The Emotional Investment Behind the Development of New Therapies
Like the old TV commercial, I sometimes joke, “I’m not a doctor but I play one on TV.” What I really do is healthcare market research for the pharmaceutical industry, which requires a deep understanding of many diseases, diagnostics and treatments. I help pharmaceutical clients understand what patients need and how healthcare providers make decisions.
Sometimes people are judgmental about the pharmaceutical industry…
I know that healthcare is a hot-button issue. I understand, because the high cost of drugs for patients and families is something we hear echoed by both patients and physicians in research all the time. Physicians often provide the caveat “assuming insurance will cover this…” before explaining how they would approach prescribing a drug or when describing product preferences. There’s no doubt that this is an important issue, but in my experience, the motivation to market drugs is not all about money.
…But they may feel differently if they saw the passion that I see daily.
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When doing 