7 days in healthcare (September 23rd-29th, 2024)

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Summary

Biomedicine

  • Organ donation, lessons from the Spanish model. Transplantation is the only valid treatment for the failure of certain organs and can transform the lives of these patients. According to the Global Observatory on Donations and Transplants, only 10% of the global demand for transplants is met. Transplant ratios vary greatly between countries, from 130 per million in the USA and Spain to 12 in India. In May 2024, a new WHO resolution was approved. The leader in donations is Spain, and success is based on three facts: a solid legislative framework; strong clinical leadership and very good logistics, organized by the National Transplant Organization.
  • Immunotherapy, a promise for the treatment of many diseases. The so-called CAR-T was first used in leukemia. The technique consists of extracting T cells, genetically modifying them and then returning them to the patient’s body. This therapy can be applied to asthma, heart disease and even for aging.
  • Article by Eric J Topol in Science. The revolution of high-throughput proteomics and AI. The recent ability to measure hundreds of plasma proteins from small blood samples may facilitate a new way of understanding human disease. The company SomaLogic has developed the means to measure more than 10,000 proteins. When this data is integrated with other information, we obtain relevant information about diseases.

Global Health

  • A global threat on the rise: antibiotic resistance. The problem threatens to kill 208 million people in 25 years. According to the report published in The Lancet, these infections will increase dramatically among those over 70 years of age. A global threat on the rise.
  • The global weight of antimicrobial resistance and the outlook for 2050. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is known as a global emergency that requires the concerted effort of all stakeholders. The statistical analysis of the study published by The Lancet says that mortality from AMR will rise to 8.22 million by 2050.
  • Antimicrobial resistance may be more deadly than cancer, according to Ara Darzi (Lord Darzi of Denham, author of the recent report on the NHS)

International health policy

  • The FDA approves the first drug against schizophrenia in decades. Until now treatments blocked dopamine receptors, with strong side effects. The new drug Cobenfy influences dopamine levels, but as an indirect effect.
  • Several British health think tanks comment on the speech of the Minister of Health: King’s Fund, Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation.
  • Jordan, the first country to eliminate leprosy. According to the WHO, Jordan is the first country to eliminate leprosy, still present in more than 120 countries.

National Health Policy (Spain)

  • The Ministry of Health will meet again with the pharmaceutical sector’s employers’ associations to finalise the loose ends of the Strategic Plan. The objective is still to publish the Plan next October.
  • The Generalitat of Catalonia is preparing a committee of experts (called Cairós) to reform its health system, which will be chaired by Manel del Castillo. Its objective will not be to draw up documents, but to evaluate policies. There is no doubt that the technical and professional level of the new Catalan government health team is exceptional, as has not been the case for years. It is important for the whole of Spain that they succeed, as they can contribute to unblocking and addressing certain basic issues of the system from a different perspective, such as the management model and the staff regime in the SNS, which, surprisingly, are not on the agenda of the central government or the regional governments. However, technical qualification is a prerequisite for success, but not a guarantee. From a general point of view, it is difficult to remain optimistic about the political situation of the Catalan and central governments.
  • The best employment after the MIR, community by community. The objective is that the 7,500 residents who finish do not leave their training community. Economic incentives and long-term contracts are the main offers.
  • Management of sick leave by the Mutual Societies. The door is opened for the autonomous communities to agree on the management of sick leave with the Mutual Societies for Work Accidents in traumatological processes. The measure could contribute to improving the management of sick leave, according to FEDEA.

Companies

  • International
    • Big pharma is abandoning new antibiotics: 81% are already being developed by SMEs. This is the conclusion of a long study published by Nature Reviews Microbiology.
    • Statements by the global CEO of Lilly: if Europe cuts patents, there will be no more investments.
  • National
    • Psychology, a “big business” about to explode due to growth without criteria or quality. Psychology is the career that has grown the most in number of students in the 21st century. There is a risk of producing a factory of unemployed, given the scarce presence of Psychology in the NHS.

Biomedicine

Global Health

International health policy

  • Jordan
    • Jordan, the first country to eliminate leprosy. According to the WHO, Jordan is the first country to eliminate leprosy, which is still present in more than 120 countries (https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj.q2069)

National health policy

Companies