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Posted in: Report
A new NIH commissioned study to investigate anecdotal evidence that black biomedical researchers face a a negative bias in grant funding success rates found that is true. The NIH is taking the insights provided by this report seriously and efforts are underway to improve training, mentoring and grant application assistance to minorities.
Peer review is used by publishers and by funders of scientific research to ensure that the scientific record is robust. However, the system is not perfect. This blog posting is about two recently released reports that review and make recommendations for improvement of the peer-review system.
New report on generic drug pricing in Canada to encourage discussion of public policy implications.
Effective July 1, 2010, the Ontario government has fixed the price of generic medicines at 25% of the price of the equivalent brand name drug. In addition, approximately $800 million a year currently paid by generic drug companies to pharmacies in rebates will be banned. As Ontario struggles to contain the costs of health care, it seems that arbitrary price controls are not the answer. The system needs a overhaul.
A 21st Century Roadmap for Advancing America’s Health: The Path From Peril to Progress, the 2nd report by the Commission on U.S. Federal Leadership in Health and Medicine was published this week. Drawing on recommendations from working groups representing key areas in which progress is needed, the Commission put forth a comprehensive strategy.
There is very little evidence on which to base EHR implementation investment decisions. Fortunately, that is changing. Findings from the recently released EHR Impact study: The Socio-Economic Impact of Interoperable Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Eprescribing Systems in Europe and Beyond, show that EHRs and ePrescribing are not quick wins, but they are sustainable wins. An important finding was that interoperability is a prime driver of benefits from EHR and ePrescribing systems as benefits rely on access to information regardless of place and time. Local, closed ICT systems lacking interoperability would not release these substantial gains. Extremely important to success of such investments, also, is the skill and expertise of executives and managers in managing organisational change and resource redeployment.
The elderly can benefit considerably from new developments in ICT. Given the aging demographic and the increasing demands on healthcare systems, ICT holds considerable promise for monitoring, educating, and implementing preventative measures to promote health. Interest in ICT is high, yet usage continues to be low among seniors. There are many reasons for this including cost, education or training required for use, lack o f awareness of the therapeutic or other properties of technology, and inadequate design of a technology in addressing special needs like visual and functional abilities. If you are interested in this topic, the final report of a major study funded by the European Commission Information Society and Media: Senior Watch 2: Assessment of the Senior Market for ICT Progress and Developments is worth a look.