From "pharma bros" to everyday medications, just how did the pharmaceutical industry betray its own history--and how can it return to its tradition of care? It is an unfortunate and life-threatening fact: one in five Americans has skipped vital prescriptions simply because of the cost. These choices are being made even though we have reached a point in medicine where cancers can be cured and sight restored for those blinded by rare genetic disorders. At a time of such advancements, how did we reach a point where people cannot afford the very things that could dramatically improve, or even save their lives? For the first time in decades, people from all walks of life face the same need for medicine. It is time to discuss the though questions about drug pricing in an open and honest manner. Like so much else in human history, the history of the pharmaceutical enterprise is populated mostly by well-intended and even noble individuals and organizations. And yet the systems originally created to do good have often been subverted in ways contrary to the motivations of their creators. Only by understanding this disconnect can we better tackle the underlying problems of the industry head on, preventing foreseeable, and thus avoidable, medical calamities to come. The Price of Health reveals the story of how th epharmaceutical enterprise took shape and reached the present crisis. How have medicines been made and distributed to consumers throughout the years? What sea of changes have contributed to rising costs? Some individuals, actions, and systems will be familiar, others may surprise. Yet the combined implications of these actions will be revelatory and at times shocking to both industry professionals and average American alike. Deeply researched, The Price of Health gives us hope as to how we can still right the ship, even amidst a roiling storm. -- From dust jacket.
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