Bioethicist Art Caplan: Deep-Fat Fryers in Schools is Business, Not Freedom

A new piece by contributor Art Caplan on NBC News:

How bad is the obesity epidemic among kids in America?

Bad enough that 69 percent of young adults in Minnesota cannot serve in the military due to obesity-related health problems, according to a recent report “Too Fat, Frail and Out-of-Breath to Fight,” from a group of retired generals.

And how is one public official responding to the child obesity crisis? With a call for more fried foods in school. The Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller, says he wants to restore deep-fat fryers in Texas school cafeterias. In his mind, this “isn’t about french fries, it’s about freedom.”

The freedom to develop cardiovascular disease?

School cafeterias are the front line on the battleground for childhood obesity prevention. They serve as test kitchens for interventions designed to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables and decrease the intake of processed and fried foods. In 2012 the USDA and First Lady Michelle Obama announced standards for more nutritious school food. As part of the rules, schools are expected to serve fruits, vegetables and whole grains daily, and limit calories in servings. […]

Read the full article here.

‘The Week in Health Law’ Podcast

By Nicolas Terry

twihl 14x14

This week we are joined by Bill of Health’s own Glenn Cohen, HLS Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics. We discuss surrogacy arbitrage, MRT, CASPR DNA editing and “Uber” elder care.

The Week in Health Law Podcast from Frank Pasquale and Nicolas Terry is a commuting-length discussion about some of the more thorny issues in Health Law & Policy.

Subscribe at iTunes, listen at Stitcher Radio and Podbean, or search for The Week in Health Law in your favorite podcast app.

Show notes and more are at TWIHL.com. If you have comments, an idea for a show or a topic to discuss you can find us on twitter @nicolasterry @FrankPasquale @WeekInHealthLaw

Bioethicist Art Caplan: Rein It In, Dr. Oz

A new piece by contributor Art Caplan on Medscape [Note: free registration required]:

Dr Mehmet Oz is in trouble again. He was accused by 10 physicians in a letter of promoting quackery. They demanded that Columbia University Medical Center fire Dr Oz. Now, I can say with some authority that as “America’s Doctor”—the person who, for many Americans, is the voice of medicine—he is not going to be fired. His show is not going to end. That isn’t going to happen.

Dr Oz has evoked this response from these 10 physicians because he continues to push the border of legitimacy on his shows with respect to touting things for which there isn’t much evidence. And that is a problem. Many doctors tell me that when Dr Oz endorses something—green coffee beans, some neti pot to cure the common cold—whatever it is, they are going to be asked about it, and their patients run out and buy it. He has enormous power when it comes to the platform he has built. And let’s face it: He is an effective communicator. His show is fun to watch. I understand why the American people are paying attention to Dr Oz. […]

Read the full article here.

Monthly Round-Up of What to Read on Pharma Law and Policy

By Ameet Sarpatwari and Aaron S. Kesselheim

Each month, members of the Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) review the peer-reviewed medical literature to identify interesting empirical studies, in-depth analyses, and thoughtful editorials on pharmaceutical law and policy.

Below are the papers identified from the month of April. The selections feature topics ranging from the effect of direct-to-consumer advertising on asthma medication sales, to the impact of FDA approval of Colrys on patient initiation of and spending on colchicine products, to the reasons why certain new drugs required multiple review cycles.  A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

  1. Cho MK, Magnus D, Constantine M, Lee SS, Kelley M, Alessi S, Korngiebel D, James C, Kuwana E, Gallagher TH, Diekema D, Capron AM, Joffe S, Wilfond BS. Attitudes Toward Risk and Informed Consent for Research on Medical Practices: A Cross-sectional Survey. Ann Intern Med. 2015 Apr 14. [Epub ahead of print]
  2. Daubresse M, Hutfless S, Kim Y, Kornfield R, Qato DM, Huang J, Miller K, Emery SL, Alexander GC. Effect of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on Asthma Medication Sales and Healthcare Utilization. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2015 Apr 16. [Epub ahead of print]
  3. Goldacre B. How to get all trials reported: audit, better data, and individual accountability. PLoS Med. 2015 Apr 14;12(4):e1001821.
  4. Kesselheim AS, Franklin JM, Kim SC, Seeger JD, Solomon DH. Reductions in Use of Colchicine after FDA Enforcement of Market Exclusivity in a Commercially Insured Population. J Gen Intern Med. 2015 Apr 9. [Epub ahead of print]
  5. Light DW, Lexchin J. Why do cancer drugs get such an easy ride? 2015 Apr 23;350:h2068.
  6. McClellan MB, Daniel GW, Dickson D, Perlmutter J, Berger DP, Miller V, Nussbaum S, Malin J, Romine MH, Schilsky RL. Improving evidence developed from population-level experience with targeted agents. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2015 May;97(5):478-87. Epub 2015 Apr 3.
  7. Ross JS, Dzara K, Downing NS. Efficacy and safety concerns are important reasons why the FDA requires multiple reviews before approval of new drugs. Health Aff (Millwood). 2015 Apr 1;34(4):681-88.

TWO EVENTS THIS WEEK (5/7-5/9): “After Hobby Lobby: What Is Caesar’s, What Is God’s?” & “Law, Religion, and Health in America”

Pre-Conference Session

Hobby_Lobby_slide_270_174_85“After Hobby Lobby: What Is Caesar’s, What Is God’s?”
May 7, 2015, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East BC
Harvard Law School,
1585 Massachusetts Ave.,
Cambridge, MA [Map]

As prelude to the 2015 Petrie-Flom Center Annual Conference, “Law, Religion, and Health in America,” please join us for a pre-conference session examining the role of religion in the American public sphere. Our expert panel will discuss the nature of conscience and conscientious objection, religious freedom, and religious accommodation from philosophical, theological, historical, legal, and political perspectives.

Panelists:

  • J. Dionne, Jr., Columnist, The Washington Post; Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
  • Diane L. Moore, Senior Lecturer on Religious Studies and Education and Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School
  • Charles Fried, Beneficial Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
  • Frank Wolf, Representative, Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, U.S. House of Representatives, 1981-2015 (retired)
  • Moderator: Daniel Carpenter, Freed Professor of Government, Harvard University and Director, Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University
  • Moderator:  Glenn Cohen, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School and Faculty Director, Petrie-Flom Center

The panel will be followed by a light reception at 6 PM.

This event is free and open to the public, but seating is limitedRegister online!

 Full Conference:
stethoscope_bible_slide“Law, Religion, and Health in America”
May 8-9, 2015
Wasserstein Hall
Milstein East ABC

Harvard Law School
1585 Massachusetts Ave.,
Cambridge, MA [Map]

Religion and medicine have historically gone hand in hand, but increasingly have come into conflict in the U.S. as health care has become both more secular and more heavily regulated.  Law has a dual role here, simultaneously generating conflict between religion and health care, for example through new coverage mandates or legally permissible medical interventions that violate religious norms, while also acting as a tool for religious accommodation and protection of conscience. 

This conference will identify the various ways in which law intersects with religion and health care in the United States, understand the role of law in creating or mediating conflict between religion and health care, and explore potential legal solutions to allow religion and health care to simultaneously flourish in a culturally diverse nation.

Highlights:

Keynote Lecture: Religious Liberty, Health Care, and the Culture Wars

 Plenary Session: The Contraceptives Coverage Mandate Litigation

The conference is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. View the full agenda and register online!

The pre-conference session is co-sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center and the Ambassador John L. Loeb, Jr. Initiative on Religious Freedom and Its Implications at the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University.

The 2015 Petrie-Flom Center Annual Conference, Law, Religion, and Health in America, is supported by the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund.

May 7: Identified Versus Statistical Lives – Book Talk & Discussion

Identified Versus Statistical Lives – Book talk and discussion, featuring co-editors I. Glenn Cohen (Faculty Director), Nir Eyal, and Norman Daniels

Cohen_Identified_LivesThursday, May 7, 12:30 – 1:30 PM
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Building 1, Room 1208
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA  [Map]

The essays in Identified versus Statistical Lives: An Interdisciplinary Approach address the identified lives effect, namely, the greater human proclivity to assist persons and groups identified as at high risk of great harm than ones who will (or already) suffer similar harm, yet remain unidentified. Because of this effect we often allocate resources reactively rather than proactively, prioritizing treatment over prevention. The practical and the ethical questions this raises extend to almost every aspect of human life and health policy. The book discusses the psychology of the identified lives effect, pits thinkers who deem it to reflect an irrational aspect of our thinking against ones who deem it to be rational, and explores practical questions ranging from environmental health to “treatment as prevention” for HIV/AIDS.

Read the front matter of the book online!