By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Is Cost-Effective Medicine on Life Support?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Is Cost-Effective Medicine on Life Support?
Business

Is Cost-Effective Medicine on Life Support?

Michael Kirsch
Last updated: August 8, 2011 11:12 am
Michael Kirsch
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

The concept of cost-effectiveness in medicine is elastic. One’s view on this issue depends upon who is paying the cost. Of course, this is true in all spheres of life. When you’re in a fine restaurant, you order differently when the meal will be charged to someone else. Under these circumstances, the foie gras appetizer and the jumbo shrimp cocktail are no longer luxuries, but are considered as essential amino acids that are necessary to maintain life.

The concept of cost-effectiveness in medicine is elastic. One’s view on this issue depends upon who is paying the cost. Of course, this is true in all spheres of life. When you’re in a fine restaurant, you order differently when the meal will be charged to someone else. Under these circumstances, the foie gras appetizer and the jumbo shrimp cocktail are no longer luxuries, but are considered as essential amino acids that are necessary to maintain life.

In the marketplace, except in the medical universe, goods and services are priced according to what the market will bear. If an item is priced too high, then the seller will have fewer sales and a bloated inventory. Consumers will not pay absurd prices for common items, regardless of supernatural claims of quality.

  • Would you pay $100 for an ice cream sundae that boasted it was the best in the world?
  • Would you pay $1000 for a tennis racket that promised performance beyond your ability?
  • Would you pay $500 for a box of paper clips that never lose their tension?

Of course, you wouldn’t because none of this stuff is worth it, even if the quality claims are true. If any readers disagree, then send me a private email so I can enter into a business arrangement with you.

More Read

healthcare performance programs
8 Performance Programs That Will Change Healthcare
Nurses Hold One Day Strike at Kaiser’s Sunset Boulevard Medical Center (Los Angeles) To Bring Attention To Patient Safety
Initiating a Bundled Payment Project
Are Physicians the Canary in the Coal Mine of Medicine
Why We Aren’t Ready for Patient-Centered Care

We lose sight of this obvious truth in medicine. It is not enough for a treatment to be effective. The benefit must be worth the cost. I realize that a cost-benefit analysis is interpreted differently by sick people and their families. I am sure this would be true for me and my own family. If my child needed a bone marrow transplant, I would devote my entire being to making this happen, regardless of long odds against success and a six figure price tag. In this hypothetical, I am no longer a smug blogger, but I am a terrified parent.

There will always be arguments about where to draw the line. Some treatments, such as routine vaccinations and proven preventive medical screening tests should be under the line. Other therapies that have minimal clinical benefit and astronomical costs should remain in high orbit and out of reach. All the stuff in between will be the grist for comparative effectiveness research, if it ever gets airborne.

A few months back, The New York Times reported on 2 new drugs, approved by the FDA for cancer treatment. Provenge, a new drug for prostate cancer extends life by 4 months at a cost of $93,000. Impressed? Wait, there’s more. Yervoy, a treatment for melanoma also extends life by 4 months at a cost of $120,000.

Are these two treatments under the line or over the line? In my view, as a spectator and not a sufferer of either disease, I think they should both be directly in the line of fire.

What’s your view?

TAGGED:healthcare business
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

internet presence
BusinesseHealth

Top 7 Reasons a Busy Doctor Needs a Powerful Website

January 10, 2015
king for a day
BusinessHealth ReformPolicy & LawPublic Health

Healthcare Executives – Keep Calm and Be A King for A Day

August 14, 2015
trauma costs
BusinessFinanceHospital Administration

Can We Squeeze the Waste Out of the High Cost of Trauma Care?

October 31, 2013
Image
BusinessWellness

End-of-Life Decisions

March 19, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?