Weekly Roundup 8-9-13

The Congress is gone, the humidity is back.  All things considered, that is the way we prefer it.  It is that time of year where the grass appears to have had it and we find ourselves dreaming of and longing for that first crisp autumn day.  And alas, sadly, the days are already noticeably shorter.

And speaking of shorter, since Congress is gone – no new legislation to report – no testimonies happening so the Roundup is also a little short.  As we drift through these dog days of summer, here are a few things that I thought would be of interest:

  • First Rapid Diagnostic Test for HIV-1 Antigen and HIV-1/2 Antibodies – I was thinking back to the time when I was working in the early days of the HIV epidemic – before it was called HIV even – and what it was like.  There was no test.  One only found out one was infected when one acquired an infection – likely life-threatening – that was a signal that your immune system was gone. Contrast to this week when donors, but can be apparently be used in outreach settings to provide rapid results.
  • Sunshine on the Sunshine Act – For some time now, virtually all of the stakeholders in healthcare have been anticipating, but not necessarily always understanding, aspects and implications of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act passed into law and in the process of implementation. The day is coming where understanding and knowledge about the Act should no longer be put off.  The Policy and Medicine blog has for a long time covered various aspects of the Act and written at length and in depth about it.  However, this week a posting to the Policy and Medicine site on the Sunshine Act Deadlines, Resources and Responsibilites provided a incredibly thorough overview of subject matter. It is extremely impressive and if you are in need to know, you should check it out.
  • FDA-TRACK Updated – For those of you interested in following the stats that the agency posts in FDA-Track marking its progress in multiple areas across the agency, it would appear that new data was posted in several areas, including the Advisory Committees Dashboard, the Freedom of Information Act Dashboard and the Health Care Reform Dashboard among others.

That’s it for me this week folks.  Have a wonderful weekend.

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