BROAD SPECTRUM QUOTABLE
GABRIELE FALLOPIO 1523-1562 Italian scientist most famous physician in the 16th century anatomy of the head
JUSTUS VON LIEBIG 1803-1872 German chemist founder of organic chemistry, discovered the role of nitrogen as an essential plant nutrient
GEORGE M. WHITESIDES Professor of Chemistry, Harvard NMR spectroscopy, nanotechnology
“ This drug, if it’s good, if it’s safe, if it works, it will be approved.” Frances Richmond, director of the USC International Center for Regulatory Science, featured on ABC7 Los Angeles Eyewitness News in a story about fast tracking an experimental drug — GM6 — for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the devastating condition that destroys motor neurons, has no viable treatment and has an average prognosis of two years.
PETER BRENDAN DERVAN Professor of Chemistry, Caltech DNA recognition in chemical biology
Does Transparency Save Dollars?
13%
on laboratory tests CLAY C. C. WANG Professor of Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor of Chemistry, University of Southern California
JUNKO YAEGASHI
YES
Patients who used an Internet tool to conduct price comparisons on routine medical services saved 13 percent on laboratory tests and 14 percent on advanced imaging, according to a recent study conducted by Neeraj Sood, director of research at the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. The report was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
14%
on advanced imaging
Without cost-comparing tools, patients would remain unaware of variations in pricing among available providers, the study notes. Such a tool enables patients to save money for themselves, their employers and payers. Sood emphasizes that this is only the beginning of the anticipated impact on healthcare costs and competition among providers expected to result from increased transparency in pricing.
SUMMER 2015
7