 |
         
|
That research into preventing heart disease was covered by John McKenzie (no link) for ABC's A Closer Lookand science correspondent Robert Bazell on NBC and by two in-house physicians, Dr Jon LaPook for CBS' Eye on Medicine and Dr Timothy Johnson (no link) on ABC.
The study was funded by the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, manufacturer of Crestor, the cholesterol-lowering statin medication. Its lead author, CBS' LaPook told us, holds a patent that tests patients for C-Reactive Protein, a marker for inflammation of the arteries.
Guess what the study found? That CRP is a risk factor for heart disease even in patients with already low cholesterol and that Crestor treats CRP, thereby lowering the risk of cardiac arrest, stroke and death in otherwise healthy patients. "Many doctors now predict that millions of healthy Americans, middle aged and older, will be tested for CRP and if their levels are high, start taking a statin," ABC's McKenzie concluded.
How about a little cost-benefit analysis first?
"So why not just test everyone and then treat the people who have the elevated CRP?" inquired CBS anchor Katie Couric of her doctor. "It is really expensive," LaPook replied.
NBC's Bazell told us that the CRP tests cost less than $20 each--so universal testing would presumably cost billions, although Bazell did not do the sums. CBS' LaPook reported an estimate of 6m patients testing positive nationwide but did not tell us how many of them would benefit if they all took the drug. Bazell told us that mass medication could prevent 50,000 heart attacks, strokes, bypass surgeries, angioplasties and cardiovascular deaths annually but did not tell us how many millions of prescriptions would have to be written to help those 50,000, nor did he estimate a cost savings for averting those 50,000 procedures. ABC's Dr Johnson warned that some have elevated CRP levels that are unconnected to coronary artery disease, caused by infections or rheumatoid arthritis instead.
No one told us the cost of the Crestor prescription, although Bazell reckoned that "the generic cheaper versions should work just as well." "Do other statins work as well as Crestor?" ABC anchor Charles Gibson inquired of Dr Johnson. "Well the company would like us to think that Crestor is the best." Johnson's judgment: statins are "interchangeable."
No wonder the nation's healthcare budget is spiraling out of control! There is no other major journalistic beat where cost considerations are so routinely absent when reporting new developments. This Crestor coverage is typical of that oversight.
You must be logged in to this website to leave a comment. Please click here to log in so you can participate in the discussion.
