California Healthcare Institute Launches Third Podcast Episode On Dangers of a Cost-based U.S. Healthcare System.Caregiver and Journalist Explains Limitations of Cost-based Healthcare LA JOLLA La Jolla (lə hoi`yə), on the Pacific Ocean, S Calif., an uninc. district within the confines of San Diego; founded 1869. The beautiful ocean beaches, in particular La Jolla shores and Black's Beach, and sea-washed caves attract visitors and , Calif. -- The California Healthcare Institute (CHI) today launched the third episode of the podcast series, Cost Over Care: The Dangers of Bureaucratic Medicine. As state and federal policymakers search for ways to reduce healthcare costs, the podcast aims to educate policymakers and healthcare consumers about the dangers of cost-based healthcare policy initiatives. The five-part series can be found on the California Healthcare Institute Web site, www.chi.org, and is accessible on iTunes and other podcast directories. In the third episode, Meryl Comer shares her personal story of how cost-based healthcare policies are dangerous when dealing with chronic illnesses. Comer, an Emmy-award winning journalist, currently cares for her husband who suffers from Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. . Comer believes that all available evidence should be used when determining treatments, including her experience as a caregiver. "Patients and physicians can certainly benefit from more information on comparative and cost-effective treatments. But I'd be very concerned if demands for this evidence were just a smokescreen for health insurers to delay or deny access to newer treatment options," said Comer. "You look at a disease like Alzheimer's that is of epidemic proportion, are we going to respect my experience as a caregiver as part of the evidence? I've sat at the NIH "Not invented here." See digispeak. NIH - The United States National Institutes of Health. and listened to statistical data. I'd like them to come in and take care of my husband for one week, not 12 years." The first episode of the podcast series featured Dr. David Gollaher, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of CHI. Additional episodes of the series feature: Dr. Kwabena Adubofour, Medical Director, East Main Clinic and Stockton Diabetes Intervention Center; and Peter J. Pitts, co-founder and president, Center for Medicines in the Public Interest, and former FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. associate commissioner for external relations. For more information about evidence-based medicine evidence-based medicine Decision-making 'The use of scientific data to confirm that proposed diagnostic or therapeutic procedures are appropriate in light of their high probability of producing the best and most favorable outcome'. See Meta-analysis. and cost-effectiveness analysis cost-effectiveness analysis Cost-utility analysis Clinical trials A form of economic analysis in which alternative interventions are compared in terms of the cost per unit of clinical effect–eg cost per life saved, per mm Hg of lowered BP, per yr of or to download podcast episodes, please visit the CHI Web site at www.chi.org. This series has been made possible through a grant from Pfizer Inc. California Healthcare Institute (CHI) represents more than 250 leading biotechnology, medical device, diagnostics, and pharmaceutical companies, and public and private academic biomedical research Biomedical research (or experimental medicine), in general simply known as medical research, is the basic research or applied research conducted to aid the body of knowledge in the field of medicine. organizations. CHI's mission is to advance responsible public policies that foster medical innovation and promote scientific discovery. CHI's web site is http://www.chi.org. |
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