Viewpoints: Pay Attention To Your Pink Product Choices; FDA Approval Needed To Fix Medical Algorithm Issues
Editorial writers tackle these public health topics.
Miami Herald:
Not All Pink Is Equal
The Cancer Statistics Center estimates that 20,160 new cases of breast cancer have been diagnosed in the state of Florida this year. On Monday, that estimate grew by at least one: That is when Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that his wife, Casey — Florida's first lady — has breast cancer. We wish her the very best in medical care, in emotional support, in overcoming and in healing. Casey DeSantis is the mother of three small children and she is, as the governor said, "the centerpiece of our family." No doubt, women across the state can relate. The governor's very personal, very moving announcement coincides with the start of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which began on Oct. 1. (10/7)
Scientific American:
The FDA Should Better Regulate Medical Algorithms
Medical algorithms are used across the health care spectrum to diagnose disease, offer prognosis, monitor patients’ health and assist with administrative tasks such as scheduling patients. But recent news in the U.S. is filled with stories of these technologies running amok. From sexual trauma victims being unfairly labeled as “high-risk” by substance-abuse-scoring algorithms to diagnostic algorithms failing to detect sepsis cases in more than 100 health systems nationwide to clinical decision support (CDS) software systematically discriminating against millions of Black patients by discouraging necessary referrals to complex care—this problem abounds. And it extends our pandemic as well. In a review of 232 machine-learning algorithms designed to detect COVID-19, none were of clinical use. (Soleil Shah and Abdul El-Sayed, 10/7)
Stat:
Biosimilars Competition Helps Patients More Than Generics
Much of the current drug-pricing agenda proposed by President Biden and by Congress is based on the belief that greater government control — rather than free market competition — is the best way to lower drug prices. This view that competition is not working is particularly true for U.S. biosimilars, which enter the market after patents on a biologic drug expire. (Dana P. Goldman and Tomas J. Philipson, 10/8)
Newsweek:
A Bipartisan Way To Lower Costs And Restore Health Care Rights
President Biden's multi-trillion-dollar "Build Back Better" spending plan includes a proposal to radically expand health care. The President believes that his plan will make health care more affordable, but it's sparked a bitter partisan debate with Republicans that could leave the American people with no help or even worse off than before. But there is another way—a bipartisan way—to make health care more accessible: Let health savings accounts restore the rights of workers to control their health care dollars and choose their health plan. This would solve another problem, too: the fact that for 100 years, Congress has violated Americans' health care rights by taxing workers who want to make their own health care decisions. (Michael F. Cannon, 10/7)
