It’s a death sentence for some, a recipe for pain and anguish for others.
Just as science reveals new medical advancements that can halt pain and suffering, a wall of bureaucracy and outdated perspectives condemns patients to suffer needlessly, or sacrifice their lives.
Much of our medical system is based on treating diseases, not individuals. There are approved protocols for certain conditions, and should a physician or other healthcare provider stray beyond these protocols she exposes herself to malpractice and other liabilities.
Yet, advances in genetic research and other personalized medicine initiatives suggest there are significant differences between the ways that different people react to what we still consider to be the “same” disease or condition, and to the same treatments.
Likewise, the mindset of the entire pharmaceutical industry has been built around the quest for blockbuster drugs. In other words, the industry has operated like a Big Three auto company, chasing mass markets and steadily losing its competitive edge.
Government agencies, state and national laws, and insurance companies all “buy into” this mindset. To simplify things a bit, to get a new drug approved today, you essentially have to prove it will be safe for everyone. But evidence is piling up that one person’s wonder drug may be another person’s poison.
We need mechanisms that will allow researchers, healthcare providers, insurance companies and regulators to think and act smaller. If a drug isn’t safe for everyone, authorize its use for a subset of people. If “tailored treatments” prove to be effective for small segments of the population, allow such treatments to be approved without the time and expense required to approve “blockbuster” drugs.
I’m talking in broad generalities, granted, but that’s in order to make a simple point: people are dying - and suffering - needlessly. Why? Because we haven’t yet shaken the pervasive mass production mindset that has dominated our economy for the past century.
People far more knowledgeable and better connected than I have told me that personalized medicine isn’t even a part of the debate as America attempts to revamp its healthcare system. That’s outrageous. Without a personalized approach, the suffering will continue and healthcare costs will continue to rise.
Make no mistake about it. Mass production healthcare is nothing less than a premature death sentence for you and your loved ones.
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