FDA unveils performance management site
Online system will allow public to monitor agency’s activities and drug approval process.
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday activated an online public measurement system to hold each of its divisions accountable for performance.
FDA-TRACK, a dashboard or score card, is part of the Health and Human Services Department's plan for embedding transparency into FDA's daily operations. As part of President Obama's open government agenda, all agencies in April were required to submit blueprints on how they will disclose more information, involve the public in decision-making and collaborate with the private sector. HHS launched a test version of FDA-TRACK on April 7, to coincide with the release of its plan.
The system is expected to monitor more than 100 FDA program offices and will be updated quarterly. The data shown is based on information gathered each month, using metrics that are defined annually. FDA has come under fire in recent years for questionable or slow drug approvals and alleged conflicts of interest between employees and industry, but Washington watchdog groups generally have praised HHS' open government plan in recent weeks.
"FDA-TRACK will bring the operations of this historically opaque agency into the daylight and help us be even more responsive as we work to protect the public health," FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said on Tuesday.
The site is intended to provide managers and employees with a mechanism for measuring their progress in protecting the public's health, while also allowing the public to supervise agency activities. FDA-TRACK was modeled after several state and local performance management tools, according to FDA officials.
The site displays common measures applicable to every program office, such as the total number of employees trained in emergency response, as well as program-specific measures, such as the percentage of requests from manufacturers to market medical devices that FDA has reviewed on time.
Projects within each program also will be tracked, including one that features a risk-based approach for evaluating the safety and effectiveness of new animal drugs.