The Wall Street Journal reports today that Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration, is leaving to become the top public health official for the State of Maryland.
As the Journal notes, Sharfstein’s departure has possible ramifications for the FDA’s oversight of drugs and medical devices. But there’s also a connection to the Obama administration’s performance management agenda.
As Federal Times wrote back in September, Sharfstein has been the driving force behind creation of FDA-TRACK, a web site that monitors the agency’s performance in dozens of areas and was cited as a model for other agencies by no less than federal Chief Performance Officer Jeffrey Zients.
These kinds of sites require constant attention to stay relevant: it will be interesting to see whether Sharfstein’s successor (not yet announced) shows the same commitment to keeping this model going.
