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Consumers are becoming more price-sensitive toward brand-name drugs

The results of a new Pharma Insight study released today by Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of scientific information and analytics to the pharmaceutical and biotech fields, is not exactly what the doctor ordered. The company's annual analysis of the U.S. pharma market suggests that the economy has led to increased patient participation in decisions about prescription drugs.

17 Mar 2010

Medical home program: A new approach to optimize pediatric care

For parents of children with multiple medical problems, keeping up with countless doctor's appointments, ongoing tests and a variety of medications can be overwhelming, especially for those in challenging socioeconomic situations.

17 Mar 2010

OVD issue highlights prevalence of eye problems in general population

In the latest issue of Optometry & Vision Development (OVD), Dr. Dominick Maino, editor of OVD, notes that: "In 2010 there are 9 million people with lazy eye and 18 million individuals with eye-turns

17 Mar 2010

False Claims Act allegations over marketing of morphine-based drug Kadian: Alpharma to pay $42.5M

American pharmaceutical manufacturer Alpharma Inc. has agreed to pay $42.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations in connection with the marketing of the morphine-based drug, Kadian, the Justice Department announced today. The settlement resolves allegations that, between January 1, 2000 and December 29, 2008, Alpharma paid health care providers to induce them to promote or prescribe Kadian, and made misrepresentations about the safety and efficacy of the drug, which is used to treat chronic moderate to severe pain.

17 Mar 2010

Catholic Bishops oppose health bill, while other Catholic groups offer support

McClatchy: "The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Monday it opposes the Democratic health care plan heading for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives because of its language on abortion. The group noted that it liked the House health care bill because it would continue the strict ban on federal financing of abortion.

17 Mar 2010

BioVigil's second generation hand hygiene monitoring system released

BioVigil LLC has released the second generation of the BioVigil hand hygiene monitoring system. The innovative system enables hospitals to more effectively combat Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) by dramatically increasing hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers.

16 Mar 2010

Liquid CMO seeks osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia patients for pilot study in Phoenix

Makers of a new liquid natural supplement formulation of Cetyl-Myristoleate (CMO) are seeking osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia patients for a pilot study in Phoenix beginning Monday, April 12, 2010.

16 Mar 2010

National childhood varicella vaccination program reduces chickenpox hospitalization rates

Since the varicella vaccine was introduced in the mid-1990s, the number of patients receiving medical care for chickenpox in the United States has decreased sharply—particularly among children, according to a study in the March issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

16 Mar 2010

Arthritis drug could be useful for treating patients with type 2 diabetes

Clinical studies of a generic drug called salsalate, widely prescribed for arthritis, now provide early promising results that it may be useful for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes as well.

16 Mar 2010

Gardasil vaccine: Two complaints filed in Washington Federal Claims court

Anapol Schwartz attorneys Lawrence Cohan and Melissa Fry Hague recently filed two Gardasil vaccine complaints – one on behalf of a Kensington, Calif., family, whose 15-year old daughter died after suffering from severe adverse reactions, and another on behalf of a 19-year old Lapeer, Mich., woman, who has a chronic, autoimmune disorder. The cases, filed in The Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., seek recovery under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

15 Mar 2010

Economists, Dems differ on who's to blame for insurers' rate hikes

Democrats assailed health insurers for hiking rates in recent weeks to gain popular momentum for their health overhaul, but health economists say insurers did cause high health costs, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The economists "contend that insurance companies, while often meriting criticism for their practices, aren't to blame for high health care costs."

15 Mar 2010

Stimulus funds spur Indiana doctors, hospitals to switch to electronic records more quickly

The offer of federal stimulus funds is spurring Indiana health care providers to convert to electronic medical records, The (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Journal Gazette reports.

15 Mar 2010

MBGH conduct national survey to improve employer-based health improvement and management programs

To better understand and improve the effectiveness of employer-based health improvement and management programs, the Midwest Business Group on Health, conducted a national survey of physician views on employers' health management programs.

15 Mar 2010

Multimedia software program developed to help prostate cancer patients make treatment decisions

Mount Sinai School of Medicine is leading a study of patients newly-diagnosed with prostate cancer to determine if providing them with multimedia materials can help them make more informed treatment decisions. Michael Diefenbach, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Urology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine developed a multimedia software program designed to help prostate cancer patients and their families make treatment decisions.

15 Mar 2010

Researchers develop Intermountain Risk Score tool to assess patients' health

Researchers from the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, have devised a better way to determine an individual's risk for problems, such as heart attack and heart failure, according to a new study.

15 Mar 2010

Increased focus on role of nurses in health care

CNN reports that specialist nurses last year were paid higher average salaries than primary care doctors. "Primary care doctors were offered an average base salary of $173,000 in 2009 compared to an average base salary of $189,000 offered to certified nurse anesthetists, or CRNAs, according to the latest numbers from Merritt Hawkins & Associates, a physician recruiting and consulting firm."

12 Mar 2010

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

Health reform is back from the dead. ... But reform still has to run a gantlet of misinformation and outright lies. So let me address three big myths about the proposed reform, myths that are believed by many people who consider themselves well-informed, but who have actually fallen for deceptive spin (Paul Krugman, 3/11).

12 Mar 2010

Experts: Americans get too many tests, too much treatment

"Too much cancer screening, too many heart tests, too many cesarean sections. A spate of recent reports suggest that too many Americans -- maybe even President Barack Obama -- are being overtreated." Defensive medicine and a culture focusing on medical technology have lead to overtesting but "now new evidence and guidelines are recommending a step back and more thorough doctor-patient conversations about risks and benefits."

12 Mar 2010

Childhood obesity: Genetic variation could be a factor

Increasing childhood obesity has worried governments and public health advisers in many countries. But a study of 300 children with severe obesity by the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, suggest the problem may be more complicated than simply bad diet, overeating, or lack of exercise.

12 Mar 2010

Vermont: Only state to pass bill mandating coverage of colon cancer screening

Progress towards nationwide, state-mandated coverage of colon cancer screening according to accepted medical guidelines has slowed to a crawl as state legislators await the outcome of the health care reform debate at the federal level, a coalition of public health associations and medical professional societies reported today. With a better grade for only a single state – Vermont – 2009 marks the least improvement in a single year since the Colorectal Cancer Legislation Report Card began in 2004.

12 Mar 2010