California Healthcare Institute Launches Podcast to Raise Awareness of Dangers of a Cost-based U.S. Healthcare System

Business Wire, Jan 10, 2007

Podcast Examines Promise and Pitfalls of Using Cost-Effectiveness Analysis to Determine Patient Access

SAN FRANCISCO -- As state and federal policymakers search for ways to reduce healthcare costs, the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) launched the first episode of a new podcast series today at the 25th Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco to inform policymakers and healthcare consumers about the dangers of a cost-based health care system. The five-part, bi-weekly series, titled Cost Over Care: The Dangers of Bureaucratic Medicine, can be found on the California Healthcare Institute Web site, www.chi.org, and is accessible on iTunes and other podcast directories.

In the first episode released today, Dr. David Gollaher, president and CEO of CHI, explains the concept of true evidence-based medicine and discusses misinterpretations of the term and policy that may ultimately restrict patients' access to the most innovative healthcare treatments.

"The podcast series will feature perspective from policy experts on the advantages and limitations of applying cost-effective analysis to healthcare coverage decisions," said Gollaher. "While the principle of guiding clinical decision-making with evidence of a treatment's effectiveness is sound, we are concerned that in some instances 'evidence-based medicine' has become a stratagem to limit the use of important medical technologies and to deny patients treatment."

Evidence-based medicine suggests that medical decision-making should weigh scientific evidence, physician experience and the individual patient's medical history. In its basic form, evidence-based medicine sets best practice guidelines for care regimens, with decisions based on clinical research and comprehensive personal data. The trouble is, for many conditions and treatment there are insufficient data for physicians to make clear-cut decisions. Moreover, the same disease is not the same in different patients.

"Simplifying evidence-based medicine shortchanges patients. One size does not fit all when it comes to medical decisions," said Gollaher. "Although the issue of healthcare costs should be a national priority, we all need to work together to ensure that healthcare decisions revolve around care and not just cost."

In addition to Gollaher, the podcast series will feature: Kwabena Adubofour, M.D., medical director, East Main Clinic and Stockton Diabetes Intervention Center; Meryl Comer, journalist and caregiver; Ruth Lopert, Harkness fellow in healthcare policy, George Washington University and principal advisor, Pharmaceutical Policy Taskforce, Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, Canberra, Australia; and Peter J. Pitts, co-founder and president, Center for Medicines in the Public Interest, and former FDA associate commissioner for external relations.

For more information about evidence-based medicine and cost-effectiveness analysis or to download podcast episodes, please visit the California Healthcare Institute's 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 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.