Tag:safety
Operation Stork Speed: A Great Opportunity if Executed Correctly
In March, the FDA announced Operation Stork Speed in response to a Consumer Reports investigation which found traces of toxic chemicals in baby formula. Secretary of HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has directed the FDA to begin several new initiatives and increase the scrutiny of testing to find ways to have better access to safe baby formula. Operation Stork Speed will begin a comprehensive review of the nutrient list that is currently approved by the FDA and increase labeling transparency with industry. Although created in response to the Consumer Reports findings, a ProPublica investigation published on April 4th has led to concerning claims about unsanitary practices within an Abbot Labs factory. The same Michigan-based factory that shutdown in 2022, after reports of infant hospitalizations and deaths due to this facility’s formula, causing a nationwide shortage. Given the added issues with the factory, if done correctly, Operation Stork Speed could begin to solve the safety issues that have recently plagued the baby formula industry.
AI-ming for Better Healthcare: Legal Issues in Healthcare AI Usage
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a simulation of human intelligence that is subsequently processed by machines. It has revolutionized the healthcare space by improving patient outcomes in a variety of ways. It has also begun to leave a positive impact in health systems and hospitals as healthcare worker burnout remains on the rise. However, there are significant legal challenges that accompany its groundbreaking nature. Hospitals and health systems have a duty to mitigate these legal challenges and understand that AI should be used as a supplement, not a replacement, to human intelligence.
Viewing Aviation Regulations Through a Lens of Safety
A basic understanding of aviation regulations helps to understand some of the most basic requests airlines make of their passengers. Air travel is hailed as one of the safest modes of transportation not only because of the advancements in technology and the training that the aviators go through before they get a seat in the cockpit, but also because of the many regulations that bind it. Understanding the basis of a particular regulation is necessary to elucidate why the requirements exist, although the pressures of travel on passengers may make them seem arbitrary or unwarranted.
Airways Circumvent Inefficient Regulation with Inefficient Workaround
A 2010 regulation heightened the in-flight hour requirements for ‘First Officers’ (i.e., copilots) from 250 hours to 1500 hours. Advocacy for this regulation came from the families of Colgan Air Flight 3407, a fatal jetliner crash which the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined was caused by pilots failing to respond to warnings that the airplane was about to stall. However, years into the implementation of the 1500 hours rule, the regulation has shown only questionable increases in flight safety. Critics argue that debatable increases in passenger safety do not offset the sharp increase in costs associated with pilot training. Instead, airlines have figured out a way to circumvent this questionably inefficient regulation by sacrificing commercial efficiency.