Featured Issue Briefs
The Battle on the Home Front: Jonathan Gadsden's Story
Marine Lance Corporal's story reflects the growing need for new antibiotics that can treat dangerous diseases, against which most drugs are useless. Read More
Facilitating Medical Device Innovation: De Novo Reform
The de novo process -- which requests lower-risk reclassification of medical devices and entry into the marketplace -- as it exists now is not achieving its purpose and has instead added unnecessary and time-consuming requirements. Read More
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. Read More
More Issue Briefs
| Date | Issue Briefs | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2013 |
Letter from Pew to CMS Regarding Physician Payments Sunshine ActPrescription project director Danny Carlat identifies issues with the Physician Payments Sunshine Act requiring further clarification and guidance. Addressing those would ensure that manufacturers can appropriately implement the final rule, and enable consumers to benefit from transparency reports published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. More info |
Conflicts of Interest |
| May 30, 2013 |
Letter from Pew to FDA on Postmarket Surveillance PlanFDA recently updated the national medical device postmarket surveillance plan – listing device identification and registries as the cornerstones for effective product monitoring. In this letter, medical devices director Josh Rising applauds the agency for making unique device identifiers and registries central to this plan. |
Drugs and Devices at the FDA |
| Jun 27, 2013 |
Letter from Pew: Release of the Unique Device Identifier Final RuleA letter from Josh Rising — director of Pew's Medical Device Initiative — to The White House Office of Management and Budget, requesting a speedy review of regulations to develop a unique device identifier (UDI) system. More info |
Drugs and Devices at the FDA |
| Jun 18, 2013 |
Letter from Pew: Updates on the Unique Device Identifier SystemA letter from Josh Rising, director of Pew's Medical Device Initiative, about updates on the unique device identifier system. More info |
Drugs and Devices at the FDA |
| Jul 24, 2009 |
Letter to the Assistant to the President for Domestic PolicyOur combined memberships include the country’s foremost scientific and medical experts and represent more than eleven million concerned Americans and health professionals. Our position is based on objective health interests and concerns that dangerous drug resistant infections are rapidly increasing in hospitals and community settings adding to the economic burden of the U.S. healthcare costs. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Nov 7, 2008 |
MedPAC Recommendations - Public Reporting of Physicians' Financial RelationshipsFinal recommendations approved by commission on November 6, 2008 - five recommendations to Congress regarding legislation about disclosure of relationships and gifts and payments made to physicians from pharmaceutical and medical device/supply manufacturers. More info |
Conflicts of Interest |
| May 1, 2012 |
Meet Our SupermomsWe're excited to introduce you to our "Supermoms," passionate advocates from across the country who are raising awareness about the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in food animal production and its impact on human health. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production, Moms For Antibiotic Awareness |
| Aug 28, 2012 |
Members of Congress Write Letter to FDA About Antibiotics in Food Animal ProductionTwelve United States congressmen have penned a letter to the Food and Drug Administration making recommendations on improvements to the FDA's policies on food animal production and the use of antibiotics in industrial farming. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Apr 23, 2012 |
Moms for Antibiotic Awareness April Newsletter (2012)Below is your April 2012 newsletter from Moms for Antibiotic Awareness. In this edition: FDA Takes Important Step to Curb Antibiotic Overuse in Food Animal Production. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Aug 1, 2011 |
Moms for Antibiotic Awareness August Newsletter (2011)Thank you for joining Moms for Antibiotic Awareness, a group of mothers, fathers, grandparents and others concerned about their family's health. Specifically, we are dedicated to stopping a common industrial farming practice: feeding antibiotics to cows, pigs, chicken and other food animals that are not sick -- the drugs help to compensate for overcrowded and unsanitary conditions and spur faster growth. Unfortunately, this practice is breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect people. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Dec 1, 2011 |
Moms for Antibiotic Awareness December Newsletter (2011)The Chicago Public Schools (CPS), through its food provider Chartwells-Thompson Hospitality, has begun serving local chicken raised without antibiotics to students in 457 schools. No other district in the nation is serving this kind of poultry regularly at such a scale. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Feb 28, 2012 |
Moms for Antibiotic Awareness February Newsletter (2012)In this edition: Urgent Action Opportunity: Sign "We The People" Petition, FDA Takes Measures to Preserve Effectiveness of Cephalosporins, and HHIF Staff Visits the CDC. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Jan 25, 2012 |
Moms for Antibiotic Awareness January Newsletter (2012)The January, 2012 newsletter for the Moms for Antibiotic Awareness campaign includes the latest news on a new FDA measure banning cephalosporins, a new story about Ruby, a baby affected by foodborne illness, and an update on our growing group of 23,000 supportive moms. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Mar 1, 2012 |
Moms for Antibiotic Awareness March Newsletter (2012)Below is your March 2012 newsletter from Moms for Antibiotic Awarness. In this edition: "Supermoms Against Superbugs" Take Washington By Storm Contest!; FDA Finds Rise in Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria on Meat and Poultry More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| May 21, 2012 |
Moms for Antibiotic Awareness Newsletter (2012)"Supermoms" from Maine to Hawaii came to Washington, D.C., this week to press the Obama Administration and Congress to do more to rein in the overuse of antibiotics on America’s industrial farms, a practice that breeds antibiotic-resistant bacteria. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Oct 3, 2011 |
Moms for Antibiotic Awareness October Newsletter (2011)Moms for Antibiotic Awareness October Newsletter (2011) Below is your October 2011 newsletter from Moms for Antibiotic Awareness. In this issue, you will find updates on the release of an important new report on antibiotics in food animal production, information on a critical class of drugs More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Sep 1, 2011 |
Moms for Antibiotic Awareness September Newsletter (2011)Since our launch in May, we’ve had more than 15,500 individuals joined Moms for Antibiotic Awareness. More than 1,400 of you have liked us on Facebook and another 3,500 are following us on Twitter. Thanks so much for your support! More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Feb 22, 2010 |
Moving Towards Safer Credit CardsOn February 22, major new consumer protections took effect as part of the second implementation phase of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. Just two practices addressed in this second phase will save American consumers at least $10 billion a year. The Pew Health Group's Safe Credit Cards Project is looking ahead to the third and final phase of the Credit CARD Act, to take effect August 22, 2010, which will require all credit card penalties to be “reasonable and proportional” and will direct card issuers to review all interest rate increases since the beginning of 2009. More info |
Credit Cards |
| Mar 1, 2012 |
MRSA on the Appalachian Trail: The Story of Steve WeiselHiking the Appalachian Trail, Steve Weisel thought little of the blisters on his feet until he discovered they were infected with life-threatening methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) -- an increasingly common "superbug" that does not respond to first-line antibiotics. Mr. Weisel's story demonstrates the urgent need for new and innovative therapies to treat this growing threat. More info |
Antibiotic Innovation |
| Apr 3, 2012 |
MRSA: A Deadly Pathogen with Fewer and Fewer Treatment OptionsStaphylococcus aureus, or staph, is a common bacterium that exists in our environment and our bodies. Most of the time it does no harm. Sometimes, however, it can cause infection and require treatment. MRSA refers to strains of S. aureus that are resistant to the antibiotic methicillin and a host of other drugs used to treat infection. More info |
Food Safety, Antibiotic Innovation |
| Apr 8, 2013 |
Multiple Organizations - Including Pew - Support DATA ActOn behalf of the undersigned organizations representing medical, public health, scientific, agricultural, environmental, animal protection, and other organizations, we urge you to include H.R. 820, the Delivering Antimicrobial Transparency in Animals (DATA) Act, as part of the final Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA). This legislation provides a reasonable, common-sense approach to better understanding antibiotic use in agriculture. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Sep 20, 2011 |
National Headlines Reporting on the Need for New, Lifesaving AntibioticsNational and international headlines warn that multidrug-resistant superbugs are on the rise and the pipeline of new antibiotics is running dry. More info |
Antibiotic Innovation |
| Nov 16, 2010 |
Nearly 200,000 Tell FDA to Save AntibioticsNearly 200,000 letters were recently submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responding to the agency’s request for comments on rules governing the use of antibiotics on industrial farms. These letters made it clear to the FDA that: |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Sep 7, 2011 |
New Ad: The Facts are ClearHundreds of scientific studies conducted over four decades have shown that feeding low doses of antibiotics to healthy food animals leads to drug-resistant infections in people. In fact, America’s leading medical, scientific and public health organizations have been warning of the danger for years. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Apr 30, 2009 |
No Economic Advantage to Industrialized Pork ProductionIn October 2008, a panel formed to conduct a comprehensive, fact-based examination of key aspects of the farm animal industry. The report found that the current industrial method of raising pigs for food carries no economic advantage over more natural pig farming. The researchers determined that when the costs to society and communities are taken into account – particularly the costs of waste treatment - industrial animal production actually carries a higher price tag. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |