Posts

7 days in healthcare (December 12th-18th, 2023)

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Summary

From the point of view of Biomedicine, The Lancet commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Pasteur, the creator of the germ theory. Even today a high percentage of deaths are from infections. Promising results of an mRNA vaccine against melanoma, presented by Moderna and Merck.

As far as Global Health is concerned, it is worth highlighting the article published in Nature that says that without a strategy and global financing of vaccines, the world will be unable to successfully face new epidemics.

As for international health policy, the discouraging news of China’s abandonment of the covid-zero policy continues, when the country is not prepared and is most likely to suffer high mortality. The CDC quantifies the deaths from persistent covid in the USA. The conflict of nurses in the NHS continues, which coincides with the appearance of a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies in the United Kingdom that attributes the problems of the NHS to underfunding of the system. New Zealand, the second country in the world to announce a ban on tobacco sales.

If we talk about national health policy (Spain), in terms of covid, the incidence continues to decrease, what has not completely decreased, or has decreased very slowly, is mortality (236 deaths in the last week). After confinement in a unit of the Regional Ministry of Health, the strike committee of primary care doctors in Madrid decided to continue the strike, extending the conflict to a demonstration, along the lines of the “white tides”.

In the field of companies, internationally, it seems that Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are making an important bet in the field of neurotechnology with the company Synchron. As far as national news is concerned, perhaps highlighting that it seems that the hopes placed on the Spanish HIPRA vaccine are fading.

Biomedicine

Global Health

International Health Policy

National health policy

Companies

 

 

 

7 days in healthcare (November 21st-27th, 2022)

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Summary

Most notably from the Biomedicine standpoint, the FDA is approving a drug that could delay the onset of type 1 diabetes, the devastating disease that often occurs in adolescents. Also the preclinical study that seems to foreshadow a universal flu vaccine. Likewise, the minirobot designed by Apple capable of taking medicines to the brain, that organ until now practically inaccessible to drugs.

With regard to Global Health, the COP27 summit is considered in an article in The Lancet a “collective failure”, given the lack of agreement on the lower use of fossil fuels. We must also note the race for the production of vaccines in several African countries.

Regarding International Health Policy, mortality from covid remains high and is very worrying in some countries, mainly Japan, Brazil, India, China, the Russian Federation, South Korea and Spain. The covid-zero policy is generating problems and discontent in a country where public demonstrations are as controlled as in China. The nurses’ strike in the United Kingdom is a historic event in that country, which will undoubtedly will have consequences.

If we talk about National Health Policy (Spain), mortality from covid remains high in Spain (260 cases in the last week). At this time Spain has 0.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, a fairly high mortality, although lower than other European countries, such as France, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Croatia, Estonia and Luxembourg, according to WHO data. The waiting lists for June 30 are published by the Ministry of Health. A real national problem and a serious delegitimization of the public system, which some minimize. The strike of Primary Care doctors continues in Madrid, while the conflict threatens to spread to other autonomous communities. The rise in the electricity bill threatens the profitability of private hospitals, according to ASPE.

In the field of Companies, at the international level, Amazon is making a new foray into healthcare, this time with the “Amazon Clinic” platform, a telemedicine service that will be extended to 32 American states and offers virtual care for 20 clinical conditions. At the national level, news at HM Hospitales, with the new hospital in Rivas; in Recoletas, which extends to Salamanca; and, in Sanitas, which intends to create its own clinical analysis laboratory.

Biomedicine

Global Health

International Health Policy

National health policy

Companies

  • International News
    • Amazon makes a new attempt at healthcare. The offers of the big technological platforms are diversified: Apple tries to monitor through the iPhone; Microsoft, offers computer services to companies; Alphabet (Google), relies on wearables. Amazon launches the most ambitious offer, with “Amazon Clinic”, an online service that will operate in 32 American states and that offers virtual care for 20 clinical conditions, from acne to allergies (https://www.economist.com/ business/2022/11/20/amazon-makes-a-new-push-into-health-care)
    • The big pharma aims for 50,000 million dollars in medicines against obesity, a disease that affects 650 million people in the world, as demand grows. Lilly will submit a drug for authorization (https://www.ft.com/content/f28e8ca1-87a7-4c14-8b05-0ead0e831c0f)

 

 

7 days in healthcare (May 2nd-8th, 2022)

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Summary

From the point of view of biomedicine, two important editorials in The Economist should be highlighted on wearables (devices to wear, mainly smart watches) and medicalized apps, which could represent a new form of relationship between citizens and the health system and greater involvement of the population in maintaining their own health.

As far as Global Health is concerned, two books stand out, the one by Bill Gates on the pandemic, in which he says, in short, that outbreaks are not avoidable, but pandemics are, and the one by Devi Sridhar on the pandemic in general, commented by The Lancet.

As for international health policy, much of the debate in the international press is centered around the controversy over abortion in the United States, which is dividing American society. Much of the international media speaks out against the reversal of the Roe v Wade ruling, which established abortion as a constitutionally based right in the United States (The Economist, New York Times, Financial Times, Le Monde), although some they do it for (Wall Street Journal). Especially harsh is the article in the New England Journal Medicine, which says that the reversal of this sentence would mean a return to 1973, where women with resources could access an abortion by changing state or country, while the poor had to assume a pregnancy not desired or undergo interventions without guarantee, with high mortality and complications.

If we talk about national health policy (Spain), we must highlight the important editorial in El País on cancer drugs, which try to be introduced despite their high price and poor results in terms of survival. It is also necessary to highlight the “Update of the Stability Program 2022-2025“, where the government puts black on white that it will not fulfill its programmatic promise of reaching 7% of GDP in health in 2023.

In the field of companies, from the international point of view, it is worth noting the dismissal of the head of Biogen, after the controversial introduction of a drug against Alzheimer’s, whose approval by the FDA had already produced a cataclysm in this organism, with deep internal divisions. In the national environment, the important Pfizer document on gene therapies should be highlighted, as well as Quirónsalud’s proposal for a new hospital in Gijón, which could renew the private hospital scene in that region.

Biomedicine

Global health

International health policy

  • COVID-19

o In China, the covid-zero policy accentuates the slowdown in the economy (https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2022/05/06/en-chine-la-politique-zero-covid-accentue -le-slow-down-de-l-economie_6125001_3234.html)

o Deaths from covid worldwide are at their lowest since the start of the pandemic (https://www.elespanol.com/ciencia/salud/20220507/muertes-covid-mundo-situan-minimos-inicio-pandemia/ 670433394_0.html)

  • The great debate on abortion in the United States

o The leak of an exploratory vote in the United States Supreme Court on the abolition of the Roe v Wade judgment (which declared abortion legal throughout the United States), unleashed a great controversy. If Roe v Wade is amended, abortion rights would become an issue for the states, not for the United States as a whole. There would be states in which abortion would be legal, while others would not (https://www.nytimes.com/article/abortion-laws-us.html)

o The most important international media editorialize and publish articles on the subject, such as The Economist (https://www.economist.com/united-states/how-the-end-of-roe-v-wade-will- affect-american-politics/21809130), The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/06/opinion/roe-v-wade-constitution.html), Financial Times (https:// www.ft.com/content/92042f8d-7954-4ffa-a0f5-b0fae12f7da3), Le Monde (https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2022/05/07/avortement-aux-etats-unis- un-retour-en-arriere-de-la-cour-supreme-serait-l-aboutissement-de-cinquante-ans-de-combat-de-la-droite-religieuse-contre-l-ivg_6125107_3210.html) and The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-end-of-roe-will-be-good-for-america-supreme-court-draft-leak-decision-abortion-pro-life-choice-justices-alito-11651787057), by cite just a few

o The medical press also speaks out: important article in the New England Journal Medicine, totally against the possible annulment of Roe v Wade (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2119364)

o The position on abortion in the United States: religion, not gender, is the greatest predictor of position (https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/05/07/religion-not-gender -is-the-best-predictor-of-views-on-abortion)

o The debate on abortion in the United States is unsettling in Canada (https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2022/05/05/le-retour-du-debat-sur-l-avortement-aux-etats -unis-restless-le-canada_6124913_3210.html)

o The American corporate world (Corporate America) is silent on the subject (https://www.ft.com/content/b1f32dd2-e01b-4b7f-880d-946d8b0db1ca)

  • Other themes

o The WHO warns that covid has accelerated the obesity pandemic. Proposes taxes on less healthy food and subsidizing fruits and vegetables (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2022-05-03/la-oms-alerta-de-que-el-impacto-del-coronavirus-ha-acelerado -another-epidemic-of-obesity.html)

National health policy

  • COVID

o Contagios in the elderly continue to rise and the deaths are about 70 a day (https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20220507/8249221/contagios-mayores-siguen-alza-muertes-continuan-70-diarias.html )

o Seventh wave or new phase of the pandemic? (https://www.epe.es/es/sanidad/20220506/septima-ola-covid-13618507)

  • Regulatory announcements

o List of essential drugs imminently (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/industria/la-inminente-lista-de-farmacos-de-sanidad-abre-una-nueva-via-de-rebaja-2143 )

o A reform of the Framework Statute is controversially proposed (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/bisturi/union-y-rebelion-sindical-ante-la-reforma-del-estatuto-marco-9760)

  • Other themes

o Important editorial in El País on cancer drugs, their high price and their sometimes minor effects on survival (https://elpais.com/opinion/2022-05-07/el-precio-de-la-salud. html)

o The “Update of the Stability Program 2022-2025“, presented by the Government to Brussels, does not foresee that the government’s promise to reach 7% of GDP in 2023 in public health spending will be fulfilled (https://www. hacienda.gob.es/CDI/Programas%20de%20Estabilidad/Programa-de-Estabilidad-2022-2025.pdf)

o The doctors maintain the strike for May 10, rejecting the Community of Madrid-ICOMEM agreement (https://elpais.com/espana/madrid/2022-05-07/la-encrucijada-final-de-los-medicos -de-madrid.html)

o Order of the Government of Catalonia on unit prices for compensation for hospital and specialized care (https://www.iberley.es/legislacion/orden-slt-88-2022-22-abril-determinan-ano-2022 -unit-prices-consideration-specialized-hospital-care-27084794)

Companies, employers and other agents of the sector

  • International News

o The head of Biogen dismissed due to the failure of the new drug against Alzheimer’s, after detecting that it has unproven benefits and serious health risks (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/business/biogen- aduhelm-michel-vounatsos.html)

  • National News

o Pfizer presents in Congress a Decalogue to promote gene therapy (https://www.pfizer.es/sites/default/files/2022-04/TERAPIA%20GENICA%20SNS%20interact%20v1.pdf)

o Quirón intends to build a new hospital in Gijón, with an investment of 40 million and 300 jobs (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/quironsalud-inviertera-40-millones-de-euros-en-nuevo-hospital -en-gijon.html)

o Teladoc Health is reinforced in Barcelona and will open a new digital hub in the city (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/teladoc-health-se-refuerza-en-barcelona-y-abrira-un-hub-digital -in-the-city.html)

o Vitaldent continues to grow and opens clinics in Pola de Siero, Lugo and Getafe (https://www.eleconomista.es/salud/noticias/11748887/05/22/Vitaldent-abre-tres-nuevas-clinicas-en-Espana. html)

o Besins Healthcare, a company based in Mónica and specialized in novel therapies in gynecology, fertility and endocrinology, lands in Spain and invests 25 million in a plant in Muel (Zaragoza) (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/besins -healthcare-lands-in-spain-and-invests-25-million-in-a-plant-in-muel.html)

 

 

 

 

7 days in healthcare (March 7-13, 2022)

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SUMMARY

From the point of view of Biomedicine, the Lancet report on risk factors in COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), one of the great burdens of all health systems, should be highlighted. Also the finding that COVID can cause brain damage, although its scope is yet to be determined.

As for Global Health, it is worth noting the WHO complaint that 16 health facilities have been attacked in the war in Ukraine, as well as the organization’s statement that women should have access to safe abortions, to avoid mortality as well as hospitalizations due to complications.

When it comes to international health policy, the advice for the next pandemic contained in a major editorial in the Financial Times is important. There would be three priorities: 1. Reduce the risk of the appearance of a new pathogen (controlling the markets where animals are sold, for example); 2. Prevent it from spreading throughout the world; and 3. Develop an effective weaponry with vaccines and treatments as soon as possible. The incidence of COVID is increasing in England and France, just as the outbreak in China is the largest since the initial one in Wuhan. A report by The Lancet analyzes the mortality from COVID by country and even (as in the case of Spain) by region in the different countries. Spain is among the nations with the highest mortality from COVID per number of inhabitants. In the United Kingdom, a conservative think tank, with the support of the British Secretary of Health, proposes that primary care physicians become primarily salaried, thus breaking one of the fundamental elements of the political pact that gave rise to the NHS (on the one hand, hospitals are nationalized, but, on the other, the consideration of primary care physicians as independent mini-entrepreneurs is respected).

In national health policy, it is found that the drop in the incidence of COVID stagnates in Spain. Private healthcare, through the IDIS Foundation, considers the interoperability of the clinical history of private healthcare patients, regardless of insurer or provider.

Of the activity of the companies, an analysis of the Financial Times comments on how the economy of the pharmaceutical companies works against the development of antibiotics. Europe has lost the race against the United States in the development of new drugs. Important publication of the Roche Institute of a manual on personalized medicine aimed at health professionals.

BIOMEDICINE

GLOBAL HEALTH

INTERNATIONAL HEALTH POLICY

  • COVID

o Lessons for the next pandemic, after two years of covid, an important Financial Times editorial. Three priorities: 1. Reduce the risk of emergence of a new pathogen; 2. Prevent it from spreading throughout the world; and 3. Develop an effective weaponry with vaccines and treatments as soon as possible (https://www.ft.com/content/c9640c9c-5a65-49fa-a8b2-c22cc1ffe508)

o The COVID pandemic has lasted two years. Next steps may be divisive (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/us/covid-pandemic-vaccines-mandates.html)

o The covid does not decrease, but increases, in France (https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2022/03/11/covid-19-olivier-veran-alerte-au-sujet-d-un -rebond-de-l-epidemie_6117120_3244.html)

o Covid cases and hospitalizations on the rise in England (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/11/covid-cases-england-omicron-levels-ons-data)

o China, fighting the largest outbreak since Wuhan (https://www.ft.com/content/1e7dab0d-3247-4cb7-8370-e1697d70d693)

o Chinese scientists, in search of an alternative to the “zero COVID” policy, which the Chinese government boasts so much about (https://www.economist.com/china/2022/03/10/chinas-scientists-are-looking-for-a-way-out-of-the-zero-covid-policy)

o Where did the 5 “Trillion” (American) dollars of Covid stimulus go(https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/03/11/us/how-covid-stimulus-money-was-spent.html)

o Mortality from COVID, three times higher than official figures (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/global-covid-19-death-toll-may-be-three-times-higher-than-official-figures), according to a major report by The Lancet (http://www.thelancet-press.com/embargo/COVIDexcessmortality.pdf)

o Austria suspends the first universal vaccination obligation (https://www.ft.com/content/65650cbe-10b0-4350-8eb5-691624be8c2d)

  • Other topics

o The pandemic has accelerated the demand for private healthcare services in the UK (https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o566)

o The NHS app should be the new ‘gateway’ to the NHS, says UK health secretary (https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o621)

o British primary care physicians should be primarily salaried (https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o594), says a report by a conservative think tank (https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/at-your-service/)

NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY (SPAIN)

  • COVID

o The drop in infections stagnates in Spain, with the incidence still at high risk, with 430.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, far from 50 (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2022-03-12/la-caida-de-contagios-de-covid-se-estanca-en-espana-con-la-incidencia-aun-en-riesgo-alto.html)

o Sánchez announces that the mandatory indoor mask will soon be abolished (https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20220306/sanchez-anuncia-pronto-se-supulsara-mascarilla-obligatoria-interiores/2303441.shtml)

o Spain destroys more than a million vaccines against covid, most of them from Janssen and AstraZeneca (https://www.elespanol.com/espana/politica/20220306/espana-destruye-vacunas-covid-19-mayoria-janssen-astrazeneca/654184713_0.html)

  • Political announcements

o Congress backs the proposal of the political party Ciudadanos for a law on ALS (https://www.larazon.es/sociedad/20220308/pvwdajf2yrgljceanzw4qgsr6a.html)

  • Other themes

o The Valencian health system carries out almost 600 sex change interventions in five years (https://www.eldiario.es/comunitat-valenciana/sanidad-valenciana-realiza-600-intervenciones-quirurgicas-cambio-sexo-cinco-anos_1_8822169.html)

o 9,932 candidates will be able to choose a MIR position (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/medico-joven/mir/9932-candidatos-podran-elegir-plaza-mir.html)

o The IDIS calls for more accessibility in Oncology (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/privada/el-idis-pide-un-modelo-de-organizacion-en-oncologia-accesible-y-equitativo-7382)

o Change in the General Directorate of Farmaindustria (https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/03/09/companias/1646826907_604545.html)

o The Royal National Academy of Medicine joins the European Academies of Medicine with a declaration on Ukraine (https://www.ranm.es/noticias/4799-declaracion-de-la-ranme-sobre-la-situacion-en-ucrania.html)

o Private healthcare invests 1.3 million euros to give private healthcare patients access to digital medical records in 2023 (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20220310/sanidad-privada-invierte-millones-pacientes-historia-clinica/656184536_0.html)

COMPANIES, EMPLOYERS AND OTHER AGENTS IN THE SECTOR

  • International News

o The Sacklers will pay $6 billion for Purdue’s opiate lawsuits (https://www.consalud.es/ecsalud/internacional/sacklers-pagaran-6000-millones-demandas-opiaceos-purdue_111017_102.html)

o Kirin goes beyond beer and goes into healthcare (https://www.ft.com/content/1d99a0be-6e76-4327-8516-da549a5f767e)

o How Pharmaceutical Economics Holds Back Antibiotic Development (https://www.ft.com/content/29292a3c-321d-4187-9ff0-59d70eb796f4)

o Europe loses the battle against the USA and only develops 22% of new medicines (https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/03/07/companias/1646677340_160102.html)

o Sanofi acknowledges that they were late for the covid vaccine (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2022/03/13/6229d430fc6c832c328b4584.html)

  • National News

o Korian: 60 new beds and more purchases to bill one hundred million euros in Spain (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/korian-60-nuevas-camas-y-mas-compras-para-facturar-cien-millones-de-euros-en-espana.html)

o Europe asks HIPRA to expand its clinical trial of the covid vaccine (https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/03/07/companias/1646677340_160102.html)

o The Roche Institute publishes a personalized medicine manual for healthcare professionals (https://www.institutoroche.es/recursos/publicaciones/201/Propuesta_de_competencias_en_Medicina_Personalizada_de_Precision_de_los_profesionales_sanitarios)