HHS recommended increased cybersecurity measures for healthcare organizations, and several dental groups called for the authorization of FDA regulation for synthetic nicotine products.
Six federal government and policy updates to know:
1. President Joe Biden outlined initial steps on March 17 for the revival of the Cancer Moonshot program, which aims to reduce cancer deaths by 50 percent over the next 25 years and improve the experience of living with and surviving cancer.
2. Five dental organizations joined 57 other health groups asking legislators to allow the FDA to regulate synthetic nicotine products.
3. HHS recommended healthcare organizations incorporate new cybersecurity measures to protect their organizations from new and ongoing threats in a March 3 Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center report.
4. Members of the National Institutes of Health and HHS pushed for more research and policy changes to address oral health inequities in a Feb. 26 article in The New England Journal of Medicine.
5. The CDC updated its infection control and prevention measures for oral healthcare providers Feb. 8 and eased indoor mask guidance for the general public Feb. 25.
6. The American Dental Association signed a joint letter Feb. 4 asking lawmakers to include a student loan repayment program in its pandemic preparedness legislation.