Two new reports released last week provide some of the most compelling evidence yet for the importance of federal investments in science and technology innovation. Amid the bitter and protracted negotiations over this fiscal year’s federal budget, U.S. investments in science and innovation were largely spared from the deepest cuts some federal programs faced. But they may not be safe for long as Congress considers making further spending cuts in the fiscal year 2012 budget beginning in...

Last Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in IMS Health v. Sorrell. This case centers on a Vermont law that prohibits the use of prescriber-identifiable data for marketing purposes unless the prescriber of the drug gives consent. This case is not about patient privacy or the use of patient-identifiable data which is protected under federal law. Other states, notably Maine and New Hampshire, have passed similar legislation that prohibits the commercial use of prescriber-identifiable...

A recent article in The Washington Post has called into question the role of the private sector in setting standards for electronic health record (EHR) systems. Specifically, the article questions the appropriateness of allowing a group that originally pushed for stimulus funds to now have an oversight role in how those funds are spent. This thinking is misguided. While government should continue to set the broad principles in defining “meaningful use” of EHR systems, it should also welcome the...