Whistleblowers Sue FDA, Claim Emails Monitored

No Author — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:27:00 EST

Six former FDA scientists are suing the agency, saying it unlawfully monitored personal email accounts from their work computers after the scientists complained to Congress about allegedly unsafe medical devices gaining approval.

According to the Washington Post, scientists and doctors within the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) first made internal complaints starting in 2007 that the agency had approved or was close to approving at least a dozen radiological devices that had not been shown to work and may have posed risks to patients.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said, 'It's hard to see how managers apparently thought it was a good use of time to shadow agency scientists and monitor their email accounts for legally protected communications with Congress.'

He added that the FDA 'appears to have persisted in a long campaign to punish a group of employees for talking to Congress ... I've seen this kind of behavior from the FDA before, and it's troubling to think there might be a pattern.''

Laughter IS the Best Medicine

No Author — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:41:00 EST

This study suggests that the addition of an adjunct therapeutic mirthful laughter Rx (a potential modulator of positive mood state) to standard diabetes care may lower stress and inflammatory response and increase �good� cholesterol levels.

The authors conclude that mirthful laughter may thus lower the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome.

FDA Supplement Guidance Not Strict Enough, MD Says

No Author — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:27:00 EST

An FDA proposal to require dietary supplement manufacturers to submit data proving their product is safe doesn't go far enough, according to a physician writing in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dentists Overuse Antibiotics in Children

No Author — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:23:00 EST

A survey has suggested that most dentists tend to overprescribe antibiotics in children. The study found that adherence to professional prescribing guidelines ranged from 10% to 42%.

US dentists write between 200 million and 300 million antibiotic prescriptions each year, accounting for about 10% of all such prescriptions in the United States.

ICA Joins Medical and Pharmacy Boards to Sue NM Chiropractic Board

No Author — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:13:00 EST

The International Chiropractors Association (ICA) filed an extensive memorandum in
support of a motion to stay what is being held to be illegal actions on the part of that
state�s Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

ICA�s attorneys argued that it was important for the court to carefully consider the urgent issues of the letter of the law to prevent the �New Mexico Board of Chiropractic Examiners from implementing its new rule establishing an advanced practice formulary to include dangerous drugs and drugs to be administered by injection�and implementing its
new rules establishing a certain course of training to certify advanced practice
chiropractic physicians to administer and prescribe dangerous drugs and drugs to be
administered by injection.

ICA has also filed a motion to combine its suit to stay the Chiropractic Board�s
questionable actions with similar suits filed by New Mexico�s Attorney General on
behalf of that state�s medical and pharmacy boards.

Growth in Health Spending Nears Record-Low Rate

No Author — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:50:00 EST

Healthcare spending grew slowly in 2010 -- at a rate of 3.9%.  The rate of growth in healthcare spending has slowed every year since 2002, but the rates in 2009 and 2010 are particularly pronounced, according to the CMS's annual national health expenditure report.

Most of the nation's overall spending on healthcare goes toward hospitals (31%), physician and and clinic services (20%), and prescription drugs (10%)

Adderall Shortage Seen to Persist

No Author — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:09:00 EST

A shortage of Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, shows little sign of easing as manufacturers struggle to get enough active ingredient to make the drug and demand climbs.

Under the DEA quota system, drugmakers receive enough material to meet what the DEA estimates will meet the legitimate needs of American patients, but not enough to build inventory.

The DEA controls roughly 400 basic substances, in addition to derivative products such as salts and ethers. The chemicals are divided into five schedules. Schedule 1 drugs include illegal substances such as heroin. Scheduled II drugs, such as Adderall and other stimulants, have a medical use but a high potential for abuse. Schedule III drugs have a somewhat lower abuse potential and include the painkiller Vicodin, while Schedule IV drugs include the tranquilizers Klonopin and Ativan. Schedule V substances include cough medicines such as Robitussin.'

AMA Says "Receiving Preventive and Wellness Services is the Best Way for Patients, Especially Those on Medicare, to Take Care of Themselves"

No Author — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:50:00 EST

Medicare reimburses physicians $70 for a typical patient visit. However, doctors can earn more than twice that�$166�for conducting a patient's initial wellness visit.

'These higher payments illustrate the importance of wellness visits, because receiving preventive and wellness services is the best way for patients, especially those on Medicare, to take care of themselves,' the AMA states.

Growth in Health Spending Nears Record-Low Rate

No Author — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:41:00 EST

Healthcare spending grew slowly in 2010 -- at a rate of 3.9% -- in part because high unemployment and reduced household income led people to scrimp on doctors' visits and medications, new data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) show. The slowdown in spending mirrors that seen in 2009 , a year in which healthcare spending grew at 3.8%, its slowest rate in 50 years.

BMJ Sued in Texas over Autism Research Article

No Author — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:15:00 EST

The controversial Andrew Wakefield, MBBS, whose now largely discredited research ignited the vaccine-autism furor, has filed a defamation suit in a Texas court against BMJ, its editor, and an investigative journalist over a series of articles published last January.

These articles � as well as commentaries by the journal's editor ... slammed a now-infamous 1998 paper in The Lancet that suggested childhood MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccinations had caused autism-like symptoms in 12 children.

Man Dies of Bird Flu in China

No Author — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:45:00 EST

A man in southern China's Guangdong province died of bird flu Saturday a week after being admitted to hospital with a fever.  He died of multiple organ failure, having tested positive for the H5N1 virus.  The current strain of H5N1 is highly pathogenic, kills most species of birds and up to 60 percent of the people it infects.

Since 2003, it has infected 573 people around the world, killing 336.

Mentally Ill Tax Health Care

No Author — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 09:27:00 EST

Across the country, doctors are facing a spike in psychiatric emergencies - attempted suicide, severe depression, psychosis - as states slash mental health services and the country's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression takes its toll.

This trend is taxing emergency rooms already overburdened by uninsured patients who wait until ailments become acute before seeking treatment.

UK GPs Create Addicts Court Cases Claim

No Author — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:53:00 EST

The Independent, from the United Kingdom, REPORTS HERE that 'Doctors are being sued for creating prescription drug addicts amid claims they have failed to follow safety guidelines published more than 20 years ago.'

'Lawyers and medical experts have reported an increase in clinical negligence cases by patients left physically and psychologically broken by 'indefensible' long-term prescribing of addictive tranquillisers such as Valium, collectively known as benzodiazepines.'

'Patients taken off the drugs too quickly, leaving them disabled with pain for months if not years, are also seeking legal redress. Many say they were never told about the dangers of rapid detoxification, which can lead to seizures and even death in severe cases. Doctors have been accused of being 'in denial' about the problem.'

'There is no sign that such prescribing is diminishing. The Royal College of GPs is in denial about this because they fear being sued. With around a million long-term users, the [legal] defence unions will at some point decide that these cases are indefensible and GPs will have to pay their own costs.'

'A report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Misuse estimated in 2009 that there were 1.5 million involuntary tranquilliser addicts in the UK. More than 6.6 million benzodiazepine prescriptions for anxiety were dispensed by England's pharmacies in 2010, a 15 per cent increase in 10 years. Prescriptions for Valium have increased by 20 per cent over the same period.'

'Some people develop a tolerance after regular use for two weeks, needing a higher dose to induce the same effects; others report using them for years with few adverse effects. For most, stopping is the problem: they can experience a range of painful psychological and physical symptoms, worse than their original complaint.'

CDC Study Reports on Rape

No Author — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:09:00 EST

A CDC study has found that about 20% of women are raped at some point in their lifetime.

Additionally more than one in four women and one in seven men in the U.S. were physically attacked by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Put another way, 24 people per minute -- both men and women -- are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, the CDC study found.

Docs Glum on Healthcare Reform

No Author — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:18:00 EST

Most U.S. doctors believe that healthcare reform will increase use of public health insurance programs but will not reduce costs.

Foodborn Disease Progress

No Author — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:17:00 EST

Based on a report from its Food Safety Working Group its campaign to improve food safety is succeeding. 'We're well on our way to building a modern food safety system,' Health and Human Service's Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said.

In recent years, the U.S. has experienced illnesses associated with beef, peppers, peanut butter, spinach, eggs, and cookie dough, among other foods. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one in six Americans suffers from a foodborne illness each year, resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.

Medicine Justifies Use of Forced Treatment

No Author — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 06:16:00 EST

Implementing mandatory flu shot policies for healthcare workers more than doubled coverage rates, researchers found. Rates jumped from about 40% to more than 90% after influenza vaccination was made mandatory.

OK Supremes Strike Down Portions of OK WC Law

No Author — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:23:00 EST

The Oklahoma Supreme Court acted with surprising speed in surgically excising offending parts from that state's recent attempt at workers' compensation reform.

Striking provisions limiting service as independent medical examiners to medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy, the court said that the legislature had created a suspect special class without justification or a rational basis.

Insurers Announce New Reimbursement Policy for Multiple Therapies

No Author — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:15:00 EST

United Healthcare (UHC) and Aetna recently sent out notices to providers detailing their new Multiple Therapy Reduction policies. These policies reduce the reimbursement for the practice expense portion of the relative value units (RVUs) for certain therapies beyond the first therapy billed. The rationale is that there is duplication of the practice expense portion of the RVU.

DC Becomes CAP Medical Officer

No Author — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:07:00 EST

Major Jonathan McCullough, DC was recently appointed as the Wing Medical Officer for New Jersey Wing of the U.S. Civil Air Patrol (CAP).

Maj. McCollough expressed the importance of this achievement for the chiropractic profession. 'I am extremely excited to be the first chiropractic physician able to serve as a wing medical officer.'

Featured News - World News RSS Feed

Whistleblowers Sue FDA, Claim Emails Monitored

Laughter IS the Best Medicine

FDA Supplement Guidance Not Strict Enough, MD Says

Dentists Overuse Antibiotics in Children

ICA Joins Medical and Pharmacy Boards to Sue NM Chiropractic Board

Growth in Health Spending Nears Record-Low Rate

Adderall Shortage Seen to Persist

AMA Says "Receiving Preventive and Wellness Services is the Best Way for Patients, Especially Those on Medicare, to Take Care of Themselves"

Growth in Health Spending Nears Record-Low Rate

BMJ Sued in Texas over Autism Research Article

Man Dies of Bird Flu in China

Mentally Ill Tax Health Care

UK GPs Create Addicts Court Cases Claim

CDC Study Reports on Rape

Docs Glum on Healthcare Reform

Foodborn Disease Progress

Medicine Justifies Use of Forced Treatment

OK Supremes Strike Down Portions of OK WC Law

Insurers Announce New Reimbursement Policy for Multiple Therapies

DC Becomes CAP Medical Officer