October 2009 Archives

Health reform took a step forward yesterday as the House of Representatives released a new healthcare reform bill, H.R. 3962 Affordable Health Care for America Act.

When announcing the new bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) compared the measure to the creation of Social Security in 1935, and to the 1965 enactment of Medicare and Medicaid.

The bill clocks in at an incredible 1,990 pages demonstrating that a 21^st century overhaul of America's health system is no small task. Support among House Democrats for the new bill seems to be growing, but House Republicans remain opposed. The bill could hit the House floor for consideration as early as November 5.

To learn more about how a bill becomes a law, click here.

(Image courtesy of the The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.)

More than two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese.

That statistic still amazes me even though I am confronted by it daily in my role leading the U.S. Consumer Healthcare Behavioral Sciences business. So I was anxious to arrive in Washington, DC, this week for Obesity 2009, to hear the latest news and research from the obesity field's most eminent researchers, physicians, nutritionists and other experts. And I wasn't disappointed.

Hosted by the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, this annual conference is recognized as the largest and most comprehensive program in the field of obesity. I joined more than 2,500 people from a variety of backgrounds who shared an extreme passion to help reverse the growing obesity epidemic.

The sharing of information began with an insightful keynote address on how learnings from smoking cessation can be applied to weight control by Dr. William H. Dietz, MD, PhD, Director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity for the Centers for Disease Control. This confirms the opportunity for cross pollination that we've recognized at GSK for many years and was the basis for aligning both weight control and smoking cessation under the Behavioral Sciences businesses I manage.

Discussions continued around the need for a surround-sound approach to support consumers as they lose weight. This includes new technology, new food labels and restaurant policies to educate consumers about nutrition, the importance of changing food habits and other support programs and tools.

Researchers, including GSK, also highlighted findings about the different types of fat and the concept of good fat/bad fat and how to maintain the good and reduce the bad--not unlike what we saw years ago as the understanding of cholesterol advanced.

Obesity 2009 made clear that consumers who want to lose weight are not alone in their journey.

(Image courtesy of The Endocrine Society.)

My local Sunday paper included two unrelated pieces that really bring home the complexity, breadth and diversity that is implied when we talk about our "healthcare system."

The first, a reprint from the Washington Post, reported the challenges involved in transitioning to a fully digitized system.  The benefits of improved "health IT" products including electronic medical records have been well-documented and are one element of health-care reform that enjoy support across the political spectrum.  Indeed, we're on record here as boosters.  Yet, the article notes:

But such bipartisan enthusiasm has obscured questions about the effectiveness of health information technology products, critics say. Interviews with more than two dozen doctors, academics, patients and computer programmers suggest that computer systems can increase errors, add hours to doctors' workloads and compromise patient care.

Talk about a punch in the gut.  It is right, however, to keep immediate expectations in check.  As the article says, we should not expect digital health records to be an overnight "cure-all" for systemic inefficiencies in our system.  And it is particularly critical that as new technologies are rolled out, the very end users they are supposed to help - doctors and their patients - are consulted and listened to.  Any system that inhibits physician productivity and their precious time with patients will be a non-starter.

The second article that caught my eye was a thoughtful "community view" essay by a leader of the local hospice and palliative care network.  She writes knowingly about "end-of-life" care and the importance of honest, candid discussions among patients, their family members and health providers about how individuals want to spend their last days.  She cites data showing 98 percent of families saying they would recommend hospice to others facing end-of-life decisions.

My take-away from these two very different stories:

1. We are blessed to have so many incredibly talented people involved in every aspect of our health care system.
2. That "system" is innately a human one--no amount of technology nor mechanization can ever replace the primary role of loving, caring, committed human beings who every day are focused on making people well or easing their pain.  And we should be doing everything we can to support them.

In Philadelphia during the month of October, you cannot help but notice the pink tones everywhere you go. The Philadelphia skyline is awash in pink lights, the stores are packed with pink consumer goods, commercial airplanes are painted with pink underbellies, and even pro football teams are donned with pink wristbands and sneakers.

In October, pink stands for Breast Cancer Awareness.  GSK is a wholehearted supporter of this cause--and we have been for many years.  Our partner here in Philadelphia, The Susan G. Komen for the Cure affiliate, has witnessed it every day for the past 19 years and it can be summed up by three words: responsibility, dedication, caring.

GlaxoSmithKline has been a committed supporter of the Race for a Cure on Mother's Day in Philly, and we have recently extended our Race support to the Komen affiliate in Research Triangle Park, NC.  GSK also has a keen perception of the plight of underserved communities in the breast cancer movement.  Not everyone realizes that the playing field on which populations survive breast cancer needs to be level--but we certainly do--and we're working hard to make a difference. 

This past weekend, Deirdre Connelly, GSK President, NA Pharmaceuticals, accepted the Friend in the Fight Award on behalf of GSK.  Although the company was extremely honored and humbled to receive such an award, it was Deirdre who brought it all home:

"Let's not forget HER, "she said, "the woman who relies on Komen--and all of us--to give hope when she can't find it, a shoulder to lean on when she needs to it, and an embrace to honor her courage."

(Photo courtesy of Susan G. Komen for the Cure--Philadelphia.)

I learned today that if I was a car, I'd probably be a 7 year-old Toyota Camry that needs some preventative repair work fairly soon.  Not a brand new Corvette.  At least that's the impression I got when I recently took the employee health assessment provided by GSK.

As a pretty "average" 42-year-old guy who doesn't smoke, rarely drinks, and eats tons of veggies, I thought I would literally 'ace' the health exam.  

While my blood sugar was great and my hydration level (who knew this could be measured?) was fine, the nurse on site had some serious warnings for me.  It turns out my cholesterol is out of whack.  My HDL levels are currently so low that I'm at risk for developing heart disease if I don't make some lifestyle changes. 

What??  When the nurse I was talking to suggested I exercise more, my immediate reaction was, "But can't I just eat something to raise my HDLs?"  Turns out I can eat nuts and other things that can help.  But the nurse - grinning because she knew I wouldn't want to hear this - said that for me in particular, I should also work out 30 minutes every day.  

Eager to change the subject as quickly as possible, I asked about my weight.  "Borderline normal, but your percentage of body fat is getting a little high - you had better exercise."  I could see she was going to be tough.

With one last try, I asked about my blood pressure, since it's always been perfect in the past.  Alas, the gods were apparently against me that day.  Her answer was, "Not bad, but it really could be a little better considering your age - so if you would just exercise..."

Like most guys, I often assume that unless I'm feeling sick, I'm perfectly healthy and don't need to worry about preventative maintenance.  And that's really a shame, since I work for a pharmaceutical company that provides a ton of disease education and stresses the importance of people making lifestyle choices to help protect and maintain their health - both in the short term and for the long haul.

So I guess I'm typical in many ways, but sometimes - as I'm learning, when it comes to your health - that's not always such a good thing.

Last week, GSK announced that we have joined the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in its motion to dismiss litigation over Final Regulations published in August 2007.  The litigation related to proposed changes to regulations that would have limited the number of patent applications and patent claims that could be filed on an invention in order to reduce a large backlog of work at the USPTO. Our position was that the proposed rules threatened to diminish our ability to patent our medical innovations and would ultimately have harmed patients by reducing protection for pharmaceutical investments.

Importantly, today's announcement marks a significant step forward in improving collaboration between industry and the USPTO and is evidence of the USPTO's renewed support for and responsiveness to patent applicants, led by the recently appointed head of the PTO, David Kappos.  We all agree that the U.S. patent system is of fundamental importance to the strength of the U.S. economy, which is based on leadership in innovation.  In fact, without the necessary protection, we are sure to witness a decrease in the development of innovative medicines for patients with unmet medical needs, as well as job loss across business sectors.

We believe that the patent system should be based on a consistent set of laws that will allow us to protect our investment and innovation over the long period of pharma R&D.  Once granted, patent protection should be predictable and secure.  Today it takes up to 10 years and nearly $1 billion to discover and develop a medicine.  To put this into context, at this time, GSK is in the process of defending patents that were filed in the early 1990s under the legal framework of today.  Who among us could have predicted how the patent laws would have changed in a period of almost 20 years?

We hope this is just the beginning of our collaboration with the new director of the US Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos, and his administration.  In the coming months, we hope to work with them on changes that will encourage innovation and continued investment in research toward life-improving and life-saving medicines for patients.

As I mentioned on Friday, I spent the day touring our vaccine filling and packaging plant in Marietta, PA with women who blog, among other topics, on parenting.  These women were quite interesting, and their blogs are well-researched and -written (and a few of them include wording that...well let's just say it would never make it through our review process...so if racy language is not your cup of tea, perhaps you might not want to click on a few of the links...but that's the Internets for you).

I seriously underestimated how far Marietta is from Philadelphia, and I desperately needed some coffee halfway between here and there.  I apparently spotted one of the attending bloggers at the rest stop, but I didn't know that until she walked into the meeting room.

It was a diverse crew of women who accepted our invitation to tour the facility and, for some, it was the first time that they had met in person.  While on the tour, the group heard from a number of GSK experts in research, manufacturing, and public policy--many of whom were women.  A few of the bloggers asked if we strategically brought female leaders to speak just because they were women.  (Big Pharma can never catch a break!)  But it did lead to a discussion about GSK's benefits like flex time--which the group saw in action as one of the women leading the tour had to scram at 2.30PM to pick up her son. (I swear we didn't plan that.)

During the tour, the group suited up and went into the production facility, where we saw a room full of employees manually inspecting vials that had been filled.  What struck me was that while much of the process is, of course, highly automated, at every step there is a human being involved. This was one of those epiphany moments for me--and I work for GSK!  

There was another moment that I honestly thought was going to come across as scripted but there was no way to plan for it.  We were talking about safety, and how if necessary, a lot of vaccines would be pulled if something was discovered to have gone awry.  "Well of course--its your reputation on the line," one of the attendees said.

Almost in unison, every GSK employee answered "No, it's patients lives at stake" or some variation.  Again, I promise that happened spontaneously. How could we have planned for that?

I think it was great day, with meaningful discussion, and some tough questions, from the group (but don't take my word for it, take theirs).  I gained some good insights into social media, I saw an amazing facility, met some new colleagues (both within GSK and from the blogosphere), and got to take my new car on its first road trip!

The traffic, on the other hand, reminded me of why I went so long without a car in the first place.

(Group photo courtesy of Stephanie from CreatureBug. The manufacturing photo is ours.)

In a new poll by National Public Radio, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health, 71 percent of people surveyed felt Congress was paying too little attention to what average Americans think about health reform. On the heels of contentious town hall conversations with constituents and legislators this past summer, this is an interesting finding.

In the same poll, 51 percent of people felt interest groups played a constructive role in carrying out changes to our health care system and it was important to have them on board with the legislation. The survey also indicated drug makers were among the least trusted interest groups and some respondents went so far as to say drug makers were primarily to blame for the current problems facing health care.

The fact is no one group is responsible for the problems plaguing our system.  Ours is made up of many diverse organizations, some public, some private, some for-profit, and some non-profit, all of whom comprise a U.S. health care system that provides the most advanced medical care available in the world. But for the many Americans who are uninsured or underinsured, access to health care can be sporadic and inadequate. Improvements are needed in the quality and affordability of care for all Americans so our system can sustain itself over the long-term.

A key driver of health costs is poor management of chronic disease. Accounting for 75 percent of health care spending in this country, more than half of all Americans suffer from one or more chronic diseases, many of which are manageable and preventable. We can improve health outcomes and reduce the increase in overall health care costs if our system includes the appropriate incentives to:

·         encourage wellness and prevention

·         manage costly chronic diseases more efficiently, and

·         maintain strong incentives for continued medical innovation to meet costly unmet medical needs such as Alzheimer's disease

If you are part of the 71 percent who feels your voice isn't being heard in the health care reform debate, don't sit idle. Call your elected officials in Washington, D.C. and tell them you want comprehensive health care reform that focuses on prevention and management of chronic disease and encourages medical innovation. There is no better time to pick up the phone.  

Today should be an interesting day.  I am headed to our vaccine packaging and filling facility in Marietta, PA.  (Please don't ask me where that is exactly, because I have no idea.  I've only recently joined the ranks of car owners--after a 5 year hiatus since I am fortunate to be able to walk to work here in Philadelphia--and realized that I don't actually know how to get anywhere anymore if it's not by train, bike, or foot.)

This site visit itself will be pretty fascinating I imagine, but even better is the fact that I will be touring it with a few influential bloggers who are also mothers.*  The purpose of the trip is to connect them with GSK staff, discuss the vaccination of children, and tour the facility.  Just so we're clear about this, GSK has offered to pay for travel, accommodations or any additional childcare expenses these folks may incur as a result of this trip, and if they accept the offer, they are required to disclose this when writing about it.

I'm sure I'll have more on Monday about this, but will probably tweet a bit during the day.  I'm also hoping to get some insights about our blog (and social media in general) from the group.  More to come...

*I've heard some people describe women who blog about parenting as "mommy bloggers," but these women write about much more than being mothers.  Kierkegaard wrote "Once you label me, you negate me," so I'll follow his lead.

Last night the Philadelphia Phillies clinched the National League East Division title--for the third time in a row! 

The players celebrated in the clubhouse by dousing each other with champagne and beer, but after a few minutes they returned to the field, jogged to left field, and paid tribute to long-time announcer Harry Kalas--by sharing their champagne and dousing the tribute banner.   

Harry Kalas  died last year from heart disease but he called the final out in the 2008 World Series game--a moment Phillies fans will not ever forget.  It seemed to be a bittersweet moment for players and fans, celebrating the victory and remembering Harry, wishing he could have called the game.  

The post-season is ahead of us and it should be an exciting one.  And, if these players and fans have anything to say about it, Harry will be getting doused with champagne again!

Love Park, Philadelphia, October 1, 2009, 12.30 PM.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins today.  I would venture to say that almost everyone knows someone affected by this disease.  Early detection is key.  Spread the word.