Re: should the state fund very expensive treatment?

Derek Hornby wrote:
PANORAMA
SUNDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2006 22:15 GMT BBC ONE
new generation of expensive drugs is revolutionising the treatment of
cancer and throwing the NHS into turmoil. One of those drugs,
Herceptin, has had women marching on Westminster, demanding that it
be available on the NHS within weeks of promising trial data being
revealed.

Panorama tells the inside story of the pressure put on a cash strapped
Primary Care Trust to change its mind and fund a hugely expensive
drug, simply, claims its Chairman, "to satisfy the whim of the PM and
Secretary of State".

On the eve of the first ever High Court case that will pit a patient
fighting for Herceptin against her local health chiefs, Panorama talks
exclusively to the patient involved and reveals the results of a
prescription survey carried out among the country's oncologists.

Panorama investigates the rise of patient power and the tough "value
for money" decisions now facing the NHS, and asks whether the
"postcode lottery" of healthcare is being replaced by "who shouts
loudest."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/pn/-/1/hi/programmes/panorama/default.stm

What exactly is very expensive treatment?

The first few heart bypass operations I daresay were more expensive than
they are now.
The first moveable prosthetics would have been far more expensive than the
previous prosthetics.

Any drug can start out expensive - the drug companies have usually spent
many millions of pounds (even hundreds of millions) from starting the
research through to trials and production.
If Herceptin is as effective as some campaigners make out, then within a
period of just a couple of years the sheer economy of scale along with
international patent right purchases will have made the money back and the
price will drop to a bit above cost.

Takes time to get there though.

The problems for NHS trusts is they have limited resources. No matter how
much someone wants a particular drug, if the trust has to cut vital
operations, reduce staffing or close wards to supply a small number of
patients then it can come down to a judgement call.
Unless they can get the money elsewhere.

Maybe they will try it when nothing else is working. Or should it be used
simply as a miracle drug instead of cheaper, older methods?

Martin <><


.

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