Sister Mary Roberts: I’m so nervous. What if I forget the words? Sister Mary Clarence: You’re gonna go straight to hell. This is an example of surprising commentary from an unusual source. In the movie Sister Act, Sister Mary Clarence is played by Whoopi Goldberg, who is about as far from the typical persona of a Catholic nun as anyone can think of. But the movie demonstrates that, sometimes, good advice can come from a source you least expect. In the One Thoughtful Paragraph, I explain why Las Vegas showgirls posing at Catholic nuns is a nice metaphor for what is happening in health policy this week.
Other news this week that represents advice from unusual sources:
- Rather than the NIH, FDA, or CDC, it was the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) that released guidance for federal agencies to implement “gold standard science,” a term that seems to mean that our scientific research should be rigorous, reliable and trustworthy. OSTP’s Director, Michael Kratsios, who is the only science advisor to the president who has no PhD, nor any graduate or undergraduate degree relating to science, published an op-ed in Science that defends President Trump’s executive order on restoring “gold standard science.”
- Unusually, a newly-appointed advisory committee to the CDC on vaccines is made up of anti-vaccine activists. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) made recommendations this week without following traditional scientific evidence protocols, leading the American Academy of Pediatrics to boycott the meeting and make their own vaccine recommendations. The President of the Infectious Diseases Society of America said that the ACIP meeting this week was “politicized, chaotic and not transparent.”
- Instead of the Office of National Cyber Director recommending a cybersecurity strategy, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended a three-part cybersecurity strategy that provides post-quantum cryptography standards, facilitates federal system transitions, and engages all stakeholders.
When Whoopi Goldberg tries to pray, this is what happens: Bless us, oh Lord, for these Thy gifts which we are about to receive. And yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of no food, I will fear no hunger. We want you to give us this day, our daily bread. And to the republic for which it stands, and by the power invested in me, I pronounce us ready to eat. Amen. Yes, this is the movie’s dialogue, (it is funnier if you watch it here), but Sister Act works so well because it is believable that Whoopi Goldberg would struggle with a simple pre-meal prayer. In an interesting twist, Whoopi — who plays a minimally-talented Las Vegas showgirl who poses as a nun — ends up helping turnaround a struggling convent so much so that they get an audience with the Pope. Very similarly, we all got help from an unusual advisor in the AI space this week. The Bipartisan Policy Center, of all places – with its former politicians and former congressional staffers – published a rather helpful brief on the regulation of health AI tools. It is a well-written piece that explains what happens when AI-supported technology is not regulated by the FDA as a medical device. See? Help can come from non-traditional players. It is like when Whoopi gets lost in a Las Vegas casino and a dozen nuns dressed in full habit garb are told by the reverend mother: “Spread out and look for Mary Clarence. Try to blend in.”
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