We’re Speaking Out on Health Issues

NCHR scientists and health policy experts provide written and oral statements on a wide range of topics.

Here are many of the ways we have been Speaking Out on Health Policy Issues for the last few years. Whether the topic is legislation intended to cure diseases, proposed bans on BPA or other chemicals that disrupt your hormones, the importance of including women, people of color, and patients over 65 in clinical trials, or many other topics, you’ll gain a better understanding of our evidence-based analyses by reading these letters, statements, and testimony.

Here are the ways we have been Speaking out on Medical Treatments and Products, such as prescription drugs and medical devices that the FDA is considering approving, or is considering taking off the market because of serious risks. Whether the topic is Chantix, Addyi, Yaz, Essure, or medical products you’ve never heard of, you can find out more about what is known and not known about the safety and effectiveness of a wide range of products by looking through this section of our website.

NCHR Testimony at FDA Advisory Meeting on Breast Implants

September 24, 2011. NRC President, Dr. Diana Zuckerman testifies at an FDA advisory hearing on breast implants.

NCHR Testimony at the FDA on Transvaginal Mesh

September 8, 2011. National Research Center of Women & Families Brandel France de Bravo testifies at the FDA meeting on transvaginal mesh.

NCHR Testimony on Transvaginal Mesh

September 9, 2011. We agree with the FDA that serious adverse events from mesh are NOT rare. No man or woman wants to suffer from incontinence, but there is no doubt that the terribly painful complications can be much worse than the incontinence that initially led to surgery. And, those complications are often impossible to repair.

NCHR Testimony on Bisphosphonates

September 9, 2011. NCHR president Diana Zuckerman testifies before the FDA Joint Meeting of the Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs and the Drug Safety and Risks Management Advisory Committee.

Institute of Medicine Report: Medical Devices Lack Evidence of Safety and Effectiveness

July 29, 2011. The prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report on the Food and Drug Administration’s 510(k) medical device clearance process stating the system is “flawed” and should be revised. The report echoes the National Research Center for Women & Families’ concerns about the lack of evidence that these devises actually work and are safe.