Despite the egalitarian, charitable spirit of medical crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe and YouCaring, the market can reinforce inequity and funnels millions of dollars into unproven and potentially dangerous surgeries, according to a study published in JAMA.
In an accompanying blog post for Health Affairs, the authors cite past research that shows 90 percent of medical crowdfunding campaigns never reach their goals. Those that do tend to have extended social networks or very specific needs, rather than generalized or ongoing needs, creating an environment of "inherent unfairness."
The authors' research builds on these findings to show that beyond the inequities of crowdfunding are the dangers of supporting dangerous procedures. They studied crowdfunding activity for five treatments shown to be ineffective, potentially dangerous or currently unproven. The five treatments included extended-course antibiotics for chronic Lyme disease, hyperbaric oxygen therapy for brain injuries, naturopathic and homeopathic treatments for cancer, and stem cell treatments that insert cells into the brain or spinal cord.
They found $6.77 million was raised on crowdfunding sites for these five categories, with $3.46 million for homeopathic and naturopathic cancer cures. Another $1.2 million was raised for stem cell treatments for brain injury, which can cause stroke, infection or death, according to the authors. More than $590,000 had been raised for stem cell treatments for spinal cord injuries. At the time of the study, not all the campaigns were complete. Together, campaigners sought more than $27 million in funds, according to the report.
"This money is wasted at best and harmful at worst. We believe that real harm is likely to have occurred in this snapshot of the market we observed, though we do not have a means to measure such harm," the authors wrote.
Read the full blog post here.
More articles on finance:
Hospital-acquired conditions cost billions, killed thousands in 2016
67% of commercial insurer payments in Virginia tied to value, analysis finds
Moody's: How CHS, Tenet and LifePoint are offsetting industry challenges