Follow up on Mevacor and Holiday Wishes

Good evening and Happy Holidays from the Department of Health Policy. I wanted to let our readers know that my comments at the recent FDA Advisory Board Public Hearing were picked up by the wire services and appeared in literally hundreds of media outlets, including scores of newspapers across the nation. I tongue in cheek suggested that they should put Mevacor in the nation's water supply and this also engendered some angry comments (from die hard public health types who said that it could cause birth defects if pregnant women were to drink the water!!).Anyway, I stand by my testimony which will appear in more detail in an upcoming issue of the journal, Pharmacy and Therapeutics. I also wanted to take this time to wish all of our readers a very happy and health holiday season and a great New Year. All the best, DAVID B. NASH MD,MBA

Cholesterol Drugs Over the Counter (OTC)

Good morning!! I am sitting in an FDA hearing in Washington D.C., ready to testify later this afternoon regarding making MEVCOR an OTC drug. Mevacor, a statin, helps to lower cholesterol and a low dose, available OTC, would go a long way to improve the health of the public. I have been involved with this issue for more than eight years, as Merck and J and J have been studying the impact of this possible launch together. It is very controversial and the FDA Advisory Board is grilling all the folks who are testifying today. My plan is as follows---we could do a lot better in our care of patients with a primary prevention strategy for coronary artery disease. Sure, can the public really understand the role of cholesterol in heart disease and will they take mevacor appropriately---these are important questions but we need to move ahead and find out!! I will keep you posted on this important FDA decision. This is after all, a real life health policy issue for our country.As always, I am interested in your views too. ALSO, please let me know what you think about our plans for a new school of Health Policy and Population Health. See my previous posting. I am excited about my new blog so keep your comments coming. DAVID NASH

Jefferson School of Health Policy and Population Health

Good afternoon.The blog is picking up some speed!! I wanted to let everyone know about some new plans we have afoot on campus. We have been asked by the university President to begin the planning for a possible new school--that's right,a new school to join the other Health Care Colleges on the campus of Jefferson University. The new school is tentatively called, "The Jefferson School of Health Policy and Population Health" or JSHPPH. We plan to offer up to three Master's degress including the MPH,a Master's in Health Policy and a totally new degree, the Master's in Health Care Quality and Safety. I need your input here. What do you think about this new school idea?? What are the competencies that we should be seeking in each of the degree programs?? What sort of student should we seek?? I am very excited about all the possibilities here and will have more to say about this in the next few weeks but for now, I would like to hear from all of you about our challenge. Thanks for your support, DAVID NASH