[The returns to society from medical research]

Abstract

Medical research can benefit society in many ways and through a multiplicity of inter-connected pathways. Some of these pathways involve the commercial sector directly, through the invention, trial and marketing of new drugs, vaccines, medical devices and equipment, which can improve patient diagnosis and treatment. These inventions are usually protected by patents. Biomedical patents often cite scientific articles, usually basic research rather than clinical observations. However, disease prevention may provide greater returns, and is typically accomplished through public health measures (e.g., vaccination, health services, provision of clean water) and wiser lifestyle choices by the population (e.g., not smoking, taking more exercise, practising safe sex, and eating a healthy diet). The reduction of environmental pollution has also played a major role in the increase in life expectancy. All these measures are ideally informed by sound research, and are brought about by government policy and influenced by public opinion. The latter is strongly affected by the mass media, which play an increasing role in connecting readers, listeners and viewers with medical research enterprise. Hopes of a cure for a disease are frequently offered, but commentators usually warn that much more research is needed first. New bibliometric techniques allow some of these interconnected pathways to be traced and analyzed, mainly through news stories or other documents citing research articles. For example, clinical guidelines rely on scientific evidence, including clinical trials, and even government policy documents sometimes cite research findings, although not often enough. Thus the socioeconomic effect of biomedical research can be evaluated in new ways that may provide a fairer view of its utility and impact than do conventional methods of citation analysis.