|
Crossing Boundaries In Search Of Greater UnderstandingFOR THE FIRST TWENTY-FIVE years in which Project HOPE has published Health Affairs, we have focused most of our content on the economics of health care. Over this same period, although our editorial offices are less than one mile from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), we have published little content on the policy issues surrounding biomedical research and medical innovation. This disconnect is hardly unusual. In reality, throughout the health care sector, be it in government or private circles, a gulf separates the worlds of medical science, on the one hand, and broader policy questions, on the other, including how to assess and pay for the enduring pursuit of medical progress and the health care that flows from it. For many years I have wanted the pages of Health Affairs to bridge this chasm by publishing material that would bolster greater understanding of the relative roles of these two worlds. This effort is reflected in our most recent theme issues. One (Sept/Oct 06) was devoted to biotechnology—the rapid emergence of specialty pharmaceuticals and insurers’ early strategies to manage their use; the other is this volume on "Cardiovascular Disease and Society." This new issue is the first time we have ever devoted a thematic volume to a disease state, and it reflects our determination to cross boundaries in an effort to foster greater understanding between these disparate worlds. In these pursuits we have crossed the divide between economics and medical science, an effort that led us to policy issues we have not addressed before and to many new authors and reviewers. We acknowledge with gratitude the unrestricted educational grants from the American College of Cardiology, Boston Scientific, and Pfizer Inc. that supported this issue. Initial ideas for development of this issue stemmed from conversations with Uwe and May Reinhardt; Victor Dzau, chancellor of Duke University and a professor of cardiology; and several of his Duke colleagues: Robert Califf, Eric Peterson, and Kevin Schulman. Uwe Reinhardt, who has served on the editorial board of Health Affairs since its launch, is a member of Duke’s board of regents. Under Dzau’s leadership, Duke and Health Affairs sponsored a symposium on the subjects covered in this issue, and several of the papers in this volume were first presented there. Beyond these two journal issues, we have taken other steps to add muscle to our efforts in this regard. About a year ago I recruited Barbara Culliton, a distinguished science journalist and a long-time member of the Institute of Medicine, to join our staff as a deputy editor, thanks to support from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Merck Company Foundation. In 2006, with support from InHealth, we launched a series of interviews with leaders of science and medical innovation, beginning with Culliton’s interview with Elias Zerhouni, the well-respected director of the NIH; that series continues. We plan to continue our pursuit of a stronger dialogue between stakeholders with conflicting agendas and encourage other interests to join with us. Health Affairs Blog. I am pleased to announce that after twenty-five years of publishing a print journal and six years in online publishing, we have launched the Health Affairs Blog as a new means of engaging readers in the health policy debate. The journal is all about an ongoing dialogue on health policy issues of concern to a diverse audience. The blog posts, while not peer-reviewed, are thoughtful, focused comments in the range of 500–1,000 words, on topics that scan the health policy horizon. Since the blog’s launch on October 5, we have published commentary from leading health economists Alain Enthoven, Alan Maynard, Uwe Reinhardt, Jamie Robinson, and Gail Wilensky on health reform. Timothy Westmoreland and Bill Roper offered Democratic and Republican views on the election. Drew Altman and Bob Blendon sounded a call for reform. Linda Aiken enlightened readers on the nurse shortage. Health Affairs deputy editor Parmeeth Atwal interviewed Georges Benjamin, president of the American Public Health Association (APHA), and several prominent public health leaders offered their reactions to themes raised at the APHA convention last November. Health care stakeholders from the pharmaceutical industry to health care finance, practicing physician to former assistant surgeon general, health lawyers to health care students have all weighed in on the blog by adding their comments. We welcome all readers to join the debate at http://www.healthaffairs.org/blog.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
