Anesthesia Coding Alert

Oncologist steps in as new leader.

After having two different acting commissioners since April 2019, a new Food & Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner was confirmed just before the new year.

Stephen M. Hahn, MD, was sworn in as FDA commissioner to replace former head Scott Gottlieb. Hahn is a trained oncologist and was previously chief medical executive at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson), indicates the FDA.

The FDA has had a tough year amidst conflict over the vaping epidemic and e-cigarette regulation, food safety issues, and medical device hacking.

“Dr. Hahn can now get to work approving new life-saving drugs and devices, regulating tobacco and e-cigarettes, addressing the opioid crisis, ensuring pain patients can receive the medications they need and protecting our nation’s food supply,” Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee wrote in a Twitter post following the confirmation.