RE: Profit vs Care1 Dec 2023 12:00
The US doctor's prescribing habits/enticements are a complete red herring.
In the US there are two basic medical systems. 1) Worker's compensation which covers all medical costs for a work place injury - generally not a concern for Cancer. 2) private medical plans (generally as an employee benefit). This ignores any catch all state by state funded coverage for the unemployed and lowest earners in society.
For the bulk of the population their private medical plan will be in charge. This is a massive insurance lead business which has a large eye on cost containment. The individual can use drugs/treatments that the plan doesn't cover, but at their own cost. For some treatments/events/drugs there is an element of co-payment where the plan only funds some of the cost.
Why is this important, well the insurance part of the equation has a cost imperative/oversight. This is, however not done at an individual drug level, but as an overall cost for each type of treatment. I.e. someone who needs cancer treatment, it is not just the prescription for Dox that is the focus, but will include all the additional drugs needed to combat any adverse side effects suffered. Also any hospital stays procedures etc.
If a drug comes along that cuts out most (if not all) side effects of Dox with consequent reduction in doctor visits and hospital stays, then they will be highly interested. If this new drug (whatever it's cost) produces a lower overall cost along with a better patient outcome, then this will become the standard of care.
You need to focus on the whole picture and not the small detail of part of a medical episode in the US.
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