The ASN Policy Board presents the March issue of Renal Policy Express.
In This Issue...
ASN Public Policy Board Update
World Kidney Day 2008
The ASN Public Policy Board has planned some very exciting activities for World Kidney Day 2008, which will take place on Thursday, March 13. Please direct any questions or comments about the following activities to policy@asn-online.org.
The World Kidney Day 2008 activities will include:
- Congressional reception. ASN is co-sponsoring a reception on Capitol Hill with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) the evening prior to World Kidney Day. In years past, the reception has been well attended by Members of Congress and their staff.
- Meetings with congressional offices. Advocacy efforts will focus on improved patient care, raising the awareness of chronic kidney disease (CKD) as a public health problem, and increased funding for research. Participating nephrologists will also attempt to encourage members of the House of Representatives to join the Congressional Kidney Caucus. For many of the meetings, ASN members will be accompanied by patient advocates from the NKF and representatives from the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology.
- Targeted radio spots. ASN President Peter S. Aronson, MD, will record a radio spot focused on CKD that will be broadcast nationally on the morning of World Kidney Day. Before they venture to Capitol Hill Thursday morning, the 22 ASN members who are participating in World Kidney Day will conduct live on-air interviews with their hometown radio stations.
- Editorial in the March 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Written by the members of the Public Policy Board, this editorial addresses growing problems facing patients with kidney disease and what needs to be done to address these challenges.
- CKD slide set for grand rounds. Thomas Hostetter, MD, worked with the National Kidney Disease Education Program (NKDEP) to create a slide set focused on CKD that can be used for Grand Rounds in honor of World Kidney Day. This slide set is available on the ASN website (www.asn-online.org) under Renal Reminders.
National Institutes of Health
Kidney Expert Named Director of NIDDK Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Disease (KUH)
Robert A. Star, MD, has been named director of the Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Disease (KUH) at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK), by Institute Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers. Dr. Star has been acting director of the extramural research division since September 2006 and was appointed director February 26, 2008, after a nationwide search.
The entire press release from NIH can be viewed here: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/mar2008/niddk-04.htm.
Fiscal Year 2009 Funding Requests
A bipartisan coalition of six members of the House of Representatives on Thursday, February 28, 2008, sent a letter to the Chair and Ranking Minority Member of the House Budget Committee urging them “to allocate sums necessary to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that at a minimum includes an increase relative to the cost of biomedical inflation.” The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates an actual 3.9 percent increase in the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (BRDPI) for FY 2007.
The letter from the members of Congress is here.
As a member of the Executive Committee of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, ASN was part of a coalition that recently asked Congress for an increase in NIH funding of $1.9 billion for Fiscal Year 2009. This coalition also included the Campaign for Medical Research (CMR), the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), the National Health Council (NHC), and Research!America.
The statement from the coalition of health care organizations is here.
NKDEP Announces New Associate Director
Andrew S. Narva, MD, Director of the National Kidney Disease Education Program (NKDEP) announced last month that Eileen P. Newman is the program’s new Associate Director. Ms. Newman’s most recent position involved the direction of model public health programs at the National Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health. A registered dietician, Ms. Newman also developed and disseminated educational materials for diverse patient and professional audiences for the National High Blood Pressure Education Program and the National Cholesterol Education Program of the National Hearth, Lung, and Blood Institute of NIH.
Recommended Changes to Peer Review Process
NIH is employing a two-tiered peer review process with the goal of "optimizing its efficiency and effectiveness, and to ensure that the NIH will be able to continue to meet the needs of the research community and the public-at-large." This study includes an internal section (Steering Committee Working Group on Peer Review) and an external section (Advisory Council to the Director Working Group on Peer Review).
The external section released its draft recommendations Thursday, February 21, 2008. The recommendations broadly focus on a reduction of administrative burden, enhancement of the grant review and rating system, and an increase in support for varying career stages and pathways. Specifically, the recommendations include a shorter application, the denoting of ineffective or insignificant applications as “not recommended for resubmission,” and a required minimum percent effort on research project grants.
You can learn more about the recommendations at: http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/index.html.
Member Alerts
Legislation Being Crafted to Delay Payment Cuts for Doctors
Recently, ASN sent urgent alerts to its membership. To view these alerts, please click on the links below:
CMS ESRD Bundled Payment Report to Congress
FDA Advisory – Temporary Suspension of Multiple-dose Vial Heparin
Update: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a new Public Health Advisory on Heparin Thursday, February 28, 2008. ASN Director of Policy & Public Affairs Paul Smedberg participated in a conference call regarding the advisory. Mr. Smedberg summarized the relevant points:
- FDA has not yet determined a root cause of the problem.
- The new advisory is due to the expanded voluntary recall by Baxter Healthcare, which includes all multi and single dose vials and the Heparin Lock product.
- The FDA investigation of China's Heparin manufacturing facilities is ongoing and the Chinese government is cooperating with the investigation.
- The manufacturing facilities of APP Pharmaceuticals have been cleared to produce all necessary supplies of Heparin for the US market.
The advisory is available at http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/heparin/public_health_update.htm.
To view the press release from APP Pharmaceuticals regarding Heparin, please visit http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=130431&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1109561&highlight=heparin.
We hope that you have enjoyed this version of ASN's Renal Policy Express. Please refer any questions or comments regarding this newsletter to policy@asn-online.org.
Paul Smedberg, Director, Policy and Public Affairs
Susan Owens, Senior Policy Coordinator
