Today in the New York Times, an issue comes to light regarding the scarcity of cancer drugs, not just for the elderly but for unfortunate children as well. The letter below speaks for this.
submitted Sunday, August 07th, 2011 at 6:47 am. ------------------------ Name: Julian Lieb,M.D Email: Julian@DoctorLieb.com Donald Berwick, M.D Director Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore MD 21244-1850
Dear Dr. Berwick, It is the ethical and human right of every patient, physician, and citizen within your sphere of influence, to receive this information, and as soon as possible .No one may review, suppress, modify, or otherwise corrupt it. I assume that you will diffuse it, as soon as possible, through every means of communication available to you. Please notify me once that process is underway. Thank you. Sincerely, Julian Lieb, M.D
Semi-retired, former Yale medical school professor, widely published 25 years ago, I initiated a series of communications regarding a remarkable innovation for infectious disorders to various operatives of Medicare. In 2001, I added an equally remarkable innovation for cancer. During this period, I twice approached Dr Berwick at his prior position. Thousands of vested interests have purged the innovations, inflicting colossal human and financial colossal damage on society, and substantially bloating the deficit. When I wrote recently to Dr Berwick, I knew that issue involved ethics; only later realizing that it also refers to article 19 of the declaration of human rights, written in 1946 in the hope of preventing such atrocities as took place during the Second World War. I wrote to a panel of Medicare physicians only a few weeks ago, with similar results. The relationship of Dr Berwick to the Harvard medical school is a matter of grave concern, and of Harvard’s influence on politicians, government healthy policy, and on lay and media. I have similar concerns relating to Harvard’s relationship with the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Massachusetts Medical Society, The Booth Institute of Economics has assessed a cancer “cure” at $50 trillion for the U.S alone, and the innovation is as close to a cure as we are likely to see for a very long time. For Berwick/Medicare to inflict cut backs on the care of elders, and on their physicians under these circumstances, is unethical, unjust and diabolical. It is my ethical duty, and professional responsibility, to make these concerns public. Julian Lieb, M.D ______________________________
Isn't it time that we used our resources more wisely and addressed this matter?
What are your suggestions?