[teacozy]

<p>Have you guys seen this study?  </p>
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<p><a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/02/18/peds.2013-2637.abstract?sid=50a79a32-6869-4994-a0b3-71b9e1270c25" target="_blank">http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/02/18/peds.2013-2637.abstract?sid=50a79a32-6869-4994-a0b3-71b9e1270c25</a></p>
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<p>It's been discussed a couple times on some "skeptic" blogs recently and thought I would share. </p>
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<p>I always found the notion that pediatricians push vaccines out of greed to be silly and baseless, and this study helps confirm that. </p>
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<p>Respectful Insolence goes into that idea in general, and references this study.  He says :</p>
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<p>"<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);">In fact, depending on the practice, vaccines can be money losers for pediatricians. Indeed, a </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/10/17/141429853/vaccinations-can-be-money-losers-for-doctors" style="border:0px;color:rgb(4,78,142);margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" target="_blank">study from three years ago by athenahealth</a><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);"> found that in almost half the cases, payments for vaccines weren’t enough to cover the cost of storing and administering them. A study in </span><a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/Supplement_5/S472.full.pdf" style="border:0px;color:rgb(4,78,142);margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" target="_blank">Pediatrics</a><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);"> from 2009 concluded that for privately insured patients pediatricians vaccines produce little or no profit and that when losses from vaccinating publicly insured children (i.e., receiving Medicaid) most pediatrics practices lose money from vaccines. Indeed, a </span><a href="http://www.aol.com/article/2014/02/26/pediatricians-consider-the-rising-cost-of-vaccines/20839238/" style="border:0px;color:rgb(4,78,142);margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" target="_blank">recent news report</a><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);"> indicates that it’s gotten so bad that pediatricians have become very dissatisfied with insurance and government reimbursement for vaccines to the point that </span><a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/02/18/peds.2013-2637.abstract?sid=50a79a32-6869-4994-a0b3-71b9e1270c25" style="border:0px;color:rgb(4,78,142);margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" target="_blank">10% of pediatrics practices admit</a><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);"> to considering not offering vaccines anymore, instead referring their patients elsewhere for them." </span></p>
<p><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2014/03/05/pediatricians-versus-the-dunning-kruger-effect-on-vaccines/" target="_blank">http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2014/03/05/pediatricians-versus-the-dunning-kruger-effect-on-vaccines/</a></p>
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<p>What do you guys think about it? </p>

 

[ss834]

<p>That's a shame. This has happened with the vaccine companies, too. Vaccines just aren't profitable enough to motivate companies to keep developing them and even manufacturing those they've already developed. That's why we only have one or two companies manufacturing the vaccines for individual diseases. It's really quite scary when you realize just how tenuous the whole thing is, in part because of the controversies, and in part because the benefits of vaccine programs can't be directly realized with profits, but rather estimated by losses that have been prevented system-wide.</p>
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<p>I used to think profit was an appalling concept in healthcare, but after studying economics, I realize profit is an important part of accessibility. I don't mean obscene profits, but profiting off of medicine and healthcare isn't as horrible as it seems at first glance. It keeps the system moving.</p>

 

[sciencemum]

<p>The whole area of profit and medicine is a bit worrying, but of course the fact is that making large batches of vaccines safely is always going to be expensive. I'd probably prefer they were made in government labs, but that just isn't the way the world works today. </p>
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<p>It does worry me that companies will give up on vaccines as they must be a huge hassle with all the extra safety checks. They also just aren't a bit money maker for them - just a drop in the water compared to profits from the big earning drugs. Honestly that's probably a bigger threat to vaccination programmes than a few people deciding not to vaccinate….. I really hope it doesn't come to that.</p>