| Dear Friends,
The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is pleased to announce that we have interviewed three physicians serving in Congress as part of our Congressional podcast initiative. This week we are pleased to release the latest interview with Congressman Charles W. Boustany Jr., M.D. (R-LA).
Congressman Boustany has been serving in the United States House of Representatives since 2005. Congressman Boustany is a cardiovascular surgeon with more than 20 years of experience. With his time in Congress, Congressman Boustany has worked to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and advance patient-centered medicine. To that end, he recently introduced the Patient-Controlled Health IT Act. We discuss the details of the bill, medical malpractice tort reform, Senator McCain’s healthcare proposal, and the future of American healthcare.
View interview with Congressman Boustany:
http://vimeo.com/1551213
Last month, we interviewed Congressman Michael Burgess, M.D. and Congressman Ron Paul, M.D.
Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) has been serving in the United States House of Representatives since 2003. Congressman Burgess worked as a physician in Denton County for over 21 years. As a physician of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Lewisville, Dr. Burgess delivered more than 3000 babies in North Texas before heading to Congress.
Congressman Burgess has four degrees: two from the now University of North Texas, an M.D. from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston and another Masters degree in Medical Management from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2000. He is the former Chief of Staff for Lewisville Medical Center, and most recently Chief of Obstetrics at Lewisville Medical Center.
View interview with Congressman Burgess:
http://vimeo.com/1521016
Congressman and former Presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX) is also a physician. He graduated from Gettysburg College and the Duke University School of Medicine, before proudly serving as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force during the 1960s. He and his wife Carol moved to Texas in 1968, where he began his medical practice in Brazoria County. As a specialist in obstetrics/gynecology, Dr. Paul has delivered more than 4,000 babies. In this interview, we discuss Congressman Paul’s work on healthcare policy, Senator McCain’s healthcare proposal, and his view on the future of healthcare in the United States.
Congressman Paul’s interview can be viewed here:
http://vimeo.com/1322692
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
CMPI NEWS
www.cmpi.org
Public or Private? - Commercial Confidential Information Need To Be Protected To Ensure Innovation
By Peter Pitts
The Journal of Life Sciences
August 15, 2008
Read Article
Health Care and Reality – Peter Pitts Responds to Paul Krugman
By Peter Pitts
New York Times – Letter to the Editor
August 14, 2008
Read Article
DRUGWONKS BLOG
www.drugwonks.com
Is FiercePharma Becoming Bio-Luddite
By Robert Goldberg
August 20, 2008
The latest synopsis about Merck suggests that whoever is writing Fierce Pharma is going over to the dark side:
"This is in addition to Merck's efforts to make the vaccine mandatory for young U.S. girls, with many wondering if the rise in cervical cancer vaccines are due to increased awareness or to Merck's aggressive, award winning and highly controversial marketing schemes."
First of all, is the above an actual sentence written by a journalist whose first language is English or was it translated from the original Vulcan?
Second, given the increasing reliance on other blogs with a bias as a primary source instead of real background, it is obvious that FiercePharma believes that arsenic causes diabetes, all marketing is a ploy and vaccines are dangerous.
Third, the argumentation of the piece is consistent with tendency of bio-Luddites to use their belief that medical innovations are just an excuse to rape the public as evidence instead of a fearful emotional response.
http://www.drugwonks.com/blog_post/show/6290
Brave New Healthcare World
By Peter Pitts
August 20, 2008
Does it seem counter-intuitive that “universal” care results in restricted access and poor outcomes? Not when you consider the facts.
A recent report published in The Lancet was the first international analysis of cancer survival that provides comparable data across countries. Across all cancers studied, survival in the US was greater than in Europe. For example, 5-year relative survival for women with breast cancer was 84% in the US and 73% in the EU. For men with colon cancer in the US survival was 60% whereas in the EU it was 47%.
The researchers attributed the variation in survival to “differences in access to diagnostic and treatment services.”
http://www.drugwonks.com/blog_post/show/6287
RADIO APPEARANCES
On July 7 CMPI President Peter Pitts and Canadian patient Shona Holmes appeared on The Laura Ingraham Radio Show to discuss new CMPI initiative BigGovHealth.org and warned about the dangers of adopting a government-run healthcare system here in the United States.
Listen to their appearance here:
http://www.cmpi.org/uploads/Media/laura_070708_56K.mp3
Radio Talk Show Host Laura Ingraham on BigGovHealth (7.8.08):
THINK GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE IS A GOOD IDEA? Think again. Closing out today's show, Shona Holmes, a Canadian brain-tumor survivor, recounted her personal health-care horror story. Fortunately, she managed to flee to the States for a life-saving operation. Joining her was Peter Pitts, president of the new website, BigGovHealth.org.
Republicans are already struggling to counter Obama's message of free health care, and that's what makes this site so useful.
INTERNATIONAL ARTICLES OF NOTE
More Than 7,000 NHS Operations Cancelled More Than Once Last Year
The Independent
August 2008
Read Article
St. Mary’s Twice Sent Me Away: Pregnant Woman Gives Birth In Bathroom At Home
The Montreal Gazette
August 2008
Read Article
ARTICLES OF NOTE
Consumers Know The Time Is Right For Market-Based Health Care Reform
By Grace-Marie Turner
July 2008
Read Article
British System Has Problems We Don’t Need To Copy
By Merrill Matthews
August 2008
Read Article
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