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“How is this legal?”
I reliably get this reaction when I explain aspects of oncology to friends&family, both medical and non.
In my mind, the fact that current practices run afoul of commonly-held ethical sensibilities is a clear mandate for change.
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I reliably get this reaction when I explain aspects of oncology to friends&family, both medical and non.
In my mind, the fact that current practices run afoul of commonly-held ethical sensibilities is a clear mandate for change.
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What do I mean, specifically?
I’m referring to the “open secrets” of oncology, which we take for granted but which many people (in my experience) find appalling:
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I’m referring to the “open secrets” of oncology, which we take for granted but which many people (in my experience) find appalling:
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The first of these is chemo “buy and bill” reimbursement, which means that we make more $$$ for treating vs not treating, and for using more expensive drugs vs cheaper alternatives.
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The second is the pervasive industry COI. In particular, that an oncologist receiving tens of thousands of $$$ from company X can simultaneously run the clinical trial of company X’s drug, and then later write the clinical practice guidelines that recommend this drug’s use.
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(Note that neither of these practices is specific to oncology, just very common here)
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It seems to me that most people tolerate this status quo mainly because they are oblivious to it. Which doesn’t seem right. Either they ought to know, or we ought to change.
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