CLINICAL NEWS
Data Stream
Cancer Prevention: A War of the Words
12
%
The amount by which patients were less likely to consider
prevention behaviors when metaphors describing cancer as an
“ENEMY”
and simple prevention tactics as
“WEAPONS”
were used, compared with neutral metaphors. This was
according to a study of 313 participants, in which using
statements such as
“WINNING
THE BATTLE
AGAINST
CANCER”
was actually more likely to hurt than help prevention efforts.
Source: Hauser DJ, Schwarz N. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2015;41:66-77.
The Costly Road to Approval
2.6 BILLION
$
is the estimated cost of getting a new drug
approved, according to a new report from the
think tank, the Tufts Center for the Study of
Drug Development. This total includes
$3,000,000,000
$2,500,000,000
$1.4 BILLION
$2,000,000,000
in the drug discovery and development process,
and another
$1,500,000,000
$1.2 BILLION
$1,000,000,000
in time costs (returns lost by investors while the
drug is still under development). Notably, this
figure is more than three times higher than the
group’s 2001 estimate of $802 million.
$500,000,000
$0
Source: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
2001
estimate
2014
What Would You Do?
More than 21,000 physicians responded to an ethics survey conducted by
Medscape’s Ethics Center. The most divisive medical/ethical dilemmas
included romantic relationships with patients, the placebo effect, and
physician-assisted suicide. Here are a few of the findings:
19%
may use placebo,
depending on the
situation
42%
would prescribe a placebo
to patients who demand
medication but do not
require treatment
PLACEBOS
37%
would not use a
placebo to handle
pushy patients
15%
said it would depend
on the situation.
SUICIDE
The Sting of Medicare’s
“Paper” Cuts
257,000
health-care providers will see a 1-percent
cut in their Medicare and Medicaid payments this year for failing to demonstrate
“meaningful use” of electronic health
records in 2013. Small practices and physicians – who make up the majority of those
being penalized – will be hit especially hard.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
18
ASH Clinical News
54%
said physician-assisted
suicide should be allowed
31%
said no
10%
said it depended on the
situation (Interestingly,
as physicians age, they
are more apt to find these
relationships acceptable.)
22%
of physicians said a
romantic or sexual
relationship with a former
patient was acceptable
ROMANCE
68%
said it was never
acceptable
Source: Medscape’s 2014 Ethics Report
January 2015