- Over-the-counter birth control decision is a small step in the right direction – many more steps are needed.
- At $3.5 million for a one-time dose, Hemgenix (which cures hemophilia) is now the most expensive drug in the world.
- Gender bias in academia? A lot less than you might think.
- Michael Drummond on high US drug prices: “My hope as a European is that US never gets its health system in order.”
- British babies born with DNA from three people.
Category: Consumer-Driven Health Care
FDA Panel Backs OTC Birth Control
An advisory panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted to recommend Opill be sold over the counter (OTC) without a prescription. Opill is a hormonal contraceptive pill first approved in 1970. Advisory committees are panels of outside medical experts who advise the FDA on matters related to the specific area they were appointed to. There are numerous advisory panels. In the latest vote, one panel advises on over-the-counter medications. Another panel advises on reproductive health. The combined panel was composed of 17 experts in a 2-day hearing.
Wednesday Links
- Jeff Singer proposes a new Hippocratic Oath.
- Critique of a new code of medical ethics based on the “Tavistock Principles.”
- NEJM op ed: medical students should be segregated by race.
- The Chevron precedent explained.
- Congress appropriated $4.6 trillion for pandemic response and recovery in six Covid-19 relief laws enacted between March 2020 and March 2021. More than two years later, $444 billion of the total remains unspent. (WSJ)
Physician Visits are Inconvenient, Inefficient and Outdated: They Don’t Have to Be
The last major productivity increase in medical care was the physician’s waiting room. Back in the day house calls were common. If the doctor had to walk, drive or ride a horse to your house that was not a good use of his time. Of course, 100 years ago your doctor couldn’t help much either….