Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is, despite the dreary gray skies hovering over the Pharmalot campus. We are doing our best to maintain sunny spirits, though, because once again, we recall some helpful wisdom from the Morning Mayor, who taught us that “every new day should be unwrapped like a precious gift.” To celebrate the notion, we are brewing still more cups of stimulation and inviting you to join us. Our choice today is peppermint mocha, for those tracking our habits. Feel free to reach for your own cup while you peruse the items of interest assembled below. After all, the neurons can use all the help they can get. On that note, have a lovely day and do keep in touch. We appreciate any and all thoughts and suggestions. …
Artificial intelligence could be used to prescribe medications to patients — if a new bill makes its way through Congress, MedPage Today writes. The proposed legislation, which is sponsored by Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to clarify that AI and machine learning technologies can qualify as a practitioner eligible to prescribe drugs if authorized by the state involved and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, the bill does not specify which drugs AI could be used for and in which settings, or whether physician review would be required. In a policy position paper from the American College of Physicians last June, one of the position statements was that AI technologies should complement, not supplant logic and decision-making of physicians and other clinicians.
Reviving a task force that has been defunct since 1998 may be one way that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and this allies could quickly create a panel to scrutinize immunizations, and commitments that he made following his confirmation hearings indicate this may be part of his plan, STAT explains. RFK Jr. has floated the idea of a commission on vaccine safety for years. He said President Trump promised he could chair such a commission in 2017, though that effort did not come to fruition. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) indicated that a task force of some sort may be in the works, saying on Feb. 4 that Kennedy committed to him that Cassidy would be able to choose a representative on any board or commission formed to review vaccine safety. The commitment was one of several RFK Jr. made in exchange for Cassidy’s support for his confirmation as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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