“Andy’s Take” (‘Nuff Said)

Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging, Dr. von Eschenbach!  Yep, just like his boss, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, who started “Secretary Mike Leavitt’s Blog” last year, FDA Commissioner, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, has started a blog as well – aptly titled “Andy’s Take.”  As The Washington Post noted, however, “Andy’s Take,” unlike “Secretary Mike Leavitt’s Blog,” “is not a give-and-take blog.  It’s a weekly posting, sort of an electronic newsletter.”  In his first posting (also available in an MP3 format), Dr. von Eschenbach states:

As Commissioner, I want to give you my take on some of the events about food and medical products that you have been hearing about in the news. 

I want to give you the inside story on some of the things that will soon be announced at the FDA so that you have my insights about why these initiatives are of such great importance to protecting and promoting your health. 

I want to give you my take on the changes at the FDA and what we need to do to improve and be responsive to the rapidly changing world around us.

In this brief column I will alert you to upcoming issues and events, and give you my inside view of events or news items of current interest, and tell you about our plans and our progress in better protecting and promoting your health.

We are all ears, Dr. von Eschenbach! 

Dr. von Eschenbach’s second post from March 28, 2008 focuses on FDA’s recent troubles with the blood-thinning drug heparin and the Agency’s “Beyond our Borders” initiative.  “Through the Beyond our Borders initiative, the FDA can expand our capacity for regulation of food, drugs, and medical devices.  We will do this primarily by nurturing cooperation for information sharing, improving procedures for expanded inspections, and working with private and government agencies to assure standards for quality,” according to Dr. von Eschenbach.