Time and again in U.S. health care, new technologies are hurried into wide use with little testing, scant training of their human operators, and lack of solid evidence that newer really is better. After the flush of optimism has faded, billions of dollars later, we learn how to judiciously use the new equipment, but only after patients have been hurt or killed by the rush to the new.
The latest example is the deployment of new radiation therapy machines on cancer patients with operators who are not properly trained or credentialed and equipment that has not been tested or calibrated. The New York Times’ recent investigative series on the subject prompted one knowledgeable reader, Dr. Joseph Imperato, medical director of the Center for Advanced Radiation Medicine at Lake Forest (Ill.) Hospital. to write this:
To the Editor:
As a radiation oncologist practicing for 25 years, I believe that there is a crucial part of the story of radiation mishaps that has not been mentioned: the “nuclear arms race,” in which people want the newest technologies, without stopping to think about who is operating them.
In the past, academic medical centers were typically the first to obtain and use new technologies. The equipment would be thoroughly vetted and reported on in peer review articles before being accepted and used by the smaller community hospitals.
Now the reverse is true. Small community hospitals often far outpace academic medical centers. One example is the proliferation of proton centers run by for-profit companies. Often the staff has limited knowledge and experience with this extraordinarily complex equipment. And new technologies are often assumed by the public to be better, even though there is often little firm clinical data to support that.
As we struggle as a country to come to grips with health care costs, this is one area where there is great opportunity for savings. Clinical reviews can prevent the proliferation of needlessly expensive technology. What the public must come to grips with is that “new” is not automatically “better.”
See the Times’ letters section for more.
In my book, “The Life You Save,” I have several chapters that speak to this issue, particularly with new drugs. What patients need to understand is that whatever the technology, the early years of use are in essence a continuation of the testing phase. If you are comfortable with being a guinea pig, that’s fine, but very often you can get better, safer care with the tried and true. And if the new technology looks enticing, go with an operator who has the most experience using it, because practice does make perfect.
