FDA Public Hearing Held on Innovations to Expand Which Drug Products Can be Nonprescription

Senior Fellow, Dr. John Delfs, presented his views to the FDA at the March 23rd hearing set up to obtain input on a new paradigm in which the FDA would approve certain drugs that would otherwise require a prescription for nonprescription use (also known as over-the-counter or OTC) under conditions of safe use. The public hearing was held to obtain information and comments from the public on the feasibility of this paradigm and its potential benefits and costs.

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On March 7th, Fellows John Delfs, MD, Joseph McGovern and James Parker will conduct a panel discussion and roundtable intensive on Rx-to-OTC Switch and Next Gen Benefits. Learn more about this event for HR benefits professionals or about MABGH, an association of employer health care purchasers that drives cost-effective health care, through value-based purchasing.

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On February 22^nd, Fellows Joseph McGovern and James Parker will present Rx-to-OTC Switch and Next Gen Benefits. Learn more about this event for health care benefit executives or about PBMI, with a mission of providing the industry’s premier forum for health care purchasers to exchange ideas, advance best practices, and drive appropriate changes in the pharmacy benefit management marketplace.

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Save the Date: Webinar on Tuesday, October 4th at 1pm EST
The Smoking Cessation Leadership Center announced its free webinar, Electronic Cigarettes: Marketing and Potential Public Health Impact. The webinar aims to outline the basics about electronic cigarettes, raise awareness of the current marketing of electronic cigarettes and to review the public health issues posed by these products, featuring Rachel Grana, PhD, MPH, Postdoctoral Scholar, and Pamela Ling, MD, MPH, Associate Professor in Residence, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.

Register for this free event today!
https://rwjf.webex.com/rwjf/j.php?ED=181767577&RG=1&UID=0&RT=MiM0

For more information about the Smoking Leadership Cessation Center, click here.

HealthSMART Tip: Of the 45.3 million current smokers, 70% say that they would like to quit. But without assistance, less than 5% are able to stop smoking. If you’re trying to quit, or know someone who is, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW for free help.

The phenomenon of the rescue fantasy was first discussed by Freud in 1910. Popular in fairy tales, dramatic novels, movies, and cartoons, the fantasy is that, even in the most dire of situations, somehow, from somewhere, a superhero will swoop down out of the sky and rescue us from our almost certain doomed fate. Despite knowing the idea is a fantasy, we still hope.

Americans suffer from rescue fantasies in health care.

We pay small fortunes for the privilege of access to a health care system with an unsustainable cost structure that only delivers quality care 40 percent of the time. We are on a train heading in the wrong direction, and we are awaiting our rescue to a more secure reality. Some are expecting the superhero politicians to be the rescuers; others are counting on employers and union negotiators; still others think doctors in their white coats will perform the brave task.

The truth is: It’s up to us.

The second truth is: We can do it.

As American, we have within our cultural DNA a basic sensibility that is optimistic, resilient and entrepreneurial. It is time to activate this sensibility and take charge of our future by taking charge of our health. Commerce is driven by the basic laws of supply and demand. If we flatten the demand for health care services by increasing our health, we will not need to be concerned about the supply of health care services. It will have to level off to counterbalance the new level of demand.

The task of learning how the health care system works would be daunting. The task of learning how to improve our health should not be daunting. We may need to adapt and to better ourselves through self-education, but we are not alone. As a society, we are all together in this.

We at the Foundation for HealthSMART Consumers believe that self-care with OTCs should be viewed as a first-line treatment protocol for common conditions that are easily self-diagnosed. This allows for consumers to take an active role in their health care and to take responsibility for caring for themselves until a health care provider’s expertise is necessary. In addition to being an effective first step in caring for common condition symptoms, self-care can also represent meaningful cost savings for both the health care system and for health care consumers.

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As a trusted source of information on the Health Reform rule requiring a prescription for OTC reimbursement from health care financial accounts, The Foundation for HealthSMART Consumers provides the following resources:
Fact Sheet, Fellows POV, Spokespeople

Smoking cessation programs, along with federal, state and local laws banning smoking in public places, have helped to curb the use of tobacco for some consumers, but each year more than 438,000 people die from smoking-related disorders. Another 8.6 million suffer from smoking-related illnesses and the overall costs of this lifestyle choice are significant. Smoking remains the number one preventable cause of illness and death in the United States, with surveys reporting that 70 percent of tobacco users want to end the habit.

A new study conducted by researchers at Penn State University supports the premise that helping smokers quit not only saves lives, but also results in favorable economic benefits to states – perhaps as much as $301 billion. The report, Smoking Cessation: the Economic Benefits, released September 14 by the American Lung Association, offers a nationwide cost-benefit analysis comparing the costs to society of smoking with the economic benefits of states providing “smoking cessation” coverage. The report comes at a time when cessation benefit provisions are about to be implemented at the federal and state levels as a result of health care reform legislation.

Helping people quit smoking can be an important way for states to reduce health care costs, the study says.

HealthSMART Tip: Take action now! For those who want help with quitting smoking, call the toll-free hotline at 1-800-Quit-Now. Visit the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center’s “Stop Smoking” web page at: http://smokingcessationleadership.ucsf.edu/FSStopSmoking.htm.

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According to experts, retailers are already taking steps to warn shoppers of new restrictions regarding purchases of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines with funds from health care accounts. Employers and health plans are communicating a similar message as they begin open enrollment for 2011 benefit plans. The Foundation for HealthSMART Consumers convened a Leadership Roundtable in Washington, DC to discuss this topic. Jon Comola, executive director of The Foundation said, “We see this as a threat to consumer access and choice at a time when we need our citizens to be more engaged in managing their health and the cost of care.”

Click here for Press Release.

The Foundation for HealthSMART Consumers (The Foundation) supports modifications to the statutory amendments under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act to strengthen the privacy and security protection of health information, and to improve the workability and effectiveness of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The Foundation believes, however, that any modifications provided under HITECH should consider patients’ rights to receive health information and to be provided access to resources that can help them manage their health care costs—two primary concerns as our nation seeks to transform and bend cost trends over time.

For more information click here