The war against drugs. When most people hear this they think of Reagan’s draconian drug control policies or the deadly battle with Central American cartels. While the fight continues south of the border, a growing problem continues to be ignored by lawmakers and citizens, alike; the abuse of prescription medications. Prescription drug abuse or, … Continue reading
Author Archives: sockaaf
Work Hard, Play Hard (Not Really): Foreign Patent Law Harms American Drug Innovation
While most people believe that if you work hard you should be able reap the rewards, the Supreme Court of India thinks otherwise. In a recent ruling by the court, Bayer was denied the patent of their advanced kidney and liver cancer drug, Nexavar, and will be required to license their product to Indian generic … Continue reading
Drug Safety for All
As adulterated medications continue to pose a threat to the American health care system, the Partnership for Safe Medicines sponsored a Congressional hearing, last week, delving into the issues associated with unsafe and counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Using last year’s counterfeit Avastin scandal as an illustrative case study, the Partnership, with the support of Senator Michael Bennet, … Continue reading
The Conundrum of the Smartphone
With smartphones starting as low as $40, it’s hard to remember what life was like before mobile devices dominated our lives. In combination with a data plan, integrating our social and virtual lives is as easy as touching a simple button. While social media apps and ridiculous time wasting games like Fruit Ninja are a … Continue reading
The Future of (Health) IT
With speedy communication networks and smartphone apps covering everything from restaurant reviews to interactive games, it seems that information technology (IT) is on the path to dominate the 21st century. With it, investments in IT promise to bring efficient communication methods to various industries including health care. A recent report published by the Bipartisan Policy … Continue reading
Policy Interns 