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The public eye has been squarely focused on Pennsylvania as Governor Edward G. Rendell

The FDA is considering behind-the-counter (BTC) medication availability and how it might improve access to safe and effective drugs.

Only a few months ago, efforts to build a national electronic health information system appeared dead in the water. Now there is growing support on Capitol Hill for legislative action, plus strong statements from the Bush administration backing health information technology (HIT).

With healthcare quality being so difficult to quantify, flawed ratings are unavoidable. Health plans, patients and governments, however, are desperate for some sort of yardstick by which to judge providers.

A summary of agents in late-stage development for the prevention and/or treatment of osteoporosis.

According to the results of a prospective cohort study of 1,005 patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF), women who are treated with amiodarone are at greater risk for bradyarrhythmia requiring pacemaker insertion than men who are treated with the drug.

First-time generic approvals: rivastigmine capsules

The 2007 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions took place November 3 to 7, 2007, in Orlando, Florida. Among the new data presented were the much anticipated results of a phase 3 trial of prasugrel versus clopidogrel in patients scheduled for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Other clinical trials of note were the first prospective study of a statin in patients with ischemic heart disease and heart failure and a comparison of eptifibatide with abciximab on ST-segment resolution in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) who are undergoing primary PCI. This AHA Special Report details these and other trials.

Anecdotal reports of hospital readmissions secondary to adverse drug events (ADEs) prompted the pharmacy & therapeutics (P&T) committee at University Hospital, SUNY Upstate Medical University, to authorize a pharmacy-led retrospective review of patient records.

Doripenem is a carbapenem antibiotic recently approved for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) and complicated urinary tract infections (UTIs), including pyelonephritis. An NDA has also been submitted for the use of doripenem in the treatment of nosocomial pneumonia, including ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Doripenem is the fourth carbapenem approved for use in the United States and exhibits many pharmacologic similarities with imipenem/cilastatin and meropenem. Doripenem has a broad spectrum of activity against various gram-positive and gram-negative aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, including many multidrug-resistant gram-negative pathogens. Improved potency against nonfermentative gram-negative bacteria has also been demonstrated with doripenem compared with other carbapenems. In clinical trials, doripenem was generally well tolerated; headache, nausea, diarrhea, and phlebitis were the most commonly reported drug-related adverse events. Because doripenem exhibits..

FDA-related information through December 2007 on Guaifenesin/codeine extended-release, delayed-release valproic acid, telavancin, Endeavor, oral beclomethasone, and R7128

The use of prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF) in adult patients with cancer who are receiving chemotherapy is associated with a reduced risk of early death and febrile neutropenia, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

In a retrospective cohort study of 162 primary care practices in the United Kingdom, the use of antibiotics was demonstrated to be effective in preventing serious complications following upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), sore throat, or otitis media; however, the authors stated that the number needed to treat (NNT) to prevent 1 such complication is too high to justify prescription of the drugs for this purpose.

Congress approved the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA) in September after a lengthy debate that resulted in compromises on many issues. The resulting law contains numerous provisions designed to better inform the public about drug safety and provides new tools for FDA to reduce risks and unsafe drug use.

Medicare advantage enrollment reflects the relative maturity of managed care markets generally, and the attractiveness of those markets from economic and demographic standpoints for these plans to operate in, experts say.

Employees have been receiving paychecks via direct deposit for almost 40 years. In 2005, there were 4.4 billion direct deposits. Physicians, however, have some catching up to do.

As the debate over healthcare reform accelerates, policy makers are weighing in with proposals to unlink coverage from the work place.

A national examination of disease prevalence among Medicaid beneficiaries underscores ways that managed care plans can rethink care management approaches for high-need, high-cost beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions.

Emergency departments (EDs) are a critical safety net for all Americans, and that net is becoming evermore threadbare. It's downright scary when you look closely at the reality of EDs today.

Efforts are now under way by leading health plans and employers to aggregate patient information into personal health records (PHRs). This aggregation of data into a patient-centered and patient-controlled record can empower healthcare consumers.

Evidence-based assessments of medical technologies can require specific criteria that meet government regulation as well as betters health outcomes.

Case management is critical to help measure a hospital's success in quality care and financial stability. As noted by the Case Management Society of America, a case manager must be an advocate for both hospital and patient.

The World Health Organization's latest version of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) will bring "the good, the bad, and the ugly" for nearly all who use this classification system. However, the biggest asset is that the latest version is much more detailed and organized than ICD-9.

An important component of the legislation that has not received a lot of press to date has been the Health Care and Quality Cost Council (HCQCC) which was established by the same health reform law that created the Connector.

What works for retail pharmacy patients should work for mail-order recipients, namely, personalized drug counseling. When consumers pick up their prescriptions at a local pharmacy, they have access to pharmacists who can advise them on how and when to take medications, warn them of potential side effects and discuss generic alternatives.

For payers struggling with unmanageable cost increases in the business of delivering care, however, price cannot be overlooked. Insurers don't necessarily deny coverage of a treatment just because it's expensive, but they would be remiss if they didn't take cost into consideration, as well as safety and effectiveness.

Perhaps it's no coincidence that former historian Jon Kingsdale, PhD, finds himself overseeing one of the most progressive healthcare initiatives in the country, the Massachusetts Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority. The Connector facilitates the purchase of health insurance for individuals and small businesses across New England.

Choice of law issues arising from coverage disputes of both individual and group insurance policies many times determine which party will prevail on the merits of a particular case. Also, in today's mobile economy, insurance transactions frequently cross state boundaries.

Change was in the wind as the Medicare Part D open enrollment period began last month. Most seniors who belong to stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) face premium increases.

Medicare is a difficult market to be in and is going to get even more challenging in the next few years, experts say.