Can’t afford the means to save your life? As patients struggle to keep up with the rising costs of life-saving drugs, this is no longer a question but a contemporary problem governments and the pharmaceutical industry must address. In the first HC News Discussion Forum of the semester on October 24, Mr. Qingning LIANG, PhD, addressed the problem through interactive discussion.
According to Mr. Liang, a dynamic balance exists between drugmakers, patients and government. He drew inspiration from the 2018 award-winning Chinese comedy-drama film “Dying to Survive”, where a Chinese patient smuggles cheap medicine from India to treat fellow patients who could not afford the costly treatments in their home country. He went on to describe current government healthcare systems in mainland China, Macau and Taiwan.
The one-hour discussion encouraged students to contemplate a problem faced by modern societies. They were made aware of critical issues involving R&D advancements, rising drug prices and subsequent impact on patients, especially the underprivileged.
