World News

Gary Culliton brings you a round-up of the international healthcare-related news making the headlines around the world.

Concern over commercial ‘advantage’

Doctors’ representatives in the UK are seeking a meeting with government to urge it to reconsider new proposals, which they say would give the commercial sector an “in-built advantage” in the commissioning support process.

Draft guidance from the Department of Health — ‘Developing Commissioning Support: Towards Service Excellence’ — made a number of recommendations about how clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) should function from 2013, including how the technical and “back-office” functions should be provided. Current primary care trust (PCT) clusters are forming commissioning support units and from 2016, would be encouraged to form social enterprises and partner with the private sector.

These proposals would position commissioning support in a full-scale market and introduce commercially-focused criteria to determine who is eligible to provide this support, according to the British Medical Association (BMA). These criteria would make it very difficult for CCGs to employ their own commissioning support staff and for NHS commissioning support bodies evolving from existing PCT clusters to compete against large, established commercial organisations.

The BMA believes CCGs would be left with little choice but to use these large, commercial organisations to provide a huge range of commissioning support services, from transactional services such as payroll and IT, to equipping CCGs with the complex and sensitive population data that inform commissioning decisions.

Dr Laurence Buckman, Chairman of the BMA’s GP Committee, said: “CCGs need proper professional support, but they must have the flexibility to decide who is best able to provide these services.”

Teen births are at a record low
The birth rate in the US for teenagers hit a record low in 2010, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to ‘Births: Preliminary Data for 2010’, the birth rate for teenagers aged 15–19 has declined for the past three years and 17 out of the past 19 years, falling to 34.3 births per 1,000 teenagers in 2010 — a decline of 9 per cent from 2009 and the lowest rate recorded in nearly seven decades of collecting data. Birth rates for younger and older teenagers and for all race/ethnic groups reached historic lows last year.

The report also documented the first decline in the rate of Caesarean deliveries since 1996. In 2010, the C-section rate was 32.8, down slightly from 32.9 in 2009.

The total number of births in the US declined 3 per cent, from 4,130,665 in 2009 to 4,000,279 in 2010. The overall fertility rate also fell by 3 per cent, from 66.2 births per 1,000 females aged 15–44 to 64.1 in 2010. This is the third straight decline for the overall fertility rate.

The total number of births to unmarried mothers also declined for the second year in a row, to 1,633,785 — down from 1,693,658 in 2009.

The preterm birth rate declined for the fourth straight year, to just under 12 per cent of all births — a 6 per cent drop from 2006.

Big Tobacco condemned for legal challenge
The legal action being taken by the tobacco company Philip Morris against the Australian government’s legislation on plain cigarette packaging has been condemned by the World Medical Association.

Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, an Australian family physician and Chair of the WMA Council, said he profoundly regretted the decision of Philip Morris and he urged other countries to follow the example of the Australian government in banning logos on cigarette packets. British American Tobacco also launched legal action against the Australian government last week.

The Australian legislation to enforce the plain packaging of cigarettes has completed its passage through the country’s parliament and is due to come into force in December 2012.

Dr Haikerwal said: “Australia is to be congratulated on becoming the first country in the world to introduce such legislation. When it is implemented, it will save lives. I hope this will encourage other governments around the world to follow the same path. They must not be bullied by the tobacco industry.”

‘Get tested and win’ campaign slammed
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has expressed disappointment at Western Cape Premier Helen Zille’s announcement of the ‘Get tested and win’ campaign, which offered a 50,000 rand (€4,500) incentive to one lucky winner at one of the province’s HIV testing points.

SAMA is urging the public not be enticed by politicians offering money for HIV/AIDS testing.

Dr Phophi Ramathuba, Head of the Public Sector Committee at the Association, said the campaign undermined the poor, medical professionals and all the hard work that has gone in de-stigmatising HIV in South Africa.

“We do not support this campaign, which was done without consulting doctors and which is playing an unfortunate role in reducing the seriousness of HIV to a mere competition. What happens after the final draw? People must be encouraged to test for the sake of their own health and not for money.

That is the lasting solution to HIV,” said Dr Ramathuba.

SAMA is urging politicians to look at the real reasons that keep people from being tested “instead of quick fixes”, it stated, demanding that Premier Zille withdraw the campaign.

Health claim ‘in final stages’
The process for the adoption of a draft list of permitted health claims to be authorised for use on food is entering its final stage, according to the European Commission (EC).

The list contains ‘Article 13’ health claims for all substances (other than so-called ‘botanicals’), including those that refer to psychological and behavioural functions and claims on slimming or weight-control.

The claims cover the roles of walnuts, protein, vitamins and minerals, fibre, omega 3 fatty acids and other substances like polyphenols from olive oil in functions of the body.

Claims — relating to such things as the functioning of the immune system and the heart, keeping cholesterol levels normal and maintaining muscle mass — must be well-founded before approval is given, must not “mislead consumers” and have to be “accurate, truthful and substantiated by science”, according to the EC.