One of the nation's largest insurers, WellPoint, has announced it will begin paying primary care doctors more money for participating in a care coordination program. WellPoint announced it would make a 'major investment in primary care by increasing revenue opportunities for participating primary care physicians' who participate in a care-delivery model that incorporates medical home principles.

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.'"

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.

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.

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.

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.

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%)

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."

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.