Regulation Of New Technologies Research Articles

Infertility: from a personal to a public health problem.

The inability to conceive a child is most often viewed as a private matter, but public health perspectives and skills can contribute greatly to our knowledge about infertility, and the development of effective and rational public policy for prevention, access to health care, and regulation of new technologies. We offer a primer of public health aspects of infertility in an effort to encourage the broad spectrum of public health professionals to become more knowledgeable about these topics and join in the national debate about preventive strategies, cost-benefit assessment, resource allocation, and ethics.

The provision of treatment and disposal facilities for clinical waste in Scotland

This article reviews the present and future provision for clinical waste treatment and disposal in Scotland. Data was obtained using open structured interviews and a simple questionnaire. To ensure a high response rate the questionnaire was distributed only after an initial telephone call confirmed the most appropriate contact and that he/she was prepared to complete and return the survey sheet. The results of the study indicate that the transition from central to local organisation has been carried through largely without mishap. A single exception to this affects consortia who have yet to secure long-term facilities for the treatment of their waste. External influences, particularly the acquisition of planning consents for new plant remain problematic for would-be developers. The commissioning and regulation of new technologies would also appear to be ad hoc . Finally, if the proposed facilities are constructed and commissioned then the current situation of over capacity will be considerably exacerbated.

FDA regulation of new devices-expedited review

The expedited review and approval of new medical devices by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is described within the context of ethical issues in the regulation of new technologies. Current statutory provisions governing approval of medical devices, and the way in which the FDA has implemented these provisions are examined. Administrative efforts by the FDA to increase both the quality and efficiency of the new-product review process are then discussed.

Science as a guide in regulating technology: the case of DDT in the United States.

Regulation of new technologies to protect public health and the environment assumes that the regulators have adequate information with which to make informed decisions In the case of DDT, however, full information on its effects did not become available until two decades after it came into widespread use This situation arose for a variety of reasons For some years, scientists lacked analytical tools to measure quickly small concentrations of residues (a minor problem) The organization and funding of science diverted attention from long range basic studies to immediate problems, and DDT seemed to pose no obvious hazard. Most important, past experience proved to be an Inadequate guide to research on DDT's effects — a consequence of the novel chemical and physical properties of the material.