Cost Reducing Health Care Technologies

The national debate over how to control the spiraling cost of health care in the United States was escalating. The year was 1993. The Whitaker Foundation and the National Science Foundation (NSF) addressed the issue by jointly offering a series of research grants that would encourage engineers, physical scientists, and health professionals to find ways of reducing the cost of health care without compromising its quality.

The program was intended to counter the misconception that advances in technology inevitably add to the nation's health care bill. Investigators were encouraged to explore new technologies as well as develop more efficient uses of current technologies.

In submitting proposals, applicants were required to document the anticipated cost reduction by including a quantitative analysis of the expected cost savings using realistic assumptions. The potential for cost reduction had to be clearly and convincingly demonstrated.

The Whitaker Foundation made 12 awards under the program for a total investment of $6.5 million. The NSF made a similar investment.

Bioengineering for Disease Prevention and Control

The Whitaker Foundation began a second program to address health care costs in 1994 in a collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The one-year program, operated with the NIH's National Center for Research Resources, focused on the development of technology that had cost-saving potential for the delivery of health care. Applicants were encouraged to focus on technologies that would prevent disease, detect diseases at earlier stages, reduce the length of hospital stays, eliminate inpatient care, transfer medical procedures from the hospital to the home, or provide personalized patient care.

The Whitaker Foundation made four awards totaling $3.8 million. The NIH made a similar financial commitment.