According to the FDA News, a bill to establish a comparative effectiveness research institute is scheduled for introduction in the Senate. The Comparative Effectiveness Research Act of 2008, sponsored by Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Max Baucus (D-MT), would evaluate the effectiveness of different drugs and medical devices that exist for the same treatment. The… Continue reading Comparative Effectiveness Research—Will the Risks as Well as the Benefits Be Considered?
Tag: Health Freedom
Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research
Columnist George Will in the January 29 issue of the Washington Post first noted that “The stimulus legislation creates a council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. This is about medicine but not about healing the economy. The CER would identify (this is language from the draft report on the legislation) medical ‘items, procedures, and interventions’ that… Continue reading Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research
AAHF Has a Question for the Obama Administration
The transition period is over. Inauguration Day has ushered in the Obama administration. Many voiced their hopes for the new president through Change.gov, and a health freedom proposal garnered many votes of support.
Do You Want Your Medical Records Online? The Economic Stimulus Bill Puts Your Privacy at Risk
It is time to make your voice known. As the new Obama administration rolls up its collective sleeves, the details of the coming economic stimulus bill have become known. A key issue for everyone is the privacy of your medical records. AAHF has written an excellent position paper on medical privacy.
Wall Street Journal Article on Alternative Medicine Provokes Angry Response
The January 9 issue of the Wall Street Journal published an article by Deepak Chopra, MD, Dean Ornish, MD, Andrew Weill, MD, and Rustum Roy, PhD. “‘Alternative’ Medicine is Mainstream” made the case that an integrative, diet-and-lifestyle approach can curb our sky-high medical bills and cure our costly medical ills.
The Economy Is Tanking. Is This Good News for Herbal and Natural Meds?
A recent report in the Wall Street Journal said that healthcare spending grew at its lowest rate in nearly a decade in 2007, yet it swallowed an ever bigger portion of our country’s gross national product, not to mention the budgets of American families. Because of a trend toward generic medications, prescription drug spending was… Continue reading The Economy Is Tanking. Is This Good News for Herbal and Natural Meds?
More News from the Women’s Health Initiative—Synthetic, Prescription HRT Shrinks the Brain
In the December 23, 2008, issue of Pulse of Health Freedom, we reported on new data from the government-funded Women’s Health Initiative. Now, two studies from the arm of the WHI Study that favors using synthetic hormone replacement therapy by prescription have been published in the January 13 issue of Neurology. The studies sought to… Continue reading More News from the Women’s Health Initiative—Synthetic, Prescription HRT Shrinks the Brain
The Battle is Not Over for Our Iraqi War Vets—Traumatic Brain Injury Has Long-Lasting Consequences
The latest issue of Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development focuses on identifying which combat veterans with traumatic brain injury might need more intensive treatment. As Pulse of Health Freedom pointed out in its October 7 issue, concussions or traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are common among veterans serving in the Iraq war. TBI has been… Continue reading The Battle is Not Over for Our Iraqi War Vets—Traumatic Brain Injury Has Long-Lasting Consequences
A Legal Challenge to Forcing Seniors into Medicare
Freedom of healthcare choice has long been an issue when dealing with government-funded healthcare plans like Medicare and Medicaid. For instance, the Watson-Burton legislation attempted to address economically disadvantaged persons who rely on Medicaid for health insurance because they were given no dental freedom of choice. For most families on Medicaid, the choice is either… Continue reading A Legal Challenge to Forcing Seniors into Medicare
Are Consumers That Dumb? The Wall Street Journal Thinks We Are
An inflammatory article appeared last week in the Wall Street Journal called “The Touch that Doesn’t Heal .” It deserves a thorough reading and some impassioned letters to the editor. The article, written by Steve Salerno, claims that “Americans pay billions for alternative medicine—with nothing to show for it.”