Is It Time To Examine The Social Impact Of Mixing Business And Medicine?

Is the social impact of treating medicine like a business catching up with us? Already for years diabetics have struggled to afford the medications they need to live as costs skyrocket. When Insulin was first created the patent was sold for $1 so that it could be produced as cheaply as possible for as many people who needed it to be able to afford it. But now the cost of insulin is skyrocketing to the point that people are rationing their medications and often dying in the process. Now we’re seeing the consequences of this business model spill into the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Is it time to take a good hard look at the social impact of mixing business and medicine?

Many of the supply shortages hospitals are experiencing are a direct result of decades of increasingly thin profit margins, which have necessitated on-demand ordering. Strategic stockpiles are meant to bridge the gap in case of an emergency like a hurricane or terrorist attack, but those stockpiles are also ill-prepared.

Learn more about the social perils of mixing business and medicine below.