It’s been a while

Just a quick little update after dinner (paneer masala over brown rice, yum! recipe available upon request). A general theme in this blog is that I am “super busy”, this is actually true! Since coming back from the holiday break, I met a wonderful group of Hondurans who I may get to visit and work with this spring or summer. Fingers crossed! My supervisor and I have applied for a grant which, if we are accepted, would cover our costs to do a really interesting (and important) research project. I don’t want to say too much, might jinx it. I’m also taking a class again this semester, Power, Politics and Policy in Applied Health Sciences. So far, so good. I’m learning about power dynamics, networks, governance and forms of capital which will hopefully be helpful to my thesis.

I’ve also been busy with work and enjoying spending time with my boyfriend, our cats and friends (and reading copious amounts of books, reports and journal article).

Auld Lang Syne

This Christmas B & I were supposed to go to Norway to spend time with his family. However, due to the really nasty storm in Philly on the 19th, we ended up postponing the trip until the summer (dates TBD, haven’t even asked for the time off yet).  I’ve had a largely techno-free holiday, although not highly productive. Will have to remedy that when I get back.

2009 was an exciting, challenging and at times overwhelming year, but I have grown tremendously because of it. Not that its been an easy go of things. That being said, I’m happy to put it behind me and move on. I’m not in the habit of setting New Years Resolutions (I tend to think that setting them ensures their failure) but I do have some goals and changes I want to make in this year. You see, I was stuck in my parents’ basement for a number of hours sorting through memorabilia of my past and I was put back in touch with parts of myself that I really missed. I’m also amazed at how organized I was back in high school! I still spend time organizing and setting up personal filing systems and schedule planners, but I’m not as good at sustaining them as I used to be. Work-wise, I’m fine and still maintain them, but personal life (and school life!), need to spend some more time on that. Goal #1

Oh my!

I shouldn’t find this as funny as I do!

http://www.sketchysantas.org/

I have a great sketchy Santa story of my own, as told to me by my Mom. You see, I’m adopted and when I was very small the agency I was adopted through would host events for the kids they had placed (were we alumni? success stories? I’m not sure what to call us). One Christmas they had a party, and Santa came! Only Santa came in smelling like he had bathed in some sort of hard alcohol (come to think of it, I hope he hadn’t driven to the party). Well, this didn’t deter the tiny terror that was I. I thought Santa was awesome! Alcohol bath or not. So in one of our family photo albums there is a lovely picture of me giving Drunk Santa a kiss on the cheek. Next time I am home I shall have to find it and scan it…

Oh boy

This has been quite a semester. I’ve been really, really busy with work, school and trying to have a social life. I’m looking forward to starting my vacation next Saturday. Perhaps I will finally have enough time to work on the lit review and thesis proposal.

I swear!

I swear I haven’t forgotten about this blog. My daily life is impeding my ability to blog I’ve probably said before, but I’m quite busy. I did want to briefly share something vaguely intellectual.

B and I made it up to Ottawa for the first time a week and  a half ago (sightseeing, not so good, it was rainy and Parliament was closed to the public, but we did see this: 350 protest in Ottawa). I was going up for this: 1st Annual Global Health Research Learning Forum. I’ve been to conferences before (and I’ll be in Toronto for CBIE next week for work) but this was actually the first conference that I’ve been to specifically for my educational pursuits. Aside from learning about new assessment tools and ongoing research projects, it was so refreshing and so inspiring to be around people who were passionate about similar issues! Once I get through the backlog of work/class assignments, I can’t wait to get started on my protocol, research and thesis! God, I’m such a keener…

Accomplishment

Meaning: 1 a successful result brought about by hard work

Ta da!

(Mom! Do not look!)

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Off-label free speech?

In an effort to take a break from cleaning, I’ve been reading health news again. Ages and ages ago, I had an internship with a pharmaceutical company (in their QA area) so issues regarding prescription drug use can be quite interesting to me.

It seems that the makers of Botox are suing the FDA over restrictions on discussing unapproved uses for their products (aka off-label use) with doctors. (story here) They say their 1st amendment rights are being  infringed upon. Now why is this even an issue? At present, drug companies have to submit documentation to the FDA proving that their drug is essentially safe and effective for a specific condition. If the FDA agrees, they are allowed to put (on the label) that their drug is approved for use in XYZ condition. Makes sense, right? Checks and balances and a stamp of approval. Well, this is an issue because at the same time the company is trying to figure out what other conditions can be treated using their drug. Maybe there isn’t enough evidence (as determined by the FDA) to say that this drug is effective  and should be approved for use for a new condition (we certainly need to be careful about what drugs are approved, for example the COX-2 inhibitor litigation). Now we get to the key issue here. Even if a drug is not approved for use in a condition, Doctors are still allowed to prescribe it for said unapproved use. However, drug companies are not allowed to influence Doctors to do so. They are not allowed to recommend off label uses of their drugs.

And I agree that they shouldn’t. And this regulation is not, in my opinion, impugning on their first amendment rights.

Why? What the Executive VP of Allergan said is at the heart of it “Allowing physicians to use drugs off-label, but at the same time prohibiting drug companies from proactively sharing relevant and truthful information with physicians regarding the risks and benefits and techniques for off-label uses does not serve the public health or patient care…” The problem of it all is that the FDA, which regulates your industry, does not agree that you are telling the “truth”. You have not proven sufficiently (yet) that your drug really is effective in treating an off-label condition. If you had, it wouldn’t be off-label! If a Doctor and their patient want to use what is essentially an experimental treatment for a condition, that should be allowed. However, you, as the maker of that drug,  do not get to tell them that your product is safe and effective when that is not presently the truth. The burden of prescribing an experimental treatment is on the doctor and they should rely on many sources (not just one with a vested interest in selling their product) before making that decision with their patient.

Now… off to do laundry

Use the force, Chippy!

Taking a little break out of reading like a mad woman for my MA. I had a very interesting seminar about epistemology on Monday. I won’t get too philosophical about it, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between ‘truths’ and ‘facts’. Its fascinating how we can use words so interchangeably but there are subtle and important differences in meaning. Sometimes I love semantics.

But, thats not what I wanted to share today. I have a huge addiction to cute animal pictures (I check CuteOverload.com religiously) and this gallery was just too cute not to pass along! May the force be with you, Chippy! It begs the question… how on earth did they get the chipmunk to sit still and wear an action figure?

No excuses

I will post more often… I will post more often… I will post more often… Let me keep repeating that mantra and see how well this goes

I do have a bit of exciting news though! I’ve said before that I work at the University I graduated from, well… I will be doing my Master’s degree part time while working. It will be a Master of Arts in Applied Health Sciences. I have my first class tomorrow! Its a thesis based program and I have some vague ideas for a thesis but who really knows how many incarnations I will have before I defend!

On another note, looks like we will be having an election up here this fall. Joy.

Oh the things people believe…

From this website:

Majority of Americans Believe Health Care Reform ‘Myths’

• 67 percent of respondents believe that wait times for health care services, such as surgery, will increase (91 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Independents).

Mmm… there may be some truth in this, at least initially. If you have more people using the system, there will be a rough period while the system changes and acclimates. I can’t believe that wait time for surgeries would be increased dramatically though, I could see wait times for general care/health clinics increasing though. Wait times are a major complaint in Canada, but we have a “single payer” system up here. Drastically different.

• About five out of 10 believe the federal government will become directly involved in making personal health care decisions (80 percent of Republicans, 25 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of Independents).

HA! Who really makes your personal health care decisions now? In an ideal world your health care decisions would be made in consultation between you and your health care practitioner(s) (this could include your family doctor, specialists and any complementary/alternative practitioners that you may visit). As it is, a lot of the choices that you have in your health care decisions are dictated by companies whose main motivation is to turn a profit. Yes, that is a highly jaded and highly simplified comment.

• Roughly six out of 10 Americans believe taxpayers will be required to pay for abortions (78 percent of Republicans, 30 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents)

No, just no. There are laws against this. I think this comes from some fear of surpluses being shifted over to programs which perform and support abortion (eg. Planned Parenthood). I find it more than a bit distasteful that the same people who are so scared of the government making personal health care decisions for them are advocating that the government make personal (reproductive) health care decisions for others. My own personal thought is that a woman (or couple) should not be prevented (be it access to facilities or financial constraints) from having a legal abortion (or accessing contraceptives).

• 46 percent believe reforms will result in health care coverage for all illegal immigrants (66 percent of Republicans, 29 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of Independents).

How did this one sneak in there? Smacks of fear mongering. Again, what is being proposed is not a “single payer system” (and even in Canada you have to either buy private health insurance or you go without if you are eligible for one of the provincial health insurance plans). The US gov’t is not “giving” health coverage to people in the public plan, they are purchasing it. I have no idea what the regulation would be on illegal immigrants opting in to such a plan. I’m guessing if they do not have a legal status in the US they will probably avoid any actions that would encourage to deport them though.

• 54 percent believe the public option will increase premiums for Americans with private health insurance (78 percent of Republicans, 28 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents).

Increased competition means increased cost? Really? I thought it was the opposite. ‘Nuff said.

• Five out of 10 think cuts will be made to Medicare in order to cover more Americans (66 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of Democrats, 44 percent of Independents).

I wonder about this one… if this is referring to what I think it is referring to… (shifting money away from the Medicare program to subsidize the “public health insurance option”) then this one is a tough one to answer because any cuts to the Medicare program are not popular. Period. That being said, if unnecessary tests (tests that do not improve health and are not needed to diagnose an illness) and referrals/visits were eliminated from a program, there would be a natural surplus available in said program that could be used effectively in other programs. Its not a cut, per se, but it is semantics my friend, semantics.

The fact of the matter is… at present we spend far more than any other country on healthcare and we aren’t reaping the benefits of this. There need to be changes! It is far more important to get something that might not work perfectly in place than to continue on the path we are currently on.