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Expensive Medical Treatment for Rare Diseases, Possible Questions -…
Expensive Medical
Treatment for Rare Diseases
‘It’s a real-life Hunger Games’: a lifesaving drug costs $2m, but not every child can get it
Stakeholders
Treatment Provider
VP:
R&D of treatments
Profit/Maintain operations
Patients and their families
VP:
Patients' treatments
Families' economic condition
Government
VP:
Welfare of all citizens (allocation of resources)
NGOs
VP:
Quality of live of targeted groups (patients of rare disease)
Equality of targeted groups (patients over the world)
Factors
Technological:
Lack of R&D of the disease in the medical/biotech industry
Lack of cases :arrow_right: increase difficulties in developing a treatment
Treatment is designed at a case-by-case basis :arrow_right: more human resources need :arrow_right: higher price
Social:
Lack of awareness from gov and NGOs :arrow_right: less substitute/financial aid is given to patient's family :arrow_right: higher price individuals need to pay
Impacts
Social:
Inequality in receiving treatment
Increase QoL of patients and their families
Economical:
Increase government's expense in medical system
Harm patients' economic QoL
Technological:
High revenue/funding from the profit :arrow_right: encourage future R&D for relevant treatment
Controversies
Patients from MDCs vs LDCs
Treatment only available to those who can pay for it
The right of receive treatment of those in LDCs
Specific groups of people vs the society
Government's resources allocation (e.g. money) on a treatment targeting specific group of patients
While others receive less resource and harm their welfare
Profit vs Providing more affordable treatment
The company has its own operation/R&D budget to sustain
This is a one-time payment that in long term more affordable than other long-term medication
The price put a barrier to those cannot afford it
Challenges
Lack of resources
High price :arrow_right: harder for government and NGOs to provide universal treatment and harder for individuals to afford it themselves
Low awareness on relevant diseases: (tackling root cause)
Late diagnosis :arrow_right: slimmer chance for successful treatment/too risky
Suggestions
NGOs and gov: financial substidution
Gov: more funding on relevant R&D development :arrow_right: cheaper cost/more competition :arrow_right: lower price
Possible Questions
Who should bear the largest responsibility in the high price of the medical treatment?
What are the controversies if gov were to subsidize the medical treatment?
Financial substitution is the best way to help patients with rare diseases. Do you agree?