internal medicine specialist did a very thorough examination costing nearly $1,500. The pathology report found cancer that had metastasized.
The Dark Side of Social Media Medicine
One thing I have never heard was a doctor advising viewers to take drugs willy-nilly without an underlying condition or an examination. There is more to the Internet than YouTube, however and social media has plenty of charlatans. Social media influencers on TikTok, Instagram and elsewhere, with no medical background, often encourage followers to take prescription drugs.