HealthSpeak: FDA, Defend Thyself

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April 17, 2007

FDA, Defend Thyself

by Peter Pitts

The other day a senior FDA official asked me what the agency should do to combat all the negative media coverage. My response, “Do something because nothing isn’t working.” In retrospect that was a bit harsh. FDA has been doing things, mostly from rule-making to infrastructure, that are making a difference — albeit not any that the MSM or many elected officials seem to notice.

Can more be done to aggressively battle a blood-thirsty media and bandwagon pols? Don’t get me started.
Actually — do get me started.

Here are a few things that FDA can start doing right now to reclaim communications momentum:

1. Respond Aggressively

Rather than waiting for attacks and then playing government-speak non-responsive rope-a-dope, it’s time for the agency to call it like they see it. That means when so-called “advocates” and “concerned” politicians attack the agency for doing its job, the agency should point out the inconsistencies in their arguments and then use that opportunity to segue into a more productive conversation about how to make things better.

2. Drive the Agenda

Don’t wait to respond. Drive the agenda – and publicly. FDA is, as already mentioned, doing a lot of good, progressive, innovative, and urgent things (can you say “Critical Path”), but who knows about it? It’s FDA’s responsibility to use the bully pulpit. He who tooteth not his own horn, that horn shall go untooted.

3. Feed the Beast

On a related note, FDA must keep the media busy, because idle hands do the devil’s work. Case in point, during my tenure at the FDA reporters were (believe it or not) complaining that the agency was so active that they weren’t able to take any time off. Today the media and media-hungry pols are driving the FDA agenda. To say that’s unfortunate is an understatement in the extreme and to say that it is deleterious to the public health is true beyond dispute.

It’s time for the agency stop playing defense – and especially do in advance of the forthcoming hardscrabble PDUFA reauthorization.

Posted by peterpitts at April 17, 2007 12:28 PM