It’s hard not to imagine that some bureaucrats that the National Institute’s of Health were not thinking of Robert Burns’ “best laid plans of mice and men” when they heard the results of a recent “comparative effectiveness” study of the drugs Lucentis and Avastin.
“Comparative effectiveness” studies are the shoehorn for government interference between the doctor/patient relationship. These studies allow bureaucrats to dictate health care decisions that should be made by doctors by determining that certain drugs or treatments are comparable and the cheaper drug becomes the one the government covers for treatment. The ObamaCare takeover of our health care system appropriated nearly $1 billion for these studies.
The National Institute for Health (NIH) initiated a study into the “comparative effectiveness” of the drugs Lucentis and Avastin – both made by the same manufacture. The basis of the study was to determine whether Avastin could be used as a substitute for Lucentis when treated macular degeneration. Avastin was never approved by the FDA for macular degeneration while Lucentis was tried, tested and approved for such purpose.
The initial test results showed the danger of such a strategy.
The Wall Street Journal reports on an analysis by the Johns Hopkins University, scheduled to be presented in early May shows the off-label use of “Avastin showed a statistically significant increased risk for mortality and hemorrhagic stroke compared to Lucentis. The abstract indicated that the use of Avastin showed an 11% higher risk in overall mortality and a 57% higher risk of hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident. “Data from this Medicare claims analysis suggest differences in the safety profile of Avastin versus Lucentis,” the researchers concluded. ”
The initial results of this test show some of the pitfalls of bureaucrats dictating the care and treatment of patients. Senator Jon Kyl has introduced legislation that will protect and preserve the doctor’s ability to make these determinations.
The PATIENT’s Act will ensure that the determination of doctors will not be substituted by the dictates of bureaucrats and cost should never substitute for quality and effectiveness. Not all patients’ respond to a certain drug the same way. Doctor’s are in the best position to determine what drug is best for each individual patient. The PATEINT’s Act will enshrine that fact into law.
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