The greatest form of flattery
01/01/2001
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We all do it: Point a blaming, bony finger at the government, and for whatever reason, it validates our gripes, be it personal or collective.
I, too, am guilty as charged, saying federal contamination control efforts are unbalanced in bettering drug compounding, reusing single-use medical devices and improving food safety. (See "Vote no on contamination," CleanRooms, December 2000, p. 6).
Sure, we regulate and deregulate everything to pieces in this country, and the United States still has a long way to go before it minimizes inherent risks in food processing, drug making and medical device reprocessing.
But despite outbreaks of E. Coli or salmonella and bogus prescription drugs, we sometimes forget how good we have it. We don't have half the problems that our friends in Europe and Asia have.
Have you ever been petrified of buying beef at your local grocer? I bet not even remotely compared to someone in France or elsewhere in Europe. How about wondering if you would become even sicker or die after taking a drug with claims of easing or curing an ailment? About 2.5 million people in China go to the hospital annually because of a bad reaction to self-medication or drugs that are not regulated.
So what's a country to do?
Europe and China are looking to the United States because they believe there is something to be said for regulations. Europe wants to form an agency mirroring the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and restore consumer confidence, while China is cracking a newfound good manufacturing practice (GMP) whip on makers of substandard drugs and shoddy medical equipment.
The federal government will forever remain a target for scrutiny, but it's important to keep in mind that regulations, whether they work well or have a few kinks, are meant to protect. And if other countries take heed and emulate federal ways, the United States must be doing something right.
Mark A. DeSorbo
Associate Editor