阅读理解 一 Saying they can no longer ignore the rising prices of health care, some of the most influential medical groups in the nation are recommending that doctors weigh the costs, not just the effectiveness of treatment, as they make decisions about patient care. The shift, little noticed outside the medical establishment but already controversial inside it, suggests that doctors are starting to redefine their roles, from being concerned exclusively about individual patients to exerting influence on how healthcare dollars are spent. In practical terms, the new guidelines being developed could result in doctors choosing one drug over another for cost reasons or even deciding that a particular treatment-at the end of life, for example-is too expensive. In the extreme, some critics have said that making treatment decisions based on cost is a form of rationing. Traditionally, guidelines have heavily influenced the practice of medicine, and the latest ones are expected to make doctors more conscious of the economic consequences of their decisions, even though there's no obligation to follow them. Medical society guidelines are also used by insurance companies to help determine reimbursement(报销)policies. Some doctors see a potential conflict in trying to be both providers of patient care and financial overseers. "There should be forces in society who should be concerned about the budget, but they shouldn't be functioning simultaneously as doctors," said Dr. Martin Samuels at a Boston hospital. He said doctors risked losing the trust of patients if they told patients, "I'm not going to do what I think is best for you because I think it's bad for the healthcare budget in Massachusetts." Doctors can face some grim trade-offs. Studies have shown, for example, that two drugs are about equally effective in treating macular degeneration, an eye disease. But one costs $50 a dose and the other close to $2,000. Medicare could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year if everyone used the cheaper drug. Avastin, instead of the costlier one, Lucentis. But the Food and Drug Administration has not approved Avastin for use in the eye, and using it rather than the alternative, Lucentis, might carry an additional, although slight, safety risk. Should doctors consider Medicare's budget in deciding what to use? "I think ethically(在道德层面上)we are just worried about the patient in front of us and not trying to save money for the insurance industry or society as a whole," said Dr. Donald Jensen. Still, some analysts say that there's a role for doctors to play in cost analysis because not many others are doing so. "In some ways," said Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, "it represents a failure of wider society to take up the issue."
单选题 What do some most influential medical groups recommend doctors do?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】事实细节题。定位句指出医疗集团建议医生在决定病人的治疗方案时,不仅要考虑疗效,还要考虑医疗成本费用,故答案为C. 点睛:A“反思他们所应承担的责任”,在原文并没有明确提示,可以排除;B“对其治疗效果更加注意”,这与原文要表达的意思正好相反,可以排除;D“从削减医保的角度重新调整其操作”,原文虽然提到医生要考虑医疗费用,但并没有明确提出让医生们直接考虑削减医保,可以排除。
单选题 What were doctors mainly concerned about in the past?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】推理判断题。从定位句及其所在段落可以看出,作者提到一个关于医生角色的关键性的变化,即从单纯考虑病人个体转为对医疗费用的使用施加影响,可见,医生过去只考虑治疗效果.
单选题 What may the new guidelines being developed lead to?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】事实细节题。定位句指出,医生会基于价格考虑,从而决定药品的使用和医疗方案,这与上一段首句提到的redefine their roles相呼应,医生从仅仅只考虑疗效到在决定中引入费用因素,其角色确实发生了转变,故答案为A。
单选题 What risk do doctors see in their dual role as patient care providers and financial overseers?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】事实细节题。第五段首先提到医生作为医疗服务提供者和医疗成本监察员,本就存在着潜在矛盾,而在随后的第六段第二句中又明确指出,这样会使医生失去病人的信任,故答案为D。
单选题 What do some experts say about doctors' involvement in medical cost analysis?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】推理判断题。最后一段首句指出,尽管医生兼任医药成本监察员的职责并不合适,但又不得不为之,因为很少有其他群体能做到,而作者更进一步引用丹尼尔·赛尔马西医生的话指出,整个社会没能成功处理这一问题,故答案为C。