Forbes Interviews FDA Commissioner.

On its website, Forbes (2/6) provides three videos of staff reporter Matthew Herper interviewing Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg. She discussed the vast array of consumer items the agency regulates - from drugs and medical devices, to cosmetics, food and tobacco products - essentially, overseeing a quarter of the US economy. Asked what her job is like, Dr. Hamburg said the best part of it is working with agency staff, whom she described as an "extraordinary group of dedicated professionals all working to do the things that will best benefit the public." The commissioner also emphasized the agency's commitment to evidence-based decision making in terms of drugs and medical device approvals; and she discussed the challenges involved in the different types of approval processes the FDA undertakes.

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Can Patients Make Good Decisions? - from Forbes

Today is National Health Care Decisions Day. This is a reminder to get your affairs in order while you still have the brain to do so. But I wonder – do most people really have a clue how to make their end of life decisions? Could this be why two thirds of our population has not completed any advance directives? This needs to change.

Currently, much medicine is practiced paternalistically. Doctor tells you what to do, you go home and do it. Or not. Studies in the poorest of nations show that when the patient is empowered, outcomes and patient satisfaction with treatment are significantly better. In chronic illness, and especially end of life illness, patient empowerment is one of the last considerations when it should be the primary step in patient care. Focusing on patient goals first instead of the patient’s illness improves care and decreases cost of care.

more...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolynmcclanahan/2012/04/16/can-patients-make-good-decisions/