Reference no: EM132643268
Assume you head a health care organization that has 200,000 subscribers who purchased a policy from you. You have to decide on what heart attack treatment you will pay for. Specifically, you know the following:
When a person has a heart attack, anti-clotting drugs are used to dissolve a blood clot during the attack and thus to improve a patient's chance of surviving. The drug is administered only once and as quickly as possible. When no anti-clotting drugs are used, 12% of all victims will die within a month of the attack. One drug Streptokinase reduces this mortality rate to 7.3% and costs $300 per dose. Genetech sells a drug, tPa, which costs $2500 per dose and reduces the mortality rate to 6.3%. This is based on an FDA approved statistical study with a sample size of approximately 41,000. Both Streptokinase and tPa require just one dose.
This is based on a real-life problem. You can assume the numbers stated in this problem are correct.
-Explains the dollar value of human life that the use of these drugs implies. From the given numbers come up with a dollar value of life. Then discuss if it is ethical to put a dollar value on human life. Hint: Determine the costs and benefits of treating 1000 heart attacks for each of the three potential treatments: Do nothing, use Streptokinase, use tPA.
-Are there any assumptions you need to make in making this decision?
-There is an important number that is missing that should influence your decision. What is it? Hint: Remember the 4 Random Variables: Needs, Arrival Rate, Loyalty, and Profit you should always consider when evaluating a system.
-Discuss at least two invisible numbers that you believe are relevant to this problem. Remember an invisible number is a number that describes a Force/Factor that you'd like to know something about but it is very difficult to measure.
-What is your decision? No fence-sitting; choose no drug, streptokinase, or tPa. First, reflect on the Next page; the rank in order of importance, the force that had the greatest impact on your decision. Forces: Values, Reasoning, Faith, Imagination, Emotion, and Sensing. Explain why your top-ranked Force achieved this status.