Featured Issue Briefs

Comments on the Health Information Technology Patient Safety Action and Surveillance Plan

In comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the American College of Cardiology, Consumers Union, the National Women's Health Network, the National Research Center for Women and Families, the Trust for America's Health, and The Pew Charitable Trusts urge the ONC to promote adoption of the unique device identification (UDI) system for medical devices to improve the safety of medical care.

Comments to CMS on Sunshine Implementation

Pew’s main goals in commenting on the proposed rule are to ensure timely implementation and to promote the interest of full transparency by ensuring that data is collected, reported, and published in the most complete, consistent and accurate manner possible. More info

Consumer Survey - Disclosure of Industry Payments to Physicians

A majority of Americans say that it is important to know their physician’s financial ties to pharmaceutical companies and support legislation requiring pharmaceutical companies to disclose gifts to doctors.

Curing Credit Card Penalties

Congress is set to enact new legislation that will make credit cards safer and more fair for consumers. As lawmakers negotiate final details before President Obama can sign the bill, new analysis from the Pew Health Group highlights the importance of a safeguard found only in the Senate’s version of the law.

Denied

An issue brief on the lack of access to federal loans by community college students. If you need to take out a loan for college, it is tough to find a better deal than a federal student loan.

Drug Development for Limited Populations: A New Proposed Pathway

The lack of new antibiotics and the rise in drug resistance have rendered some serious and life-threatening infections untreatable, and the health care community is searching for ways to bring innovative new drugs to patients whose treatment options are limited or nonexistent. More info

Effects of Banning the Use of Antibiotics as Growth Promoters in Denmark and Scandinavia

A listing of major reports and journal articles regarding the effects of banning the use of antibiotics as food animal growth promoters in Denmark and Scandinavia.

FDA Actions Regarding Produce Safety

For more than a decade, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recognized the challenge of making fresh produce safer. However, it has relied on voluntary guidelines. This document summarizes a decade of government initiatives that fall short of the mandatory and enforceable federal safety standards needed for domestic and imported fresh fruits and vegetables.

FDA Responsibilities and Resources

Charged with responsibility for keeping 80% of the nation's food supply (including fresh produce) safe, the FDA receives less than 25% of federal dollars spent on food safety activities.

Federal Reserve Issues Final Rules on Gift Cards

The Federal Reserve Board issued its Regulation E Final Rule on gift cards as required by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. The Pew Safe Credit Cards Project submitted a letter to the Federal Reserve during its proposed rule comment period requesting that the Fed consider limiting the amount of any such monthly fee.

Focus On: Food Import Safety

Americans’ appetite for imported food has expanded dramatically over the past few decades. For each of the past seven years, food imports have grown by an average of 10 percent. Currently, between 10 and 15 percent of all food consumed by U.S. households is imported. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), nearly two-thirds of the fruits and vegetables and 80 percent of seafood consumed domestically come from outside the United States. In this issue brief, the Pew Health Group and Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) address the safety of imported seafood and raw produce, two of the largest categories of FDA-regulated food items produced and processed abroad and then sold in the United States. More info

Food Products Recalled By FDA

Since President Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act into law, at least 149 FDA-regulated food products have been recalled due to potential pathogenic contamination. A recall is needed when a failure in the food safety program in a food facility results in contaminated food products being shipped to supermarkets and other retail and wholesale outlets. A recall is the last line of defense that protects consumers from getting sick.

Foodborne Pathogens Associated with Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

There are a number of foodborne microbial pathogens associated with the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables that can cause illness or death among consumers who eat contaminated produce.

This document summarizes the major foodborne microbial pathogens that may be found in fresh produce, including Cyclospora cayetanensis, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Hepatitis A, Listeria monocytogenes, Norovirus, Salmonella spp., and Shigella spp.