Many employees don't have computers? Should the FDA be allowed to come out of the 70s? Interesting how other branches of government, such as Homeland Security purchase modern tablet pcs and other technologies to help them do their jobs, but an agency like the FDA has not had funding? With the global economy growing and the FDA needing to extend beyond the borders of the US with all the imported technologies and products, it's a shame they have not been afforded the technology to do the job....but on the other side, according to Congress...they never ask for money? Is the FDA being run by administrators too out of the 70s? Is this another example of "old time" thinking and administration that is not taking full benefit of today's technologies and methodologies as the story relates to their email system being an antique and breaking down all the time? Anyway it leaves many questions on the table, but if you don't ask, you don't get...hopefully not another story of folks who won't move forward with today's technologies, especially since our lives depend on it...BD
The report is scathing. An expert panel has told the Food and Drug Administration that the organization is so understaffed and underfunded, it puts American lives at risk. Gail Cassel, co-author of a 56-page report titled "FDA Science and Mission at Risk," said, "The wheels are coming off. In fact, I would say they're off. They're already off.
Many front-line employees don't even have a computer. Inspectors must write urgent reports by hand, which often end up lost in huge warehouses. A leading FDA critic in Congress, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, said, "The essence is, send me a plan, ask for money, and we'll consider it. But they never ask for more money or authority."
"Imagine having an e-mail system so old, they have to bring technicians out of retirement because current technicians have never seen equipment that old," said Hubbard.
Bill Hubbard, a former FDA associate commissioner, said, "When I came to the FDA in the early 1970s, we were doing 35,000 food inspections a year. This year, the agency will be doing 6,000."
0 comments :
Post a Comment