Dr. Sanjay Gupta For Top Surgeon General Spot?!? Hmmm......

By now most of you know that the Internet is buzzing with news that President-Elect Obama is considering neurosurgeon/media personality Dr. Sanjay Gupta for the Surgeon General post – arguably the most influential public health advocate in the U.S. Should we be wary of having such a publicity aficionado and “health care industry insider” – whose most memorable appearance was his disturbing spat with Michael Moore against universal health care in the U.S. - as our top HIV/AIDS prevention advocate? Or could his celebrity and interest in HIV/AIDS issues (see Dr. Gupta's segment with Phil Wilson discussing the HIV/AIDS crisis in Black America) -work to our advantage?

What does the Surgeon General Do anyway?

I guess that depends on how we view the role of the Office of the Surgeon General—is the job best suited for a talking head or a true public health policy broker? According to the official website, the role of the Surgeon General’s Office is to "promote, and advance the health safety and security of the U.S." According to Dr. Richard Carmona, U.S. Surgeon General from 2002-2006, in an interview posted today on the blog "GettingBetterHealth", he or she is the “commander of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps which consists of thousands of officers in hundreds of locations around the world working anonymously to keep our national and our world safe. The Surgeon General also interfaces on a daily basis with the NIH, CDC, SAMHSA, HRSA, and all of the federally related health agencies as well as global health organizations like the World Health Organization and the American Public Health Association. The Surgeon General provides in-depth analysis of health policy for every cabinet minister, including the Interior, Commerce, and Homeland Security.”

If nominated and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Dr. Gupta will serve a 4 year term taking over from the acting (since 2007) Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Dr. Steven Kenneth Galson, a somewhat invisible anti-underage drinking and child nutritional health advocate. Dr. Galson came to the role on the heels of Dr. Carmona’s own resignation in 2006 amid allegations that the Bush administration interfered and censored his office from providing the public with vital science based health policy information due to the Administration's ideological agenda. Following Dr. Carmona’s resignation, President Bush attempted to nominate the infamous Dr. James Holsinger Jr., thankfully his candidacy was dropped due in large part to strident opposition by LGBT, HIV/AIDS and reproductive rights advocates from around the country. Dr. Holsinger, if you remember was the author of the less-than-scholarly anti-gay paper, “Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality” and he was also the supporter of the Hope Springs Community Church which operated a so-called “reparative therapy” program to help LGBT people “seek to walk out of that lifestyle.”

Skilled navigator of public health minefields?

So the question is, can we trust that Dr. Gupta will fairly arbitrate politically thorny but critically important HIV/AIDS related issues such as the ban on federal funding for needle exchange -- when and if it conflicts with official Obama Administration policy? Even with friendly administrations, the political will often lacks in tackling controversial issues- even those that are indisputably evidenced-based. For example, in the late 1990's then Attorney General Dr. David Satcher defiantly released critical findings on the efficacy of needle-exchange programs in reducing the spread of HIV, despite discouragement from the Clinton Administration. The ban still remains in place.

We still don't know enough about the telegenic Dr. Gupta -- aside from the fact that he has made a name for himself via his superb academic credentials as well as his knack for unrelenting self-promotion (CNN, lucrative paid speaking engagement deals etc.) So for now I remain cautiously optimistic that this potential appointment is not a curveball. We shall see.