Tom Frieden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomas R. Frieden is the Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). He served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene from 2002–2009.

Education[edit]

Frieden graduated from Oberlin College (BA), Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (MD) and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health (MPH). He completed training in internal medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and sub-specialty training in infectious diseases at Yale University. One brother, Jeffry Frieden, is a noted international political economist and the Stanfield Professor of International Peace at Harvard University.[1] His other brother, Ken Frieden, the B.G. Rudolph Professor at Syracuse University, specializes in nineteenth-century literature.[2]

Early career[edit]

Frieden's work on tuberculosis in New York fostered public awareness and helped improve public funding (city, state and federal) for TB control.[3][4] The epidemic was controlled rapidly, reducing overall incidence by nearly half and cutting multidrug-resistant tuberculosis by 80%.[5] The city's program became a model for tuberculosis control.[6][7] From 1996 to 2002, Frieden was based in India, assisting with national tuberculosis control efforts. As a medical officer for the World Health Organization on loan from the CDC, he helped the government of India implement the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP).[8][9][10][11] The 2008 RNTCP status report estimates the nationwide program resulted in 8 million treatments and 1.4 million saved lives.[12] While in India, Frieden worked to establish a network of Indian physicians to help India's state and local governments implement the program[13] and helped the Tuberculosis Research Center in Chennai, India, establish a program to monitor the impact of tuberculosis control services.[14][15]

Frieden served as head of the New York City DOHMH from 2002–2009.[citation needed] The agency employs more than 6,000 people[16] with an annual budget of $1.5 billion.[17] Frieden led a period marked by improvements in the health of New Yorkers.[18]

Tobacco control[edit]

Upon his appointment as Health Commissioner in January 2002, Frieden made tobacco control a priority,[19] resulting in a rapid decline[20] after a decade of no change in smoking rates. Frieden established a system to monitor the city's smoking rate, and worked with New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to increase tobacco taxes,[21] ban smoking from workplaces including restaurants and bars, and run aggressive anti-tobacco ads and help smokers quit.[22] The program reduced smoking prevalence among New York City adults from 21.6% in 2002 to 16.9% in 2007– a change that represents 300,000 fewer smokers and could prevent 100,000 premature deaths in future years.[20][23] Smoking prevalence among New York City teens declined even more sharply, from 17.6% in 2001 to 8.5% in 2007, and is now less than half the national rate.[24] The workplace smoking ban prompted spirited debate before it was passed by the New York City Council and signed into law by Mayor Bloomberg.[25] Over time, the measure has gained broad acceptance by the public and business community in New York City.[26][27] New York City's 2003 workplace smoking ban was among those following California's ban in 1994. Frieden supports increased cigarette taxes as a means of forcing smokers to quit, saying "tobacco taxes are the most effective way to reduce tobacco use."[28] Frieden supported the 62-cent Federal tax on each cigarette pack sold in the United States, introduced in April 2009.[29]

Take Care New York[edit]

Frieden also introduced Take Care New York, the city's first comprehensive health policy. This program targeted ten leading causes of preventable illness and death for concerted public and personal action.[30][31] By 2006, New York City had made measurable progress in eight of the ten priority areas.[32]

HIV/AIDS[edit]

As Health Commissioner, Frieden sought to fight HIV/AIDS with public health principles used successfully to control other communicable diseases.[33] The most controversial aspect of this strategy was a proposal to eliminate separate written consent for HIV testing. Frieden believes the measure would encourage physicians to offer HIV tests during routine medical care,[34] as the CDC recommends.[35] Some community and civil liberties advocates fought this legislation arguing it would undermine patients' rights and lead eventually to forced HIV testing.[36][37] In 2010, New York State passed a new law that eased the requirement for separate written consent in some circumstances.[38] On 14 February 2007, the NYCDHMH also introduced the NYC Condom,[39][40] prompting Catholic League president Bill Donohue to respond, "What's next? The city's own brand of clean syringes?"[41] More than 36 million were given away in 2007.[42]

Diabetes[edit]

Frieden worked to raise awareness about diabetes in New York City, particularly among pregnant women,[43] and established an involuntary, non-disclosed hemoglobin A1C diabetes registry that tracks patients' blood sugar control over several months and report that information to treating physicians in an effort to help them provide better care.[44][45] The New York City Board of Health's decision to require laboratories to report A1C test results has generated a heated debate among civil libertarians, who view it as a violation of medical privacy and an intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship.[46] Even though patients can choose to not receive information from the program, there is no provision enabling patients to opt out of having their glycemic control data entered in the database. The New York City DOHMH asserts that the A1C registry can help reduce the risk of blindness, kidney failure, leg amputations and early death among people with diabetes.[47]

Food policies[edit]

To combat cardiovascular disease, New York City has adopted regulations since 2006 to eliminate trans fat from all restaurants.[48][49][50] The restaurant industry and its political allies condemned the trans-fat measure as an assault on liberty by an overzealous "nanny state,"[51][52] but compliance has exceeded 90% among New York City restaurants, and the measure has inspired similar laws in several US cities and the state of California.[53] The Health Department also required chain restaurants to post calorie information to raise consumer awareness of fast food's caloric impact. The measure requires chains with 15 or more outlets to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards. It has prompted two lawsuits by the New York State Restaurant Association. In the first, New York State Restaurant Association v. New York City Board of Health, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that federal law pre-empted New York City's action and overturned it.[54] The NYC Board of Health then repealed and re-enacted the measure.[55] Most chains now post calorie information in their New York City outlets.[56][57] Section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law 2010, requires menu labeling nationally, for restaurant chains, disclosing on the menu boards, calories, total calories, calories from fat, amounts of fat and saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total and complex carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fiber, and protein.[58]

Epidemiology[edit]

During Frieden's tenure as Commissioner, the Health Department expanded the collection and use of epidemiological data, launching an annual Community Health Survey[59] and the nation's first community-based Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.[60][61]

Electronic health records[edit]

To improve quality and efficiency of medical care, the agency also launched the nation's largest community-based electronic health records project to improve preventive care for more than one million at-risk New Yorkers.[62]

Director of CDC and Administrator of ATSDR[edit]

On 15 May 2009 the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services named Dr. Frieden the 16th director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR); he assumed his position on 8 June 2009 from the acting head, Richard E. Besser.[63]

On announcing Frieden’s appointment, President Obama said, “America relies on a strong public health system and the work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is critical to our mission to preserve and protect the health and safety of our citizens”.[64] Frieden had previously worked for the CDC from 1990 to 2002 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in New York City and then as part of CDC’s tuberculosis control program.

Bloomberg Philanthropies[edit]

Frieden also served as health advisor to New York City Mayor Bloomberg, supporting the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.[64] This initiative aims to prevent more than 100 million tobacco-related deaths worldwide[65] by promoting tobacco control in developing countries. By mid-2008, the initiative had funded more than 100 organizations in 36 nations,[23] with a focus on China and India, where more than 40% of the world's smokers live.[66] Bloomberg's effort was joined by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2008.[23]

Publications[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~jfrieden/
  2. ^http://thecollege.syr.edu/profiles/pages/frieden-ken.html
  3. ^Lobato MN, Wang YC, Becerra JE, Simone PM, Castro KG (2006). "Improved Program Activities Are Associated with Decreasing Tuberculosis Incidence in the United States". Public Health Reports121 (2): 108–15. PMC 1525263. PMID 16528941
  4. ^Leff DR, Leff AR (1 November 1997). "Tuberculosis control policies in major metropolitan health departments in the United States. VI. Standard of practice in 1996". American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine156 (5): 1487–94. doi:10.1164/ajrccm.156.5.9704105. PMID 9372665
  5. ^TB Annual Summary: 2006. New York: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 2008. [page needed]
  6. ^World Health Organization Tuberculosis Programme (1995). "New York City's Success Story". Stop TB at the Source. Geneva: World Health Organization. ISBN 978-0-11-951529-9. OCLC 181876135. [page needed]
  7. ^Steinhauer, Jennifer (14 February 2004). "Gladly Taking The Blame For Health In the City". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  8. ^Drazen JM (October 2002). "A milestone in tuberculosis control". New England Journal of Medicine347 (18): 1444. doi:10.1056/NEJMe020135. PMID 12409549
  9. ^Khatri GR, Frieden TR (October 2002). "Controlling tuberculosis in India". New England Journal of Medicine347 (18): 1420–5. doi:10.1056/NEJMsa020098. PMID 12409545
  10. ^Udwadia ZF, Pinto LM (2007). "Review series: the politics of TB: the politics, economics and impact of directly observed treatment (DOT) in India". Chronic Respiratory Disease4 (2): 101–6. doi:10.1177/1479972307707929. PMID 17621578
  11. ^Chauhan LS, Tonsing J (2005). "Revised national TB control programme in India". Tuberculosis85 (5–6): 271–6. doi:10.1016/j.tube.2005.08.003. PMID 16253562
  12. ^TB India 2008: RNTCP Status Report: I am Stopping TB. New Delhi: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. March 2008. p. 3. ISBN 81-902652-3-7. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  13. ^Frieden TR, Khatri GR (September 2003). "Impact of national consultants on successful expansion of effective tuberculosis control in India". The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease7 (9): 837–41. PMID 12971666
  14. ^Subramani R, Radhakrishna S, Frieden TR, et al. (August 2008). "Rapid decline in prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis after DOTS implementation in a rural area of South India". The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease12 (8): 916–20. PMID 18647451
  15. ^Narayanan PR, Garg R, Santha T, Kumaran PP (2003). "Shifting the focus of tuberculosis research in India". Tuberculosis83 (1–3): 135–42. doi:10.1016/S1472-9792(02)00068-9. PMID 12758203
  16. ^Public Health in New York City, 2004–2006. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. p. 3. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  17. ^Public Health in New York City, 2004–2006. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. p. 61. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  18. ^Frieden TR, Bassett MT, Thorpe LE, Farley TA (October 2008). "Public health in New York City, 2002–2007: confronting epidemics of the modern era". International Journal of Epidemiology37 (5): 966–77. doi:10.1093/ije/dyn108. PMID 18540026
  19. ^Steinhauer, Jennifer (15 February 2002). "Commissioner Calls Smoking Public Health Enemy No. 1 and Asks Drug Firms for Ammunition". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  20. ^ abCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (June 2007). "Decline in smoking prevalence – New York City, 2002–2006". Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report56 (24): 604–8. PMID 17585290
  21. ^Altman, Alex (6 June 2008), "When Are Cigarette Taxes Too High?", Time, retrieved 8 July 2009 
  22. ^Frieden TR, Mostashari F, Kerker BD, Miller N, Hajat A, Frankel M (June 2005). "Adult Tobacco Use Levels After Intensive Tobacco Control Measures: New York City, 2002–2003". American Journal of Public Health95 (6): 1016–23. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2004.058164. PMC 1449302. PMID 15914827
  23. ^ abc"Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates Join to Combat Global Tobacco Epidemic" (Press release). Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  24. ^The Lancet (January 2008). "New York City's bold antitobacco programme". Lancet371 (9607): 90. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60078-1. PMID 18191665
  25. ^Chang C, Leighton J, Mostashari F, McCord C, Frieden TR (August 2004). "The New York City Smoke-Free Air Act: second-hand smoke as a worker health and safety issue". American Journal of Industrial Medicine46 (2): 188–95. doi:10.1002/ajim.20030. PMID 15273972
  26. ^Cooper, Michael (23 October 2003). "Poll Finds Smoking Ban Popular". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  27. ^Rutenberg, Jim; Lily Koppel (6 February 2005). "In Barrooms, Smoking Ban Is Less Reviled". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  28. ^Altman, Alex (6 June 2008), "When Are Cigarette Taxes Too High?", Time, retrieved 11 August 2010 
  29. ^Jonsson, Patrik (17 November 2009). "Federal and state governments look to smokers for more tax revenue: Though they hit poor Americans hardest, stiff taxes on tobacco can reduce healthcare costs by billions". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 8 August 2010. 
  30. ^"Cause of Death or Illness, New York City, 2002, and Amenability to Intervention". Take Care New York: A Policy for a Healthier New York City. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. March 2004. pp. 57–61. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  31. ^Pérez-Peña, Richard (24 March 2004). "City sets goals for the health of New Yorker". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  32. ^Take Care New York: A Policy for a Healthier New York City (Third Year Progress Report). New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. August 2007. p. 2. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  33. ^Frieden TR, Das-Douglas M, Kellerman SE, Henning KJ (December 2005). "Applying public health principles to the HIV epidemic". New England Journal of Medicine353 (22): 2397–402. doi:10.1056/NEJMsb053133. PMID 16319391
  34. ^Mandavilli A (April 2006). "Profile: Thomas Frieden". Nature Medicine12 (4): 378. doi:10.1038/nm0406-378. PMID 16598275
  35. ^Branson BM, Handsfield HH, Lampe MA, et al. (September 2006). "Revised recommendations for HIV testing of adults, adolescents, and pregnant women in health-care settings". Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report55 (RR–14): 1–17; quiz CE1–4. PMID 16988643
  36. ^Chan, Sewell (25 December 2006). "Rifts Emerge on Push to End Written Consent for H.I.V. Tests". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  37. ^Fairchild AL, Alkon A (August 2007). "Back to the future? Diabetes, HIV, and the boundaries of public health". Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law32 (4): 561–93. doi:10.1215/03616878-2007-017. PMID 17639012
  38. ^"HIV Testing Is Now a Routine Part of Health Care in New York" (Press release). New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 
  39. ^Chan, Sewell (15 February 2007). "A New Condom in Town, This One Named 'NYC'". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  40. ^"Health department launches the nation's first official city condom" (Press release). New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  41. ^http://gothamist.com/2007/02/15/condoms_1.php
  42. ^"Health department releases new NYC Condom wrapper" (Press release). New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
  43. ^Kleinfield, N. R. (22 February 2006). "City to Warn New Mothers of Diabetes Risk". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  44. ^Steinbrook R (February 2006). "Facing the diabetes epidemic – mandatory reporting of glycosylated hemoglobin values in New York City". New England Journal of Medicine354 (6): 545–8. doi:10.1056/NEJMp068008. PMID 16467539
  45. ^"The New York City A1C Registry". New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  46. ^Goldman J, Kinnear S, Chung J, Rothman DJ (May 2008). "New York City's Initiatives on Diabetes and HIV/AIDS: Implications for Patient Care, Public Health, and Medical Professionalism". American Journal of Public Health98 (5): 807–13. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.121152. PMC 2374815. PMID 18381989
  47. ^Frieden TR (September 2008). "NEW YORK CITY'S DIABETES REPORTING SYSTEM HELPS PATIENTS AND PHYSICIANS". American Journal of Public Health98 (9): 1543–4; author reply 1544. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.142026. PMC 2509589. PMID 18633070
  48. ^"Healthy Heart – Avoid Trans Fat". New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  49. ^Okie S (May 2007). "New York to trans fats: you're out!". New England Journal of Medicine356 (20): 2017–21. doi:10.1056/NEJMp078058. PMID 17507699
  50. ^"Calorie Posting". New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  51. ^Lueck, Thomas J.; Kim Severson (6 December 2006). "New York Bans Most Trans Fats in Restaurants". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  52. ^Halpern, Dan (17 December 2006). "Dr. Do-Gooder". New York. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  53. ^Steinhauer, Jennifer (26 July 2008). "California Bars Restaurant Use of Trans Fats". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  54. ^Feuer, Alan (12 September 2007). "Judge Throws Out New York Rule Requiring Restaurants to Post Calories". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  55. ^Rivera, Ray (25 October 2007). "New York City Reintroduces Calorie Rule". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  56. ^Barron, James (19 July 2008). "Restaurants That Lack Calorie Counts Now Face Fines". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  57. ^Rabin, Roni Caryn (16 July 2008). "New Yorkers try to swallow calorie sticker shock". MSNBC. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  58. ^"Menu & Vending Machines Labeling Requirements". FDA. 
  59. ^"Community Health Survey". New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. February 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  60. ^"NYC HANES Datasets and Related Documentation". New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  61. ^Thorpe LE, Gwynn RC, Mandel-Ricci J, et al. (July 2006). "Study Design and Participation Rates of the New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2004". Preventing Chronic Disease3 (3): A94. PMC 1637802. PMID 16776895
  62. ^"Primary Care Information Project". New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
  63. ^http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/thomas-r-frieden-md-mph-begins-role-cdc-director-atsdr-administrator/
  64. ^ ab"President Obama Appoints Dr. Thomas Frieden as CDC Director". The White House. May 15, 2009. 
  65. ^Frieden TR, Bloomberg MR (May 2007). "How to prevent 100 million deaths from tobacco". Lancet369 (9574): 1758–61. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60782-X. PMID 17512860
  66. ^WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008: The MPOWER Package. Geneva: World Health Organization. 2008. ISBN 978-92-4-159628-2. OCLC 232358592. Retrieved 9 July 2009. [page needed]

External links[edit]

Persondata
NameFrieden, Tom
Alternative names
Short descriptionAmerican physician
Date of birth1960
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Frieden