How Medical Research Improves the Accuracy of Second Opinions
When seeking medical second opinions, be sure that you access leading-edge research.
Medical research may begin in a lab, but its effects are felt in hospital rooms, in homes, in workplaces—and in the body itself. Those effects are measured in years and in quality of life: how well people can live, work, and enjoy their days. The changes that have resulted from this research have radically altered human health. For example, life expectancy in the U.S., where medical research is well-funded, was just 47 years in 1900, but it’s 79 years today. Since the turn of the 21st century, cancer deaths have fallen dramatically in the U.S., saving about 4 million lives. Last year, the FDA approved 55 new drugs, which was the second-highest year on record after the record-making numbers of 2018. The pace of innovation continues to quicken.
When patients seek medical second opinions (MSOs), it’s crucial for the providers who make those decisions to have access to the latest, leading-edge medical research. Medical research quickly changes our understanding of diseases and illnesses, as well as the therapies that can most effectively treat them.
What are the Sources of Medical Research Funding?
The United States is, by far, the leading source of medical research. Funding for medical research and development totals about $245 billion each year. According to Research!America, a nonprofit medical and health research advocacy alliance, the sources of the funding in the U.S. include:
• Pharmaceutical Industry: $161.8 billion
• Federal departments and agencies: $61.5 billion
• Academic and research institutions: $16.8 billion
• Foundations, associations, and societies: $3 billion
• State governments: $2.1 billion
The single largest source of biomedical funding in the world is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Of the $61.5 billion of U.S. federal funding, the NIH contributes about $48 billion. This far exceeds funding from other countries. The budget of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, for example, is $1.2 billion. While all European countries combined provide 33% of the world’s medical research dollars, the U.S. alone provides 44%.
How Does Medical Research Affect Patient Care?
Developing New Treatments: Medical research has revolutionized the treatments that are currently available to patients. From immunotherapy to targeted therapies to artificial organs, new treatments have allowed more patients to be matched with the best therapy or procedure available for their condition, improving their outcomes.
Improving Diagnoses: Often, the earlier a condition is diagnosed, the more easily it can be treated. Blood tests, low-dose CT scans, and genetic tests have allowed more people to learn about their conditions earlier, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Preventing Disease: Medical research not only helps healthcare providers treat diseases, but prevent them, as well. Research about preventive medicine—including nutrition, exercise, and reduced exposure to pollutants and dangerous chemicals—helps patients become better informed about maintaining good health. New vaccines, including the mRNA vaccines developed for COVID-19, hold the potential to manage many other serious diseases.
Increased Patient Confidence: When patients work with healthcare professionals who have access to the latest research, they’re more likely to feel confident in that care, easing stress and worry.
How Can Patients Harness the Power of Medical Research in Medical Second Opinions?
The WorldCare Consortium® taps into this research, connecting members who seek medical second opinions with more than 20,000 specialists and subspecialists across six leading institutions. The Consortium’s $9 billion of annual biomedical research is in addition to more than $100 billion in worldwide research. When diagnoses and treatment plans are informed by the latest, most cutting-edge research, patients are more likely to have improved outcomes, better quality of life, and peace of mind that they are choosing the best treatment option available.
