The current Medicare operation—reimbursing medical goods and services to a growing number of people without basing the reimbursement benefit on the actual cost of the services—is unsustainable, but there are some possible remedies.
Physicians are cautioned that the two obstacles to reforming post-marketing clinical trials are the FDA's reluctance to revisit past approvals and its inability to enforce pharmaceutical companies' commitment to conduct Phase IV trials.
Physicians can work with their patients to explore less expensive alternatives for delivering health care if physicians welcome the topic of cost during the clinical encounter.
A physicians urges practitioners to use cost-effective alternatives to dispensing samples to patients who cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions.
Illustrations that have commented on medicine and society have evolved over the last 150 years from being judgmental and harsh towards racial and ethnic minorities to now emphasizing the positive aspects of diversity.