Chapter 11 : Medical Technology, Pharmaceuticals, and Pharmacological Research
Medical technology and pharmaceuticals are important but expensive
o Technology is the application of knowledge based on inventions, innovations, and
discoveries in science
o Technological advances in health care include:
Inventing the stethoscope
Using chloroform as anesthetic
Discovering viruses
Discovering X-Rays
Polio vaccine creation
First liver and lung transplants
Laser surgery on the first cornea
RNA interference to deactivate selected genes
Commercial hybrid PET/MRI scanner produced
o Medical technology references therapeutic and diagnostic devices used by health
professionals to prevent, treat, and diagnose illness and assist patients medically
o Pharmaceuticals are the research, production, marketing, and dispensing of agents
(drugs, genes, molecules, etc.) that are bioactive in the human body for
therapeutic purposes
Medical technology
o Growth area, both in business and healthcare
o Invests 11 percent of sales into research and development
o Patent litigation concerning medical technology
o Medical devices are prominent
Implants are prominent
Cardiac pacemakers, bionic limbs, eyes, nerve stimulators, medication
pumps, and whole organs such as hearts
o Medical imaging
Provides visual images inside the body
:CAT (computer axial tomography), ultrasounds, magnets and radio
frequencies (MRI)
o Minimally Invasive surgery
Laser, microwave, guided images, cryotherapy, and more
Compared to traditional open surgeries, these minimally invasive ones
only require small tubes to be inserted
o Genetic Mapping and Testing
Predict the possibility of genetic disease by identification and diagnosis
early on
: Gene therapy
Correcting defective genes responsible for disease development
o Cost/Benefit analysis
New technology can improve individual patient outcomes that make the
overall price of the advance to society lower
The use of advanced technology increases the price of care with no
improvement of outcomes for patients
Pharmaceuticals
o Began with the discovery of insulin in 1920
o Picture of an Industry
Prescription drugs: drugs physician prescribes for a patient and a
pharmacist fills it
Generic drugs are drugs that have no patent protection; generics generally
cheaper than a brand-name alternative
:Over-the-counter medications are those that consumers can buy for
themselves without a prescription
To bring a drug into the market, it has to go through:
Research and development
Production
Sales and marketing
: Takes 10-12 years and narrows down millions of choices to 1
o Industry regulation
FDA has lots of control over the introduction of new products
Requires extensive testing, controlled premarket distribution, etc
o Sales and Marketing efforts
Medical journaling and conference reporting helps to market a new drug
Personally selling drugs by the drug representative of pharmaceutical
companies
Direct advertising to patients
o The cost of prescription drugs
Switching to generic dru