Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

When money gets involved, good medical ideas suffer

Dr. Martin Young
Tech
April 27, 2011
Share
Tweet
Share

I read an interesting link via Reuters about how students have developed a smart phone application with a microscope attachment to diagnose malaria.

The article shows a picture of a child at risk somewhere in Africa.

This is a great idea, and one that can go a long way to help people who really need it.  But the last word from the project’s software engineer in the article was the one that was most revealing.

“From different conversations we’ve had with investors, we feel that this definitely is a money-maker,” he said.

And that profit motive stuck in my throat, spoiling what up until that point had been a feel-good article.  I want to be Bill Gates too, but as far as I can tell profiteering in healthcare has messed things up for us all.

Will the team develop the device even if it isn’t a good money-maker?  Will “major life saver” be enough?  Even if these are African, South American and Asian lives, and not North American lives?

Will investors still back development on this basis?  Even if the project has just a break even financial prospect, will the possibility of saving lives make it worthwhile?  Or will the project have to depend on financing from billionaires who have found that giving away their money is the best way to enjoy it?

We’ve been down this road before in medicine. Lack of money-maker potential means pharmaceutical companies have not invested in developing new antibiotics.  There are very few new molecules in development, despite rampant growth of bacterial resistance. As a result, we face a slide of 70 years back to a situation where bacterial infections nowadays considered mild can and will kill.  An antibiotic taken for five days in a year is a poor prospect for a pharmaceutical company compared to a new drug taken every day for years on end for Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.  Antibiotics are just not money-makers.  Let’s see where this takes us in ten years — super bugs and no means of treating them.

The dream of medical marijuana in a tablet form for the considerable positive medical effects without the negative has little chance of being realised — there is little prospect of making money in the development.  A drug company would battle to get a patent and be able to protect its investment.  So as much promise as medical cannibis has, that promise will go unrealised unless research is funded by non-profit organisations.

Primary care practice is just not a money-maker, whereas specialist practice is.  Never mind that PCPs are needed as much as specialists if not more.  It is not a good investment, and that is one of the reasons why so many doctors like me left to specialize, and few are choosing primary care as a career path.

Operative procedures are money-makers.  That is why surgeons like to operate.  No matter how ethical you are, there is a powerful bias towards operating when the indications are marginal. Conservatism does not pay as well as surgical aggression.

High tech in medicine is a money-maker.  Throw millions into development of new scanners and imagers and interventional procedures, and see the costs of healthcare rocket.  The primary benefit of high tech development in my opinion is to make money in selected markets, not to improve healthcare on a wide scale.

So, being a potential money-maker, how will this new device be marketed and more importantly, priced, considering the areas of greatest need are all brutally poor?  The device may cost as much as or more than the smart phone itself.  Nothing labelled as “medical” is cheap, particularly when intended as a money maker.  And being expensive, the chances of reaching the hands in significant numbers of those that can use it to save lives in Africa, Asia and Central America are relatively slim.

ADVERTISEMENT

Malaria last year killed more than 850,000 people that we know of, and many more who were not recorded, 91% of whom lived in Africa, and 85% of whom were children under the age of five.

This idea is great and deserves to succeed.  Whether this, and others like it, will make a real difference depends on the motives and desires of those with the will and means to push development forward as an ethical and technical advancement for mankind, and not just as a money making medical device.  Or else that tragic figure of 850,000 will remain unchanged.

Martin Young is an otolaryngologist and founder and CEO of ConsentCare.

Submit a guest post and be heard on social media’s leading physician voice.

Prev

Why denying ER care to patients is bad policy

April 27, 2011 Kevin 13
…
Next

Advances coming in medical science that will have a high impact

April 27, 2011 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Health IT, Patients

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Why denying ER care to patients is bad policy
Next Post >
Advances coming in medical science that will have a high impact

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Dr. Martin Young

  • Nelson Mandela: His doctors and nurses also need our thoughts

    Dr. Martin Young
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Why health journalists need medical training

    Dr. Martin Young
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    The healing power of ice cream

    Dr. Martin Young

More in Tech

  • Why interoperability is key to achieving the quintuple aim in health care

    Steven Lane, MD
  • How Mark Twain would dismantle today’s flawed medical AI

    Neil Baum, MD and Mark Ibsen, MD
  • 9 domains that will define the future of medical education

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

    Sandra Johnson
  • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

    David Carmouche, MD
  • Why innovation in health care starts with bold thinking

    Miguel Villagra, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • In a fractured world, Brian Wilson’s message still heals

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • When your dream job becomes a nightmare [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How doctors took back control from hospital executives

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When your dream job becomes a nightmare [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Finding healing in narrative medicine: When words replace silence

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Why coaching is not a substitute for psychotherapy

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Why doctors stay silent about preventable harm

      Jenny Shields, PhD | Conditions
    • Why interoperability is key to achieving the quintuple aim in health care

      Steven Lane, MD | Tech

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 15 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • In a fractured world, Brian Wilson’s message still heals

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • When your dream job becomes a nightmare [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How doctors took back control from hospital executives

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When your dream job becomes a nightmare [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Finding healing in narrative medicine: When words replace silence

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Why coaching is not a substitute for psychotherapy

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Why doctors stay silent about preventable harm

      Jenny Shields, PhD | Conditions
    • Why interoperability is key to achieving the quintuple aim in health care

      Steven Lane, MD | Tech

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

When money gets involved, good medical ideas suffer
15 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...