Those who care about health care based on evidence and not merely on economic incentives, and primary care that considers the balance of the science in service of the whole person, should be very concerned about a bill before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
A hearing on November 30 can decide if evidence-based health care is going to be yanked in the direction of economic incentives and special interests. I think this is the leading edge of anti-science and anti-medicine legislation.
Called the USPSTF Transparency and Accountability Act, the bill significantly weakens the US Preventive Services Task Force, a respected source for unbiased summaries of the evidence--and used by physicians every day-- in three significant ways:
1. It replaces generalist members of the Task Force with specialists, who are less likely to take a broad view and balance risks and benefits in the whole population.
2. It establishes a review board to counterweight, and possibly counteract, the Task Force's recommendations, making evidence-based healthcare yet another political football.
3. It mandates reconsideration of any given past Task Force recommendations if requested by any specialist or other organization.
This is a serious step backwards for evidence-based, patient-centered, resource-sensitive health care in the US. Please reach out to your representative if they sit on the committee and ask them to vote against the bill.
A hearing on November 30 can decide if evidence-based health care is going to be yanked in the direction of economic incentives and special interests. I think this is the leading edge of anti-science and anti-medicine legislation.
Called the USPSTF Transparency and Accountability Act, the bill significantly weakens the US Preventive Services Task Force, a respected source for unbiased summaries of the evidence--and used by physicians every day-- in three significant ways:
1. It replaces generalist members of the Task Force with specialists, who are less likely to take a broad view and balance risks and benefits in the whole population.
2. It establishes a review board to counterweight, and possibly counteract, the Task Force's recommendations, making evidence-based healthcare yet another political football.
3. It mandates reconsideration of any given past Task Force recommendations if requested by any specialist or other organization.
This is a serious step backwards for evidence-based, patient-centered, resource-sensitive health care in the US. Please reach out to your representative if they sit on the committee and ask them to vote against the bill.
RSS Feed
