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Irfan A. Dhalla, MD; Allan S. Detsky, MD, PhD

JAMA. 2008;300(12):1453-1455.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Technological progress in communication and transportation has reduced barriers to international trade and revolutionized modern life. Many individuals in North America eat vegetables grown in South America, buy toys produced in China, and receive telephone advice from operators in India. In contrast, health care remains largely a domestic pursuit. Although the international outsourcing of radiology and the importation of prescription drugs¹ have received some attention, international trade already plays a larger role in the pharmaceutical sector than most Americans might realize. For example, Americans might be surprised to learn that most prescription medications used in the United States are manufactured abroad. The recent episode linking deaths in the United States to heparin that allegedly was deliberately contaminated during its manufacture in China has properly focused attention on the danger of pharmaceutical globalization. Nevertheless, the benefits of importing prescription medications from lower-income . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Context

Author Affiliations: Departments of Health Policy Management and Evaluation (Dr Detsky) and Medicine (Drs Dhalla and Detsky), University of Toronto; and Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network (Dr Detsky), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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