Assignment task: The pharmaceutical industry uses wealth and power to influence the US Congress, FDA, medical centers and practicing physicians. They also mislead physicians by stating drugs are more effective and safer when they are not. Their mission is to sell "profitable" drugs. What are your thoughts on this statement? Does this need to change, why/why not? Between 1998-2002, 77 percent of new drugs approved by the FDA were "me-too" drugs, which largely duplicate the action of existing drugs and do not have to prove to be better than the drugs already on the market. However, they would be valuable if they led to substantial price reductions. What is your opinion? What are the advantages/disadvantages of this "me-too" drug?
For over 100 years, reformers in the United States fought for the passage of a national health insurance program, a government guarantee that every person would be covered for basic health care. In 2010, the United States took a major, though incomplete, step forward toward universal health insurance. What does this statement mean? What do they mean by incomplete? What are your thoughts on NHI? What is the impact for our population?
"Military physicians are strictly bound to uphold principles as found in international human rights agreements and in their own professional codes. They must resist the temptation to put aside these values in order to support unethical behavior on the part of themselves, their colleagues, and their superiors. They are bound by professional moral and ethical principles that transcend to the needs of the moment, requiring them to think and behave in ways which other military leaders do not." What are your thoughts/opinion(s) ? Support your answer(s)