Posts

7 days in healthcare (January 16th-22nd, 2023)

/in /by

 

Summary

From the point of view of Biomedicine, it is worth highlighting, as the Science article does, the celebration of a decade of CRISPR gene editing technology, whose impact on medicine is only just beginning. Janssen withdraws from the HIV vaccine, a new failure in the attempt to discover a vaccine against this disease. Moderna, on the other hand, presents positive results with a vaccine against bronchiolitis. A new report points to wastewater analysis as fundamental to monitoring threats from a wide variety of diseases, not just covid.

As regards Global Health, The Lancet in an editorial underlines the importance of the One Health concept, this idea of the interdependence between human, animal and ecosystem health. The Economist publishes an editorial and an article on the problems of health systems that are in crisis everywhere in the post-covid era (even in Switzerland!), which is making mortality in Europe have been in the last year 10% higher than in a normal year.

Regarding International Health Policy, in the USA the opponents of abortion are manifested. Problems continue in the NHS, with Sajid Javid, former health secretary, proposing something as unusual in the UK as a co-pay in Primary Care and Emergency. He says an overly religious view of the NHS prevents reforms. Important debate and tensions about the price of medicines in the European continent (UK and EU) in relation to prices in the USA. Pharmaceutical companies, very reluctant to price controls, when they are also in the USA with the application of the Inflation Act, which gradually imposes a negotiation of the price of medicines between the Medicare Administration and pharmaceutical companies.

If we talk about National Health Policy (Spain), the incidence of covid continues to drop. Medical conflicts extend to various autonomous communities (Madrid, Catalonia, Navarra, etc.). The agreement in Aragon should be highlighted, which indicates that it is possible to reach agreements, possibly when they are well negotiated. The Ministry, completely absent from this problem. As for the public system, the statements by Lasquetty, Madrid’s Treasury Councilor, who points to “my own place” as one of the great rigidities of the public system, are very interesting. Conflict also in private health between doctors and insurers, raised in Seville. Abortion enters the national debate, following the picturesque proposals of Vox in Castilla y León, never applied. The Constitutional Court opens its new session with the debate on the recourse to the Law of deadlines presented in its day by the PP. The CIS survey presents health as the second problem that worries the Spanish.

In the field of Companies, internationally, Pfizer’s initiative to sell medicines at cost prices in 45 poor countries must be highlighted. At the national level, the launch by DKV of an insurance product that allows choosing a family doctor is notable. In a context in which insurers actually forget about Primary Care, this is something that deserves to be highlighted.

Biomedicine

Global Health

International Health Policy

National Health Policy

Companies

7 days in healthcare (December 19th-25th, 2022)

/in /by

Summary

From the point of view of Biomedicine, it should be noted that 2022 has been an extraordinarily productive year from the point of view of the appearance of effective drugs, among others against obesity or different forms of cancer. mRNA vaccines open the way to new therapeutic approaches

With regard to Global Health, the British Medical Journal summarizes the human and health damage caused by the floods in Pakistan.

Regarding International Health Policy, discussions continue about the origin of the covid. President Biden is accused of complacency in saying as early as September that “the pandemic is over”, while the mortality continues. Everything seems to indicate that the end of the covid-zero policy in China is producing a large number of cases (millions in just one day), which is putting maximum pressure on the health system and, probably, since there are no reliable figures, with a high mortality. UK nurses and ambulance strike.

If we talk about National Health Policy (Spain), the incidence of covid has risen slightly in the last week, with a high death toll (241). The strike of Primary Care doctors in Madrid is paralyzed until January 11, to analyze the administration proposals. The Government undertakes to launch the working group for the elaboration of the Strategic Plan on the pharmaceutical industry, after the promises of investments in the next three years made by the heads of the most important pharmaceutical companies in a meeting in La Moncloa . Government and Community of Madrid launch the Neurotechnology Center.

In the field of Companies, internationally, it seems that private equity companies are oriented in the USA towards hospital emergencies. In Spain, Warren Buffet acquired the largest medical error insurance.

Biomedicine

Global Health

International Health Policy

National health policy

  • Pharmaceutical policy

Companies