Power to the Patients: Takeaways from the "New Health Report"

June 24, 2010 · Leave a comment

Industry Insights from Paul Meade, M. Sc, MPH

A recent report suggested that patients can have a significant influence on the success or failure of new drugs. The “New Health Report,” conducted by Richard Day Research and published by Quintiles, a large multinational contract research organization (CRO) to the pharmaceutical industry, surveyed executives from biopharmaceutical companies and from healthcare companies, as well as a number of patients. They found that patients are gradually moving into a position of influence over the success of a new medicine, a position long held by the medical community.

There is an old saying in the art of negotiating– “whoever believes he has the power, has the power.” This interesting paradox can be seen in government. The politicians believe they have the power, and so they wield it readily to control the people; whereas the people do not believe they have the power, and are thus subjugated to the will of the government. In reality, it is the opposite. The government derives its power from the people, and the people of the land have the real power. But in most cases, the government believes it has the power, as so it does.

In medicine, physicians have always held a position of power over the interventions of diseases. They make life and death decisions armed with a wealth of ... read more »

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