News

According to AHIP, more claims are being received by payers in electronic formats, and payers are processing those claims at a faster rate than before.

High intakes of calcium in women are associated with higher death rates from all causes and from cardiovascular disease, but not from stroke. This is the conclusion of a prospective longitudinal cohort study conducted by researchers in Sweden and published in the British Medical Journal.

FDA has approved generic buprenorphine hydrochloride (HCl) and naloxone HCl dihydrate sublingual tablets (Amneal Pharmaceuticals), the first generic generic versions of Suboxone (Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (UK)) sublingual tablets for maintenance treatment of opioid drug dependence.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) issued its final recommendation on vitamin D and calcium supplements for the prevention of fractures, of which there are several individual recommendations for people who do not live in assisted living or nursing homes.

WellPoint and its affiliated health plans (WellPoint) have distributed pill boxes at no extra cost to more than 187,000 at-risk members of Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug plans across the country as a friendly reminder for them to take their medicines.

Processing a prescription through an electronic ordering system decreases the likelihood of error on that order by 48%, and avert more than 17 million such incidents in US hospitals in 1 year alone, according to research published online in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Gonorrhea, caused by the bacterium, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, continues to be a major US public health problem in terms of its prevalence as well as the lack of effective treatments available.

FDA has approved everolimus (Zortress, Novartis) for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in adult patients receiving a liver transplant.

FDA has approved the topical acne drug adapalene 0.1%/benzoyl peroxide 2.5% (Epiduo, Galderma) in children ages 9 and older, according to a news release.

A study by Norwegian researchers has shown that the use of folic acid supplements around the time of conception may lower the risk of autism in children. The study was published in the February 13, 2013, issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

A new Institute of Medicine (IOM) report addresses growing concerns in the global community surrounding the public safety matters of fake and substandard drugs.

In the last 10 years, many patients have developed unexpected toxicities from prescription drugs that have been on the market for 5 to 10 years, according to the Consumer Health Information Corp.

A single corticosteroid injection to treat unilateral lateral epicondylalgia-tennis elbow-is linked to poorer outcomes after 1 year, according to a study published February 6 in JAMA.

The National Breast Cancer Coalition recently awarded a nearly $200,000 seed grant to two researchers who will study the viral connection to breast cancer. The research will assess the infectious agent in breast tumors compared to normal breast tissue, which could lead to a preventive vaccine.

FDA has granted priority review to oncology compound radium-223 dichloride (radium-223, Bayer HealthCare) for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients with bone metastases.

Vitamin D supplementation does not slow progression of knee osteoarthritis or reduce pain associated with the condition, according to a study published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Shared decision-making with patient and health-coach involvement saves on overall costs of care. Specifically, the technique reduces hospitalizations and surgeries, according to a study published in Health Affairs (February 2013).

A leading epidemiologist recently suggested alternative treatments for the fungal meningitis outbreak late last year. To date, 46 deaths have been linked to contaminated steroids from compounding pharmacies.

The federal government and states will face a number of challenges upon establishing and operating federally facilitated health insurance exchanges.

Utah governor hopes to gain federal certification for the state's insurance exchange, which would ideally use a hybrid exchange model.

Republican governors from Ohio and Michigan have committed to expanding Medicaid in their states.

Although generally satisfied with global cancer research progress, the public believes it takes too long for new cancer drugs to reach patients.

FDA approved 39 innovative drug therapies in 2012, the most new drug approvals in the U.S. since 1996.

An FDA advisory committee voted in favor of moving hydrocodone combination drugs into the restrictive “Schedule II” category of controlled substances.

FDA has approved pomalidomide (Pomalyst, Celgene) to treat patients who have received at least 2 prior therapies including lenalidomide and bortezomib and have demonstrated disease progression on or within 60 days of completion of the last therapy.

Physicians who attended a medical school with an active gift restriction policy were subsequently less like to prescribe newly marketed psychotropic medications over older, cheaper alternatives, according to a study published in the January 2013 issue of BMJ.

Calcium from diet sources was not related to death from cardiovascular disease in women, but may increase the risk in men, according to a study published recently in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Despite availability of many therapies indicated for bowel disorders, there is still an unmet need and heterogeneity among these patients, necessitating availability of a wide variety of therapeutics. Awareness of potential new products, their key benefits, and where they may fit into the treatment paradigm will be important when making decisions impacting patients and physicians, according to new analysis.

FDA issued a proposal designed to assist companies developing new treatments for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, before the onset of overt dementia.

FDA has alerted healthcare professionals that a counterfeit version of the cancer drug Avastin was distributed in the United States.