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Schering-Plough to pay $435M and plead guilty to conspiracy

Schering-Plough on Tuesday agreed to pay $435 million and plead guilty to criminal conspiracy charges to settle a federal investigation into the company's marketing practices and Medicaid charges, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (AP/Houston Chronicle, 8/30).

30 Aug 2006

New microchip enables quick diagnosis of flu strains

Scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a microchip-based test that may allow more labs to diagnose influenza infections and learn more about the viruses causing illness.

30 Aug 2006

Many programs to recruit, train minority providers lose federal grant money this year

HHS recently awarded four institutions across the country $11.8 million in Center of Excellence grants, which over three years will fund training, recruitment and retention of medical students and medical faculty members from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, the New York Times reports.

28 Aug 2006

Problems persist with Maine Medicaid computerized billing system

Up to 10% of Medicaid payments made to providers through Maine's computerized bill-paying system are not processed correctly because of glitches in the system, state Medicaid officials have said, the Bangor Daily News reports.

28 Aug 2006

Federal report calls for changes in procedures for evacuating nursing home residents during disasters

The emergency evacuation plans of nursing homes located in the Gulf States during four hurricanes within the past year met federal and state regulations but had a number of problems, according to a report issued on Friday by HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson, the New York Times reports.

20 Aug 2006

Wild swans in the U.S. found to have strain of H5N1 bird flu

Officials at the Agriculture Department in the United States have found two swans in a Michigan gaming area with possibly another strain of the bird flu virus.

14 Aug 2006

FDA investigates use of identifier system for medical devices

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking information on how the use of a unique identifier system for medical devices may reduce medical errors, facilitate device recalls and improve medical device adverse event reporting.

9 Aug 2006

HHS to stockpile Anthrax immune globulin

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced it will purchase 10,000 therapeutic courses of treatment of Anthrax Immune Globulin (AIG) from Cangene Corporation of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for a total of $143,833,719.

30 Jul 2006

Medical technology fails to cope with obese patients

Researchers in the U.S. say that more and more Americans are missing out when it comes to receiving full medical care because they are too obese to fit into scanners or their fat is too dense for X-rays or sound waves to penetrate.

27 Jul 2006

Effect of obesity on image quality: Evaluation of dictated radiology reports

The increase of obesity in the United States doubled the number of inconclusive diagnostic imaging exams over a 15-year period, according to a study featured in the August issue of Radiology.

25 Jul 2006

Gene variant increases risk of type 2 diabetes - but healthy lifestyle changes reduce genetic risk

Researchers have confirmed that a gene variant confers susceptibility to type 2 diabetes in participants of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a large clinical trial in adults at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

21 Jul 2006

Pregnancy resource centers misleading teenagers

According to a U.S. congressman women are being given false and misleading information at some federally funded pregnancy resource centers.

18 Jul 2006

FDA approves Atripla three-drug combination tablet for treatment of HIV-1

FDA approves Atripla Tablets, a fixed-dose combination of three widely-used antiretroviral drugs.

12 Jul 2006

CDC’s advisory committee recommends changes in varicella vaccinations

Second dose of varicella vaccine to offer more protection for children, adolescents, and adults.

29 Jun 2006

When the smoke clears even secondhand smoke is found to be a killer

Dr. Richard Carmona the American Surgeon-General has stated in a new report that secondhand smoke is a killer and smoking should be banned in all work places.

28 Jun 2006

FDA announces new initiative to modernize regulation of clinical trials

FDA announces new policy and regulatory developments to strengthen the Agency's oversight and protection of patients in clinical trials and the integrity of resulting data in an effort to modernize the agency's approach to bioresearch monitoring as part of the Critical Path Initiative.

26 Jun 2006