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Like my kids frequently say when I mutter something obvious…”Like..DUH.! According to an article in today’s New York Times, “American medical care may be the most expensive in the world, but that does not mean it is worth every penny. A study to be released Thursday highlights the stark contrast between what the United States spends on its health system and the quality of care it delivers, especially when compared with many other industrialized nations.” No surprises here—the US spends more per capital on healthcare than all other industrialized nations but a greater percentage of the US population is without adequate healthcare.

One of the things that irritate me the most is that many Americans still believe that US healthcare is second to none. True, Americans have greater access to experimental and new cutting-edge treatments than others in the world, but when it comes to preventing or prophylatically delaying the onset of chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity etc, the American healthcare system is grossly deficient.  

Healthcare insiders and third party payors have known that the system has been failing for past 20 years. Unfortunately, the healthcare and drug maker company lobbies have effectively blocked and prevented any changes to correct the glaring deficiencies of the American healthcare system. Anytime, anybody utters the phrase “nationalized healthcare” a collective shudder is exhibited by most Americans. The truth is that Medicare, a government-run healthcare insurer, is responsible for covering almost 60% of all medicals claims that are filed annually in the US. This means that healthcare benefits supplied to a majority of Americans are under the auspices of a nationalized healthcare program. Why not go all the way and cover the medical costs of all Americans?????

Politicians can no longer deny that it’s time for a change—the health of America depends on it!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

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In an attempt to assuage the jitters and financial concerns of investors who own stock in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, the US Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that it will be change the format of the letter received by companies whose products are not ready for approval.

In the old days (at least until yesterday), when the agency determined that drugs were not suitable for sale, it would send companies a so-called non-approval letter. This letter was designed to inform drug and device makers that their products had issues that needed to be resolved before the agency will approve them. Apparently, (at least according to drug and device manufacturers), receipt of non-approval letters by companies signaled to investors that the product in question would never, under any circumstances, be approved by FDA. This urban legend was born because most companies that receive non-approvable letters decide against investing more time and money into products that FDA has deemed “unapprovable” i.e. there isn’t enough of a financial inducement or upside to continue further development.

Now, when new products are not up to snuff, companies will receive something called a “complete response letter.” According to the agency, the new letters will describe what is missing from a new drug or device application and, when, appropriate, offer advice on how to fix or address the problem(s). However, because contents of FDA letters are not released to the public, investors may now be less informed about the prospects of a new drug than in the past when the agency was able to send “approvable” or “non-approval” letters to companies.  “While this new plan may provide more detailed information to a company regarding issues that need to be addressed, investors will likely be kept in the dark on the true status of a drug’s approvability” said a pharmaceutical analyst after learning about the format changes. He went on to say “Investors will no longer know whether a drug is truly dead in the eyes of FDA.”

In my opinion, this is another example of FDA cow towing to the whims and wishes of industry. Whether you call it, a “non-approvable” or “complete response letter”, it still means the same thing—the drug or device is not ready for prime time! I don’t think that the change in semantics will do anything to assuage concerns of jittery investors. What it WILL do is force investors to rely solely on the honesty of the management teams that receives these letters—Oy!

I think that FDA ought to stick to the business of evaluating the safety and efficacy of drugs and be less concerned with the political and economic needs of the drug and device industries. Finally, it would be prudent for FDA to allow appropriately trained professionals to provide psychotherapy to all of the frightened and jittery investors out there!!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

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We all know (or should know) that eating dirty or yellow snow is a big “no-no”. Those of us who are parents (and live in regions where there are regular snowfalls) teach our children this lesson as quickly as possible. That said, should parents worry when their children eat new or freshly falling snow because it contains air-borne bacteria? 

Last week, a group of scientists at Louisiana State University reported in Science magazine that there may be a relationship between ice-nucleating, air-borne bacteria and global rainfall patterns. For those of you who don’t know, the formation of ice in clouds is required for snow and most rainfall. Although dust and soot particles serve as ice nucleation particles, bacterial ice nuclei are capable of catalyzing freezing more quickly at much warmer temperatures and their presence in the atmosphere may affect the processes that trigger precipitation. Results from the Science study suggested that bacteria like Pseudomonas syringae, which have long been know to serve as nucleators and induce ice formation, are widely distributed in the atmosphere and likely play critical roles in influencing the amount of rain that falls at various locations in the world–pretty cool new stuff for those of us interested in global warming and climate change in general. Therefore, it surprised me when I saw that lay newspaper reporters chose to “cherry pick” data from the paper to suggest to Americans that even freshly fallen snow contains large numbers of bacteria and that, perhaps, parents should be careful when they allow their children to eat snow!

As a card-carrying microbiologist and seasoned science educator, I want to assure all of you that eating freshly fallen snow will not cause disease in you or your children. The types of bacteria found in the atmosphere, and ultimately in snow, are not human pathogens and don’t cause disease. Thankfully, in a story entitled “Study: Driven snow isn’t all that Pure” that appeared in my local paper (The Trenton Times)– a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health was quoted as saying ; “We eat stuff that’s covered with bacteria all the time, and for the most part, it is killed in the stomach.” Another pediatrician, who is a member of the academy’s committee on infectious diseases, reinforced the claim that snow munching was not harmful and said “Children practically bathe in bacterial when they go to the playground and they won’t get anything from snow that they would not get from dirt.”  

Although most of the stories about bacteria and snow munching that appeared in the lay media were “fluff pieces”, they did alarm some parents! As one mother said in the Trenton Times article: “When I heard bacteria, at first, I went “eeeewwww”. But as long as the kids eat snow as it’s falling, I think it is okay. I tell them not to eat it if it’s on the ground.” What was particularly troubling about her remark was her initial negative reaction to the mere mention of the word bacteria. Unfortunately, most Americans have little understanding about bacteria and the negative impressions that they have formed are based on the sensationalistic and often scientifically inaccurate pieces about “dangerous” bacteria and fungi (mold) that often appear in print media and on television.

In my opinion, America’s negative attitude and poor understanding of science is a consequence of ongoing, misguided science reporting that has plagued this country for years. Although the American lay news media is mostly responsible for this, scientists are also complicit because of their unwillingness or inability to publicly speak out on important scientific issues and problems.

I believe that scientists are obliged to do everything in their powers to ensure that lay science reporting is fair and balanced and that the correct scientific messages reach the American public. Our failure to act will surely jeopardize the future of American science–something that we Americans can ill afford. Enough said–have a plate of snow on me!

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

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