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Trial...
And Error?
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Advances in medicine usually come at someone’s expense. That’s a given -- but whose? Maybe someone who simply couldn’t afford a prescription, someone with health problems that aren’t being addressed any other way. Are we allowing the most vulnerable members of society to suffer so that, in the future, the rest of us won’t? What obligation does society have to the uninsured? | ||
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IMAGINE LOSING YOUR JOB, HAVING TO TAKE ON A PAPER ROUTE AND OTHER ODD JOBS AT THE AGE OF 63. NOT ONLY DID IRENE DUARTE LOSE HER PAYCHECK, BUT ALSO HER HEALTH INSURANCE, CREATING A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. SHE HAS VERY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE.
DUARTE: "I couldn't take no pills because I couldn't afford them. I lived on pins and needles, hoping I wouldn't have a heart attack because I wasn't taking no medication."
DUARTE BEGAN "RENTING" HERSELF TO MEDICAL SCIENCE. SHE ENROLLED IN A DRUG TRIAL FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, PLAYING A KIND OF MEDICAL ROULETTE WITH HER LIFE.
DUARTE: "I don't know what the pills are. They just give me a case and I just take them."
SHE FELT VOLUNTEERING WAS HER BEST CHANCE AT HEALTH CARE.
DR. DAVID MILLER: "These are patients that are looking for ways to get their medications covered and actually getting their overall care covered while they're in studies."
DR. DAVID MILLER IS DIRECTOR OF A CLINICAL RESEARCH SITE NEAR BOSTON. HE SAYS HIS CLINIC OFFERS CRITICAL SERVICES THAT MANY OF HIS PATIENTS WOULD NOT GET OTHERWISE.
DR. MILLER: "I think, if anything, the drug companies that are investigating these products err on the side of doing more tests than a regular physician would do in their office."
BUT MEDICAL ETHICIST DR. DAVID STEINBERG WONDERS IF THE MULTI-BILLION- DOLLAR DRUG INDUSTRY TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE POOR AS IT PUSHES TO BRING LUCRATIVE NEW PRODUCTS TO MARKET.
DR. STEINBERG: "To the extent that they're signing up for studies they would not have signed up for if they had these medicines, I suppose you could say it's exploitation."
IRENE DUARTE LEAVES THE DEBATE UP TO OTHERS. SHE DOES WHAT SHE HAS TO JUST TO SURVIVE.
DUARTE: "I feel very good about myself since I've been on the trial drugs. I feel independent.
That's the whole thing."