Envisioning 2.0

Ever since I conducted a series (partly) focusing on antibiotic resistance a couple of years ago, I have been keeping tabs on the antibiotic marketplace. Mainly, I am interested in whether new products will emerge that will help us manage bacteria that are resistant to all but the most powerful medications.

Today, I learned that a federal advisory panel has decided to ask the FDA to approve a new antibiotic designed to manage MRSA, a serious and life threatening skin infection. MRSA is resistant to many antibiotics and those that are effective are rapidly growing less effective.

I was also pleased to see that a number of companies are developing medications designed to manage MRSA and related bacterial infections. We need new drugs – and prevention – in order to ensure that we go forward and not backward in the fight against Super Bugs.

Today, the New York Times published a very interesting essay focusing on the role race plays in medicine.  Rather than highlighting disparities in clinical outcomes between different racial groups, the article focused on the biases and assumptions faced by physicians of color.  Interestingly, it also referenced how prejudice can influence how minority physicians treat patients of other races.

The election of Barack Obama has further ignited the country’s ongoing conversation about race.  While a major racial barrier has fallen, we would all do well to remember that the road to a more perfect union remains long and hard in many other areas – especially health.

For more on this topic, please see my series on race and medicine.

With the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, many health bloggers have begun to focus attention what changes the new chief executive will bring to nation’s health system.  This topic was a major focus of the latest edition of the Health Wonk Review.  I was happy to see that Louise Norris, who compiled this edition, focused on the human face of the health reform debate. She cites a post which focuses on the fact that nurses are not often included in debate and discussion about health reform.

Most bloggers participating in this week’s health policy carnival are optimistic that health reform will receive serious attention by the incoming administration.  In addition, some feel that Obama will learn from the mistakes of the Clinton administration and make the reform process much more transparent and inclusive.

This is a very insightful edition of the Health Wonk Review. Click here to read it.