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Gangs increasingly involved in Medicare fraud

ABC News: "Gangs across the country are arming themselves with powerful weapons to bilk taxpayers out of billions of dollars through Medicare fraud. What used to be a mostly non-violent, white collar crime has turned potentially deadly, and Federal agents who once combed through paperwork are now firing rounds at the shooting range to prepare for extreme dangers.

28 Apr 2010

Tamiflu and two other drugs used to treat influenza appear safe for pregnant women and babies: Study

Tamiflu and two other drugs used to treat influenza appear safe for pregnant women and their babies, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a retrospective study of 239 cases of women who received the medications during pregnancy.

28 Apr 2010

Freedland Russo announces $520M settlement over Seroquel marketing practice lawsuit against AstraZeneca

Freedland Russo is pleased that Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General, announced the $520 million dollar settlement of a lawsuit filed against AstraZeneca. The settlement announced today in Philadelphia indicates marketing practices for Seroquel included promotion of the drug by physicians participating in clinical studies and drug sales representatives encouraging doctors to prescribe for the unapproved uses.

28 Apr 2010

Ranibizumab eye injections plus laser therapy result in dramatic visual improvement

Researchers have shown that ranibizumab (Lucentis) eye injections, often in combination with laser treatment, result in better vision than laser treatment alone for diabetes-associated swelling of the retina.

28 Apr 2010

TYRX receives FDA marketing clearance for AIGISRx ST antibacterial patch for soft tissue repair

TYRX, Inc. announced that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance to market AIGISRx® ST, its antibacterial product for the surgical repair of damaged or ruptured soft tissue.

28 Apr 2010

DRCR Network study finds new treatment more effective

28 Apr 2010

Fine print complicates effort to cover young adults

Some parents may have to wait to get children as old as age 26 to be allowed to stay on their health plans because of the health law's fine print, The Associated Press reports. "As a consequence, some families may have to wait until 2011 to get their kids covered, particularly if the parents are working for a large employer, benefits experts and government officials say.

28 Apr 2010

As health reform's specifics continue to emerge, so do questions and answers from stakeholders

Determining how the law will be applied will be the next big battle in health reform and lobbyists are gearing up to influence implementation. "Congress gave sweeping power to federal agencies, especially (HHS), to fill in gaps lawmakers left in the 906-page legislation — an effort that will take years. The law refers more than 1,000 times to Cabinet secretaries who will make decisions on how to carry out the law. For example, the law requires insurance companies to spend 80% of premiums on medical claims, as opposed to administrative costs, by 2011. But it directs the health department to decide whether gray-area expenses, such as health-and-wellness programs offered by insurers, count as care or overhead."

28 Apr 2010

CSI granted FDA unconditional IDE approval for trial of Diamondback 360 System in coronary arteries

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc., has received Food and Drug Administration unconditional Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval, allowing the company to proceed with ORBIT II, a pivotal trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of CSI's Diamondback 360® System in the coronary arteries. CSI received conditional IDE approval for the ORBIT II study in January 2010.

28 Apr 2010

A bitter pill to swallow

Reporting for Kaiser Health News in collaboration with The Washington Post, Sandra Boodman writes: "When Jere Carpentier learned last year that she had advanced colon cancer -- her third malignancy in a dozen years -- she worried about spending hours in a clinic tethered to an intravenous line, enduring punishing chemotherapy that would make her hair fall out.

28 Apr 2010

AMAG Pharmaceuticals reports Feraheme net product revenues of $13.1M for first-quarter 2010

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of a therapeutic iron compound to treat iron deficiency anemia and novel imaging agents to aid in the diagnosis of cancer and cardiovascular disease, today reported unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

28 Apr 2010

BioMedix TRAKnet software suite receives APMA Seal of Acceptance

Today, the BioMedix TRAKnet software suite was granted the prestigious American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) Seal of Acceptance. BioMedix is the only company to receive the APMA Seal of Acceptance for Electronic Health Record and Practice Management software.

28 Apr 2010

Priligy - new drug for premature ejaculation

For men suffering from premature ejaculation there may be a new savior in town. The new drug called Priligy is reported to triple the time a man can last in bed. It is currently not licensed in the UK, but is available and licensed for use in a number of other European countries.

28 Apr 2010

States uneasy about impact of Medicaid expansion

The expansion of insurance coverage under the health reform law is due largely to an expansion of the government-funded Medicaid program, which is causing some doctors to worry about the specifics of implementation, according to the New York Times. "Absorbing that many people into the system will not be easy. The program is administered and partly financed by the states, which are now racing to figure out how to carry out the necessary changes and simplify enrollment even as they struggle to cope with severe budget cuts and staff shortages."

28 Apr 2010

Actavis launches Tamsulosin capsules in the U.S.

Actavis Inc., today began shipping Tamsulosin capsules to its customers in the United States. The generic equivalent to Flomax®, Tamsulosin is used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Actavis is partnering with Synthon Pharmaceuticals to launch and market Tamsulosin capsules in the United States.

28 Apr 2010

Queensland Government seeks help with private hospital at Kawana

The Queensland Government is looking for financial assistance and more practical help to operate a private hospital at Kawana, which is to be collocated with the Sunshine Coast University Hospital. The private hospital is expected to be functional by 2013, which is three years before the $1.6 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital precinct is due to be finished.

27 Apr 2010

Whole grains in diet translate to multiple health benefits: says research

Whole grains in diet can protect an individual from heart diseases say the CSIRO Food Futures National Research Flagship scientists. According to Dr David Topping, the chef research scientist at CSIRO consumption of whole grains in cereal and breads can reduce the risk of several diseases like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, some cancers. Legumes and grains could also prevent asthma, gum disease etc.

27 Apr 2010

Reluctant Australian sperm donors forces fertility clinics to import from U.S.

With the shortage of sperm donors the Queensland Fertility Group, the largest fertility facility in Townsville has resorted to importing sperm from United States. This facility, some 1,300 Kilometers from Brisbane is reportedly paying $700-800 an ampule for the imported sperm. This is a new situation. Earlier the facility had a large number of donors of which a huge number were the university students but there has been a steady decline in donors with many north Queensland men, or even Australian men who are not prepared to donate.

27 Apr 2010

Australian Medical Association says doctor followed all procedures in flu shot death

The death of a two year old girl a day after she relieved a flu shot has become an issue for the Brisbane doctor who gave the girl and her twin sister the flu shot. The Australian Medical Association branch in Queenland has warned against making Dr Amir Eskandari the scapegoat in the case.

27 Apr 2010

Better vision ahead for many diabetic retinopathy patients

A nationwide, government-sponsored study finds that people with a common form of diabetic retinopathy can benefit from a medication first developed to combat another potentially blinding disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Treating diabetic macular edema (DME) with ranibizumab (Lucentis) eye injections, plus laser treatment if needed, appears to result in better vision than laser treatment alone, according to the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research (DRCR) Network study published today in Ophthalmology online, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy). DME is the main cause of vision loss in people with diabetes mellitus.

27 Apr 2010

Medical News

Gangs increasingly involved in Medicare fraud

Tamiflu and two other drugs used to treat influenza appear safe for pregnant women and babies: Study

Freedland Russo announces $520M settlement over Seroquel marketing practice lawsuit against AstraZeneca

Ranibizumab eye injections plus laser therapy result in dramatic visual improvement

TYRX receives FDA marketing clearance for AIGISRx ST antibacterial patch for soft tissue repair

DRCR Network study finds new treatment more effective

Fine print complicates effort to cover young adults

As health reform's specifics continue to emerge, so do questions and answers from stakeholders

CSI granted FDA unconditional IDE approval for trial of Diamondback 360 System in coronary arteries

A bitter pill to swallow

AMAG Pharmaceuticals reports Feraheme net product revenues of $13.1M for first-quarter 2010

BioMedix TRAKnet software suite receives APMA Seal of Acceptance

Priligy - new drug for premature ejaculation

States uneasy about impact of Medicaid expansion

Actavis launches Tamsulosin capsules in the U.S.

Queensland Government seeks help with private hospital at Kawana

Whole grains in diet translate to multiple health benefits: says research

Reluctant Australian sperm donors forces fertility clinics to import from U.S.

Australian Medical Association says doctor followed all procedures in flu shot death

Better vision ahead for many diabetic retinopathy patients

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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