February
2, 2005
|
Vol.
8 No. 2
|
WASHINGTON
UPDATE
*The National Institutes
of Health has adopted new rules prohibiting scientists from outside
employment with pharmaceutical and biotech companies
and from holding stock in them. "Though I believe that some outside
activities are in the best interest of the public when designed to accelerate
the development of new discoveries, we must first have better oversight
systems to ensure transparency and sound ethical practices and procedures," said
NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni.
*NIH’s plan to post
the results of federally funded research on a public Web site has been
altered in its final version, according to
a Jan. 18 report in the Washington Post. Instead of making such research
available for free six months after publication, NIH will recommend making
it public after one year. The change, which has not been formally announced,
is thought to be a concession to scientific publishers who worried about
shrinking profits under the original six-month plan.
*HHS Deputy Secretary Claude Allen will become the new assistant to the
president for domestic policy, President Bush announced on Jan. 5.
Allen was originally nominated for a judgeship on the 4th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals in 2003, but his nomination was blocked by the Senate
and not resubmitted this year by the president.
*The Government
Accountability Office says that video packages with anti-drug messages
distributed
by the Office of National Drug Control
Policy and broadcast by nearly 300 television stations are “covert
propaganda” and a violation of federal law. In May, the GAO announced
a similar finding for video news releases distributed by HHS to promote
the new Medicare law. To read the full GAO report, go here.
*As of Jan. 1, Medicare recipients
are now eligible for a one-time comprehensive physical exam and cardiovascular
and diabetes screening, according to
a Jan. 10 announcement by former HHS head Tommy Thompson and Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Mark McClellan. The exam is
part of CMS’ new campaign promoting preventive care for seniors.
*Americans need
more whole grains, more fruits and vegetables and more exercise, according
to
the sixth edition of the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans, released on Jan. 12. Among the new recommendations are an
increase in daily fruit and vegetable servings, advice to “choose…foods
and beverages with little added sugars” and a recommendation for
60 to 90 minutes of moderately intense exercise on most days to maintain
weight loss. To read the full Dietary Guidelines report, go here.
*J. Michael McGinnis,
M.D., M.P.P., is joining the Institute of Medicine as Senior Scholar
to develop a program in clinical effectiveness research.
McGinnis has been with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the past
six years, as Senior Vice President and Counselor to the President. From
1977 to 1995, he served as Assistant Surgeon General and Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Health at HHS.
*The National Institute of Nursing Research announced its new Chief
of the Office of Extramural Programs and Deputy Director at the end of
January. The new extramural programs head is Barbara A. Smothers, Ph.D,
who comes from the prevention research division at the National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The new deputy director is Mary E. Kerr,
Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N, from the School of Nursing at the University of
Pittsburgh.
*On Jan. 24, U.S. Surgeon
General Richard Carmona, M.D., dubbed his 2005 agenda “The Year of the Healthy Child.” Among
the topics he will address this year are prenatal care, immunizations,
childhood
obesity, child abuse prevention and teen driving.
