Interview
Dr. Giroir at his
swearing-in ceremony
on February 15, 2018.
Clearing the Pathway to a Cure:
Interview with Adm. Brett P. Giroir, MD
When Adm. Brett P. Giroir,
MD, was sworn in as Assistant
Secretary for Health at the
U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS)
in February 2018, he selected
sickle cell disease (SCD) as one
of his top priorities – vowing
to take advantage of the in-
teragency resources and advances in patient care to
improve the lives of patients living with this disease.
In his role as Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Giroir
leads development of HHS-wide public health policy
recommendations, overseeing 11 core public health of-
fices – including the Office of the Surgeon General and
the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He
also serves as Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Opioid
Policy. In this capacity, he is responsible for coordinat-
ing HHS’s efforts across the Administration to combat
the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Dr. Giroir spoke with ASH Clinical News about HHS’
efforts to raise awareness about sickle cell disease, col-
laborating to work toward a cure, and the nine words
that encapsulate his goals as HHS Assistant Secretary
for Health.
What is your vision for your
term as the HHS Assistant
Secretary for Health?
As the Assistant Secretary for
Health for the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services
(HHS), Admiral in the U.S. Public
Health Service Commissioned
Corps, and senior science and
public health advisor to the HHS
Secretary, I am in a unique position
to effect change via the offices I
oversee.
On a regular basis, we bring
together federal agencies, state
and local partners, professional
societies, nonprofit organizations,
academia, patient advocates, and
other stakeholders to develop
shared goals, metrics, and plans to
address a number of health-related
issues. My overarching vision for
most of what I do here is to try to
transform the current “sick care
system” into a “health promoting
system.”
My philosophy can be summa-
rized in nine words: “Health for all,
health by all, health in all.”
• Health for all: Ensure that
everyone has a fair and real-
istic opportunity to optimize
his or her health. Here, we
120
ASH Clinical News
particularly focus on patients
in the most need, including
those suffering from health
disparities.
• Health by all: Distribute and
democratize health-care
knowledge, capabilities, and
delivery to empower individu-
als, families, and communities
to advance and advocate for
their own health.
• Health in all: Prioritize health
considerations in all sectors
and policy areas. Our focus
in this realm will be the social
determinants of health, and,
perhaps in the future, the use
of digital technology to ad-
vance overall health equity.
How are the HHS and other
federal agencies working to
raise awareness about SCD?
In expanding our efforts on behalf
of patients with SCD, HHS is
building an aggressive and bold
patient-centered agenda that
includes education, advocacy, pay-
ment reform, and the development
of new therapies aimed to cure the
disease within a decade.
This past September, for the
December 2018