Fw: Information - The Growth Hormone of the Body Politic

April 8, 2009

The symptoms of illness in the Body Politic these days seem almost too numerous

to address. It's a challenge to stay on task and keep our discussion to

healthcare. The urge is to respond to everything that's going on. But we are

Citizens For Health. And healthcare is a fundamental element of the Body

Politic and a model for other issues.

To prove our point, we offer here the first of a five part series about an

important topic that often gets lost in the shuffle when we talk about

healthcare reform. It's a topic that could apply to any of the symptoms

afflicting us. It's especially acute in healthcare. That topic is information.

When we think about healthcare, we usually think about products and practices -

their safety, efficacy, access and cost. Healthcare regulation typically

addresses these elements. We tend to overlook that information is also

regulated. In fact, that's the most fundamental purpose of healthcare

regulation. The way in which information flow is structured shapes how

questions of safety and efficacy get asked and answered.

Mindful of our past and present theme about the Body Politic - a phrase coined

to mean the collective structures and functions of our society - consider that

information is to the Body Politic as hormones are to the body. The word

hormone has Greek origins meaning " to set in motion " or " to spur on. "

Healthcare professionals tell us that hormones are the means by which chemical

messengers are transported among cells for the purpose of growth, development

and energy. The flow of information, like hormones in the body, has an awful

lot to do with the growth, development and energy of the Body Politic.

It's not farfetched to suggest that we're experiencing a hormonal imbalance or

major hormonal changes in the Body Politic. Something in our cultural growth,

development and energy is out of sync. Is there a dynamic about information

flow in the Body Politic that we need to reconsider?

Tomorrow: How is Healthcare Information to be Regulated in the GAO Report on

Supplements and in H. Bill 875?

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