Through an analysis of China's healthcare system and the regulatory model of pharmaceutical pricing, the paper concludes that the prime cause of pharmaceutical pricing inflation is the twodirectional monopoly of publ...Through an analysis of China's healthcare system and the regulatory model of pharmaceutical pricing, the paper concludes that the prime cause of pharmaceutical pricing inflation is the twodirectional monopoly of public healthcare institutions on pharmaceutical retailing. The low cost of medical services means that public hospitals can legitimately use the sale of pharmaceuticals to subsidize the provision of services. Moreover, the policy of controlling the rate of return gives public hospitals a further incentive to buy and sell high-cost pharmaceuticals. In addition, the policy of independent pricing together with the laxity of the system for approving new drugs allows the makers of pharmaceutical products to charge higher prices and facilitates public hospitals' sale of high-priced drugs. All of these problems result from inappropriate government controls. Therefore, the basic strategy for solving the problem of inflated pharmaceutical prices should be to lessen government controls on healthcare, open up retail sales of prescription medicines, and reform the public healthcare system and medical insurance reimbursement, breaking the monopoly of public hospitals.展开更多
The present study examines the various techniques being used to maintain the integrity of the medical devices,and develops a quantitative framework to list these in the sequence of priority.To achieve the intended obj...The present study examines the various techniques being used to maintain the integrity of the medical devices,and develops a quantitative framework to list these in the sequence of priority.To achieve the intended objective,the study employs the combined procedure of Fuzzy Analytic Network Process(ANP)and Fuzzy Technical for Order Preference by Similarities to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS).We selected fuzzy based decision making techniques for assessing the integrity of medical devices.The suggested methodology was then used for classifying the suitable techniques used to evaluate the integrity of medical devices.Different techniques or the procedures of integrity assessment were ranked according to their satisfaction weights.The rating of the options determined the order of priority for the procedures.As per the findings of the study,among all the options,A1 was assessed to be the most likely option.This means that the integrity of medical devices of A2 is the highest amongst all the chosen alternatives.This analysis will be a corroborative guideline for manufacturers and developers to quantitatively test the integrity of medical devices in order to engineer efficacious devices.The evaluations undertaken with the assistance of the planned procedure are accurate and conclusive.Hence instead of conducting a manual valuation,this experimental study is a better and reliable option for assessing the integrity of the medical devices.展开更多
Electronic machines in the guise of digital computers have transformed our world―social,family,commerce,and politics―although not yet health.Each iteration spawns expectations of yet more astonishing wonders.We wait...Electronic machines in the guise of digital computers have transformed our world―social,family,commerce,and politics―although not yet health.Each iteration spawns expectations of yet more astonishing wonders.We wait for the next unbelievable invention to fall into our lap,possibly without limit.How realistic is this?What are the limits,and have we now reached them?A recent survey in The Economist suggests that we have.It describes cycles of misery,where inflated expectations are inevitably followed,a few years later,by disillusion.Yet another Artificial Intelligence(AI)winter is coming―“After years of hype,many people feel AI has failed to deliver”.The current paper not only explains why this was bound to happen,but offers a clear and simple pathway as to how to avoid it happening again.Costly investments in time and effort can only show solid,reliable benefits when full weight is given to the fundamental binary nature of the digital machine,and to the equally unique human faculty of‘intent’.‘Intent’is not easy to define;it suffers acutely from verbal fuzziness―a point made extensively in two earlier papers:“The scientific evidence that‘intent’is vital for healthcare”and“Why Quakerism is more scientific than Einstein”.This paper argues that by putting‘intent’centre stage,first healthcare,and then democracy can be rescued.Suppose every medical consultation were supported by realistic data usage?What if,using only your existing smartphone,your entire medical history were scanned,and instantly compared,within microseconds,with up-to-the-minute information on contraindications and efficacy,from around the globe,for the actual drug you were about to receive,before you actually received it?This is real-time retrieval of clinical data―it increases the security of both doctor and patient,in a way that is otherwise unachievable.My 1980 Ph.D.thesis extolled the merits of digitising the medical record―and,just as digitisation has changed our use of audio and video beyond recognition,so a data-rich medical consultation is unprecedented―prepare to be surprised.This paper has four sections:(1)where binaries help;(2)where binaries ensure extinction;(3)computers in healthcare and civilisation;and(4)data-rich doctoring.Health is vital for economic success,as the current pandemic demonstrates,inescapably.Politics,too,is routinely corrupted―unless we rectify both,failures in AI will be the least of our troubles.展开更多
文摘Through an analysis of China's healthcare system and the regulatory model of pharmaceutical pricing, the paper concludes that the prime cause of pharmaceutical pricing inflation is the twodirectional monopoly of public healthcare institutions on pharmaceutical retailing. The low cost of medical services means that public hospitals can legitimately use the sale of pharmaceuticals to subsidize the provision of services. Moreover, the policy of controlling the rate of return gives public hospitals a further incentive to buy and sell high-cost pharmaceuticals. In addition, the policy of independent pricing together with the laxity of the system for approving new drugs allows the makers of pharmaceutical products to charge higher prices and facilitates public hospitals' sale of high-priced drugs. All of these problems result from inappropriate government controls. Therefore, the basic strategy for solving the problem of inflated pharmaceutical prices should be to lessen government controls on healthcare, open up retail sales of prescription medicines, and reform the public healthcare system and medical insurance reimbursement, breaking the monopoly of public hospitals.
基金Funding for this study was granted by the King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology(KACST),Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the Grant Number:12-INF2970-10.
文摘The present study examines the various techniques being used to maintain the integrity of the medical devices,and develops a quantitative framework to list these in the sequence of priority.To achieve the intended objective,the study employs the combined procedure of Fuzzy Analytic Network Process(ANP)and Fuzzy Technical for Order Preference by Similarities to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS).We selected fuzzy based decision making techniques for assessing the integrity of medical devices.The suggested methodology was then used for classifying the suitable techniques used to evaluate the integrity of medical devices.Different techniques or the procedures of integrity assessment were ranked according to their satisfaction weights.The rating of the options determined the order of priority for the procedures.As per the findings of the study,among all the options,A1 was assessed to be the most likely option.This means that the integrity of medical devices of A2 is the highest amongst all the chosen alternatives.This analysis will be a corroborative guideline for manufacturers and developers to quantitatively test the integrity of medical devices in order to engineer efficacious devices.The evaluations undertaken with the assistance of the planned procedure are accurate and conclusive.Hence instead of conducting a manual valuation,this experimental study is a better and reliable option for assessing the integrity of the medical devices.
文摘Electronic machines in the guise of digital computers have transformed our world―social,family,commerce,and politics―although not yet health.Each iteration spawns expectations of yet more astonishing wonders.We wait for the next unbelievable invention to fall into our lap,possibly without limit.How realistic is this?What are the limits,and have we now reached them?A recent survey in The Economist suggests that we have.It describes cycles of misery,where inflated expectations are inevitably followed,a few years later,by disillusion.Yet another Artificial Intelligence(AI)winter is coming―“After years of hype,many people feel AI has failed to deliver”.The current paper not only explains why this was bound to happen,but offers a clear and simple pathway as to how to avoid it happening again.Costly investments in time and effort can only show solid,reliable benefits when full weight is given to the fundamental binary nature of the digital machine,and to the equally unique human faculty of‘intent’.‘Intent’is not easy to define;it suffers acutely from verbal fuzziness―a point made extensively in two earlier papers:“The scientific evidence that‘intent’is vital for healthcare”and“Why Quakerism is more scientific than Einstein”.This paper argues that by putting‘intent’centre stage,first healthcare,and then democracy can be rescued.Suppose every medical consultation were supported by realistic data usage?What if,using only your existing smartphone,your entire medical history were scanned,and instantly compared,within microseconds,with up-to-the-minute information on contraindications and efficacy,from around the globe,for the actual drug you were about to receive,before you actually received it?This is real-time retrieval of clinical data―it increases the security of both doctor and patient,in a way that is otherwise unachievable.My 1980 Ph.D.thesis extolled the merits of digitising the medical record―and,just as digitisation has changed our use of audio and video beyond recognition,so a data-rich medical consultation is unprecedented―prepare to be surprised.This paper has four sections:(1)where binaries help;(2)where binaries ensure extinction;(3)computers in healthcare and civilisation;and(4)data-rich doctoring.Health is vital for economic success,as the current pandemic demonstrates,inescapably.Politics,too,is routinely corrupted―unless we rectify both,failures in AI will be the least of our troubles.