Introduction
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is well-known for its non-profit scientific endeavors to develop new technologies to benefit patients and society. However, it faced a crisis as the expenditures for research and development grew, and the hospital could not support it with its resources (West & Ashiya, 2004). Instead, the institution had to rely heavily on grants, which were an unstable funding source, resulting in researchers seeking different funding methods for their studies. One proposed solution is commercializing research findings and developing technologies to generate more income (West & Ashiya, 2004). This proposition has several issues, which will be covered in this paper.
Barriers to the Commercialization of MGH’s Technologies
The first issue is associated with MGH’s mission statement, which revolves around the organization’s non-profit status and its desire to help people through research. This suggests an approach that is voluntarily different from the competitive market environment—all research is to be treated equally rather than evaluated on its immediate commercial value (West & Ashiya, 2004). Commercializing findings and technologies developed would, by default, introduce an element of consideration against the organization’s values.
The second issue considers the conflict of interest of researchers performing their studies. With commercialization being a factor, these individuals are incentivized to pick the most profitable research options (West & Ashiya, 2004). They also may be inclined to lie about the results of their findings, or else their effort is met with a commercial failure.
Finally, there is the matter of patient protection. If doctors own stock in the hospital where they work, then it is disputed that they cannot be trusted to act in the patient’s interest, as the more expensive options would directly benefit them. Such a consideration may diminish the trust between doctors and patients, affecting the effectiveness and safety of the treatments (West & Ashiya, 2004).
Conclusion
This is the range of issues MGH is currently facing in its financial dilemma. Some solutions may involve changing the overarching mission of MGH, finding more stable funding sources, or developing a framework different from either commercialization or maintaining the status quo. The guiding principles of serving patients and society first should, however, remain unchanged.
Reference
West, J., & Ashiya, M. (2004). Technology commercialization at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Harvard Business School.