Family Practice News articles from March 2007

Family Practice News archives from March 2007

Colon imaging on brink of makeover.
March 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- Colonoscopy remains the standard for imaging the colon, but the future may rest in nonoptical techniques such as virtual colography and colonic visualization devices such as the PillCam, Dr. P. Jay Pasricha said at a meeting...

Heart guidelines: get healthy women in prevention mode: data strengthen use of aspirin for stroke.
March 1, 2007... The American Heart Association's new evidence-based guidelines for preventing cardiovascular disease in women emphasize a woman's lifetime risk and provide new recommendations on aspirin, folic acid, antioxidant therapy, and hormone therapy....

SCHIP reauthorization, other health bills likely.(State Children's Health Insurance Program)
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The 110th Congress is fertile ground for health care legislation, from expanding coverage to fixing physician pay, according to Capitol Hill insiders and observers speaking at a conference sponsored by AcademyHealth. "You can...

Revenues for adult vaccines increasing across the board in world market.(VITAL SIGNS)(Brief article)(Statistical data)
March 1, 2007... Revenues for Adult Vaccines Increasing Across the Board in World Market. 2004 2005 Pneumococcal $380 $415 Hepatitis A and B $746 $824 Influenza ...

Merck halts lobbying on HPV vaccine mandate.(News)
March 1, 2007... Merck & Co. announced that it will cease its lobbying efforts toward mandatory vaccination against the human papillomavirus for adolescent girls. Merck, which markets Gardasil, the first vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration...

Guidelines focus on gaining asthma control.(News)
March 1, 2007... KEYSTONE, COLO. -- Proposed federal guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma would place greater emphasis on asthma control in monitoring and adjusting treatment. The 641-page document from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood...

Hormone therapy risks assessed in NAMS review: update softens stance for women under the age of 50.(News)
March 1, 2007... The benefits of hormone therapy outweigh its risks in healthy perimenopausal and early-postmenopausal women with menopause-related symptoms and a low baseline risk of stroke, according to the revised position statement released by the North...

Intussusception rates deemed no greater in Rotateq recipients.(News)
March 1, 2007... ATLANTA -- The number of intussusception cases following administration of the rotavirus vaccine thus far does not exceed the expected background rate, Dr. Manish Patel reported at a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's...

Two Ketek indications scrapped; warning added.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
March 1, 2007... The Food and Drug Administration has eliminated two indications for the antibiotic telithromycin and added a black box warning to its label stating the drug is contraindicated in people with myasthenia gravis. Telithromycin, marketed by...

Warning issued on topical anesthetic misuse and death.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
March 1, 2007... Citing two fatalities in young women, the Food and Drug Administration is warning the public about the potential dangers associated with the use of topical anesthetics, particularly when used for cosmetic procedures. A public health...

Dietary supplement containing erectile dysfunction drug recalled.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
March 1, 2007... A dietary supplement marketed as Liviro3 is being recalled because Food and Drug Administration tests have discovered it contains tadalafil, the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor marketed as Cialis to treat erectile dysfunction. The FDA...

Genetic test for breast cancer recurrence gains approval from FDA.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
March 1, 2007... A new molecular test that profiles the activity of 70 genes may be especially useful for identifying women with early-stage breast cancer who are unlikely to have recurrences within 5-10 years. The MammaPrint test, developed by...

Don't report 'mean blood glucose'.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... I object to reporting a "mean blood glucose" instead of the glycosylated hemoglobin as percent of total, when the study population is about 600 individuals ("Hemoglobin [A.sub.1c] May Become Moot," Jan. 15, 2007, p. 14). The new test will...

Don't be mean about Hb[A.sub.1c] change.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... I hope that the American Diabetes Association, of which I am a member, involves the diabetes care community before embarking on a major change in the terminology of [A.sub.1c] ("Hemoglobin [A.sub.1c] May Become Moot," Jan. 15, 2006, p. 14). ...

Scrutinize those free drug samples.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... I concur that further study and hard evidence are needed to address the appropriateness of providing free drug samples in clinical care ("Physicans' Opinions Diverge on Ethics of Using Free Rx Samples," Dec. 1, 2006. p. 6). Future studies...

E & M coding blunders.(The Office)
March 1, 2007... Welcome to the first edition of The Office. Each column will feature an expert's advice for managing the business and politics of running an office. Appropriately, this first installment features coding expert Emily Hill's recommendations for...

Are opioids an appropriate treatment for chronic nonmalignant pain? Manage opioid users closely and be realistic.(Point/Counterpoint)
March 1, 2007... Despite almost universal acceptance in acute and cancer pain treatment, opioids have been avoided for treating chronic nonmalignant pain. However, that tide began to turn in the 1990s, and with good reason. The risks from opioids are...

Are opioids an appropriate treatment for chronic nonmalignant pain? Widespread opioid use is questionable.(Point/Counterpoint)
March 1, 2007... Opioids can be the best and most appropriate therapy for some patients. However, opioids also pose significant risks in terms of drug diversion and have a lack of demonstrated long-term safety and efficacy. Opioids pose a significant risk...

Binge drinking flushes out alcohol's benefits.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
March 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- Moderate consumption of alcohol can be part of a healthy lifestyle to prevent cardiac disease, but not if you drink too fast, Dr. Mary O. Gray said at a meeting sponsored by the California chapter of the American College of...

Congenital heart disease, renal impairment tied.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- More than a third of adults with congenital heart disease also had significant renal dysfunction in a review of 201 patients, Dr. Sanaz Piran said at the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association. Impaired...

HDL may protect against venous thrombosis.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(high-density lipoproteins)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... ORLANDO -- High-density lipoproteins, which are known protectors against arterial atherothrombosis, may also protect against recurrent venous thrombosis, Dr. Sabine Eichinger reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology....

Obesity, apnea linked to atrial fibrillation risk.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
March 1, 2007... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea are independent risk factors for atrial fibrillation in patients younger than 65 years of age, but not in older patients, according to a retrospective cohort study of 3,542 people who had...

Warfarin underprescribed in elderly AF patients.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(atrial fibrillation)
March 1, 2007... CARMEL, CALIF. -- Many clinicians underprescribe warfarin in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation because of the perceived risks of anticoagulation therapy, results from a study of Department of Veterans Affairs patients showed. ...

Identifying vascular disease early aids healing.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
March 1, 2007... OTTAWA -- Determine the vascular supply to a limb as the first step in the treatment of a lower extremity wound, Dr. Stephan Mostowy said at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Wound Care. Early identification of a wound's...

Low androgen levels linked to diabetes in men: more studies are needed to examine the mechanism by which sex hormones contribute to diseases.(Metabolic Disorders)
March 1, 2007... Low levels of androgen may be a risk factor for diabetes in men, according to the findings of a population-based study. In a sample of 1,413 adult men, concentrations of free and bioavailable testosterone in the low normal range were...

Risk for diabetes is lower in women on hormone therapy.(Metabolic Disorders)
March 1, 2007... Women who are considering the risks and benefits of hormone therapy should be informed of the link between hormones and a decreased risk of diabetes, especially if they are at risk for the disorder, according to Dr. Wulf Utian, executive...

Treatment of subclinical thyroid disease benefits heart, survival.(Metabolic Disorders)
March 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- Treatment of asymptomatic thyroid disease is controversial but probably worthwhile, Dr. Hossein Gharib said at Perspectives in Women's Health sponsored by OB.GYN. NEWS. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) tests are very...

Mother's iodine intake affects newborn's TSH.(Metabolic Disorders)(thyroid-stimulating hormone)
March 1, 2007... PHOENIX -- Neonatal thyroid-stimulating hormone data can be used to detect epidemiologic trends in iodine sufficiency in pregnant women, even in countries where iodine intake is usually adequate, based on a study of 54,400 neonates presented at...

Outpatient thyroidectomy costs less and is safe, effective.(Metabolic Disorders)
March 1, 2007... TORONTO -- Thyroidectomy can be safely and effectively done on an outpatient basis and at a lower cost than in the hospital, according to results from a prospective, nonrandomized trial presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of...

Weight loss key to PCOS, insulin management.(Metabolic Disorders)(polycystic ovary syndrome)
March 1, 2007... VAIL, COLO. -- Weight loss can go a long way toward improving the effects of hyperandrogenism in the adolescent with polycystic ovary syndrome, Dr. Patricia S. Simmons said at a meeting sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics. "In...

Society calls for standardization of labs measuring testosterone.(Metabolic Disorders)
March 1, 2007... Laboratory proficiency testing for testosterone should be based on the ability to accurately and precisely measure a sample containing a known concentration of testosterone, not upon agreement with peers using the same method, a panel of...

Metabolic syndrome, adrenal steroid levels linked in blacks.(Metabolic Disorders)
March 1, 2007... SAN ANTONIO -- Increased levels of adrenal steroids appear to contribute to metabolic syndrome in African Americans, Dr. Theodore A. Kotchen said at a meeting of the American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure Research. "We...

Kaposi's seen in HIV patients on antiretrovirals.(Infectious Diseases)
March 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- Some HIV-infected patients who are well managed on highly active antiretroviral therapy are developing Kaposi's sarcoma, Dr. Toby A. Maurer said at a meeting on HIV management sponsored by the University of California, San...

Gonorrheal testing of anus, throat urged.(Infectious Diseases)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- As the incidence of gonorrhea continues to increase, physicians need to be doing more testing for the venereal disease in the anus and the throat, particularly in gay men, said Dr. Gall Bolan, chief of the sexually transmitted...

Cutaneous clues can help peg coccidioidomycosis.(Infectious Diseases)
March 1, 2007... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Think of coccidioidomycosis in patients with a rash, fever, and cough, even if they don't live in the southwestern United States where Coccidioides is endemic. At least two patients have presented to the Mayo Clinic,...

Use of STD screening tests needs to be more strategic.(Infectious Diseases)
March 1, 2007... ATLANTA -- Many tests now are available for screening and diagnosing sexually transmitted diseases. However, screening without a clear indication may do more harm than good, Dr. Michael Policar said at a conference on contraceptive technology...

Ongoing study suggests tacrolimus is safe for kids.(Skin Disorders)
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Preliminary data from an ongoing observational study suggest no safety concerns associated with the use of tacrolimus ointment for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in children, Dr. M. Joyce Rico reported in a poster presentation...

Hours spent driving tied to left-side skin cancer.(Infectious Diseases)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- People who spend more time behind the wheel may be at increased risk for skin cancer, particularly on the left side of the face, according to a poster presentation at an annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. ...

Dermatology society gives approval to some sunscreens.(Skin Disorders)
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The American Academy of Dermatology will soon start giving its official imprimatur to sunscreen products that it deems worthy, outgoing AAD President Stephen Stone said at the academy's annual meeting. Two sunscreens, both...

Oncology nurses ease cancer patients' depression.(Mental Health)
March 1, 2007... TUCSON, ARIZ. -- A psychiatric intervention conducted by specially trained oncology nurses significantly reduced depression for cancer patients enrolled in a clinical trial presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Psychosomatic...

Protocol targets frontal cortex to quell depression.(Mental Health)
March 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Researchers at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute are using the tools of neuroimaging to modernize electroconvulsive therapy for severe depression and other psychiatric disorders. By applying...

Depression diagnosis rose 2.4-fold in 12 years.(Mental Health)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- Between 1990 and 2001, the number of children and adolescents diagnosed with depression increased 2.4-fold, and the use of serotonin reuptake inhibitors increased from 21% to 40%, Linda M. Robison reported during a poster session...

Get a hematocrit in all vacuum delivery cases.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2007... RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO -- All babies born by vacuum extraction should have an umbilical cord hematocrit drawn, and be closely monitored for changes that could signify a subgaleal bleed--an unusual injury in these deliveries, but the most...

Vaccines.(Drugs, Pregnancy, And Lactation)
March 1, 2007... Vaccines have arguably saved more lives and prevented more diseases than any other class of drug. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that vaccination before conception is preferred to vaccination during pregnancy,...

MRI finds breast cancer in high-risk women.(Women's Health)(magnetic resonance imaging)
March 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- Magnetic resonance imaging detects more breast cancers in high-risk women, compared with mammography or ultrasound, according to two studies presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. MRI was...

Lobular carcinoma more alarming than thought.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2007... SAN ANTONIO -- Lobular carcinoma in situ is not always the indolent disease it has long been considered to be, Dr. Bruno Cutuli said at a breast cancer symposium sponsored by the Cancer Therapy and Research Center. Nor is lobular carcinoma...

Antidepressants ease monthly dysphoria.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- Women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder usually respond rapidly to the first treatment cycle of an antidepressant, allowing intermittent dosing that follows the menstrual cycle, Dr. Andrea J. Singer said at Perspectives in...

Underdiagnosis a problem for COPD in elderly.(Pulmonary Medicine)(chronic obstructive lung disease)
March 1, 2007... SALT LAKE CITY -- The use of an age-adjusted lower limit of normal in the [FEV.sub.1]/FVC ratio to define chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the elderly results in a large problem of under-diagnosis, Dr. David M. Mannino said at the...

Alternative approach may help in severe asthma.(Pulmonary Medicine)
March 1, 2007... PHILADELPHIA -- Some patients with severe or difficult-to-control asthma are still failing to achieve control, despite taking high doses of both inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting [beta]-agonists as recommended by current practice...

Virtual, optical colonoscopy are alike, study says.(Digestive Disorders)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... BOSTON -- Interim results from a large military study comparing virtual and optical colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening suggest the two methods are comparable in sensitivity and specificity, said Maj. Richard P. Moser III, MC, USA. ...

Patients recruited for pancreatic cancer screening study.(Digestive Disorders)
March 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- Screening for pancreatic cancer in people with a family history of the disease is not a perfect science, Dr. Marcia Irene Canto said at a meeting jointly sponsored by the AGA Institute and the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology....

Barrett's guidelines lack support in practice.(Digestive Disorders)
March 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- There is a lack of strong evidence to support the current screening and surveillance guidelines for Barrett's esophagus and associated neoplasia, Dr. Marcia Irene Canto said at a meeting jointly sponsored by the AGA Institute and...

Childhood sleep deficits linked to weight gain.(Obesity)
March 1, 2007... Children who lose sleep may have an increased risk of gaining weight, according to findings of a new study. This points to the importance of sleep in the fight against obesity and further fuels the argument for later starts to the school...

Neonatal weight gain linked to adult obesity.(Obesity)
March 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- Rapid weight gain in the first week of life in formula-fed infants is associated with increased risk of obesity 2-3 decades later, Dr. Nicolas Stettler said at the annum scientific sessions of the American Heart Association. ...

Blood lead levels linked to osteoarthritis severity.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)
March 1, 2007... PRAGUE -- Blood lead levels significantly below those that are defined as toxic by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are associated with increased rates of moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis, reported Dr. Joanne M. Jordan,...

Vitamin D intake in women tied to knee arthritis.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... PRAGUE -- Low dietary vitamin D intake is linked to an increased rate of knee osteoarthritis, Dr. Nigel K. Arden reported at the 2006 World Congress on Osteoarthritis. The association was seen in tibiofemoral but not patellofemoral...

MRI findings for low back pain can be misleading.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)
March 1, 2007... SEATTLE -- MRI findings within 12 weeks of serious low back pain inception are unlikely to represent new structural change, according to a study at Stanford (Calif.) University. "We had hypothesized that serious low back pain episodes would...

Back problems are not uncommon in children, adolescents.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)
March 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS -- Not long ago, physicians were taught to believe that chronic back pain does not occur in children. "But that just isn't true," Dr. David L. Skaggs said at meeting sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics' California Chapters...

Aspirin use in older adults preserves gray, white matter.(Geriatric Medicine)
March 1, 2007... ATLANTA -- Aspirin, even at low doses, appears to prevent age-related declines in gray and white matter integrity in brain regions that typically show the earliest neuropathological changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to Lee...

FDA: haloperidol found in drugs bought online.(Geriatric Medicine)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Food and Drug Administration has reissued its warning that buying prescription drugs online can be dangerous after preliminary tests detected haloperidol in certain drugs purchased over the Internet. Preliminary analyses determined that...

Mentally impaired benefit from exercise rehab.(Geriatric Medicine)
March 1, 2007... CARMEL, CALIF. -- Cognitively impaired older adults who participate in exercise rehabilitation programs have similar strength and endurance outcomes as their cognitively intact peers, results from a large meta-analysis showed. The finding...

Pediatric migraine frequency cut by topiramate.(Clinical Rounds)
March 1, 2007... PITTSBURGH -- Topiramate appears to be a good choice for preventing pediatric migraine, including basilar migraine, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the Child Neurology Society. The drug was approved for adult migraine in 2004,...

Artwork offers window on epilepsy experience.(Clinical Rounds)(Disease/Disorder overview)
March 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- Artwork created by persons with epilepsy can help others gain insight to the experiences of patients with the condition, Dr. Steven C. Schachter said at the annual meetings of the American Epilepsy Society and the Canadian League...

Cognition, mood, and sleep are impaired in elderly with epilepsy.(Clinical Rounds)
March 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- By the age of 65, patients with epilepsy were found to have reduced cognitive function, a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety, and poorer sleep hygiene compared with their seizure-free peers, data from a small...

Scale finds depression common, undertreated in epilepsy patients.(Clinical Rounds)(Clinical report)
March 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- The Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item depression scale detected major depression in 29% of epilepsy patients, results from a large single-center study showed. Moreover, 52% of patients who had scores consistent with major...

Intra-arterial therapy offers huge gains for some.(Clinical Rounds)
March 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- One in four consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients displayed Lazarus-like improvement within a day of receiving intra-arterial thrombolytic treatment, the investigator of a retrospective 108-patient study reported at the...

Poor outcomes plague high-risk carotid stenting patients.(Clinical Rounds)
March 1, 2007... HOLLYWOOD, FLA. -- Carotid artery stenting has become a procedure in search of patients. Several thousand patients have now undergone carotid artery stenting (CAS) in either controlled trials or as part of data-collecting registries, and...

Low-weight heparin slashes poststroke VTE risk.(Clinical Rounds)
March 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- Enoxaparin, a low-molecular-weight heparin, gave acute ischemic stroke patients significantly better protection against venous thromboembolism when compared with unfractionated heparin in a large, open-label trial presented at...

Look for cataplexy in diagnosing narcolepsy.(Clinical Rounds)(Disease/Disorder overview)
March 1, 2007... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- The most recent diagnostic criteria make it imperative to determine whether hypersomnolent children also exhibit cataplexy, Dr. Emmanuel Mignot said at a meeting on sleep disorders in infancy and childhood. The...

Widely accepted pyelonephritis scans are adequate but imperfect.(Clinical Rounds)
March 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS -- Although renal cortical scintigraphy remains the accepted standard for diagnosing pyelonephritis--with a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 100%--it's far from perfect, Dr. Melvin O. Senac Jr. said at a meeting sponsored by...

Alcohol, exercise cut kidney cancer risk.(Clinical Rounds)(Clinical report)
March 1, 2007... BOSTON -- Moderate alcohol consumption may reduce the risk of renal cell carcinoma among men, whereas exercise may lower women's risk for developing the malignant kidney tumor, according to a large, prospective study. Conversely, being...

CT urography may trump cystoscopy.(Clinical Rounds)
March 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- CT urography is a promising technique for the detection of bladder cancer and may obviate the need for cystoscopy in selected patients, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North...

Doppler, transfusions may cut stroke in sickle cell.(Clinical Rounds)
March 1, 2007... ORLANDO -- Careful screening with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography and treatment with chronic blood transfusion will likely reduce the number of strokes in children with sickle cell anemia, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the...

CT ideal for monitoring multiple myeloma patients.(Clinical Rounds)
March 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- Whole-body, low-dose, unenhanced multidetector-row CT may be the preferred method of monitoring patients with multiple myeloma, Dr. Philippe Pereira said at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. "Ours...

Self-help for urinary tract infection.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Teaching men to better manage fluid intake and manage their lower urinary tract infections had better success than did standard treatments, according to data from a small randomized controlled trial. Investigators randomized 140 men into...

Allergy shots nip hay fever in the bud.(Clinical Capsules)
March 1, 2007... Injection immunotherapy is a safe, valid treatment for patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis, particularly if symptoms cannot be controlled with standard medical treatments, according a Cochrane Review. The analysis of pooled data from...

Infants shed norovirus after recovery.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Infants younger than 6 months of age continued to shed norovirus more than a month after the onset of gastroenteritis and after their clinical symptoms had resolved, Toshio Murata, Ph.D., of the Yamagata (Japan) prefectural Institute of Public...

Development of cancer drugs deemed outdated.(Clinical Rounds)
March 1, 2007... An analysis of phase II studies of cancer treatments indicates that the methods for determining whether certain drugs are promising and worth studying further are often obsolete. These findings could explain why many treatments fail in...

Optimal follow-up unclear for testicular microlithiasis patients.(Clinical Rounds)(Disease/Disorder overview)
March 1, 2007... CARMEL, CALIF. -- The classic form of testicular microlithiasis is strongly associated with subsequent testicular malignancy, Diana Lam reported at the Western regional meeting of the American Federation for Medical Research. But it...

Protege carotid stent, alphanate.(New & Approved)
March 1, 2007... Protege GPS and Protege RX Carotid Stent Systems (ev3, Inc.) A carotid stent approved for treating patients at high risk for adverse events from carotid endarterectomy who meet certain criteria. The third such system approved by the Food...

Legislation unlikely to help most insulin users.(Practice Trends)
March 1, 2007... A Congressional push for fast-track approval of generic biologics likely won't have any effect on insulin costs for most patients with diabetes, mainly because the types of insulins most patients use now are still on patent, according to an...

States pursue insurance mandates, transparency.(Practice Trends)
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- State legislation mandating health insurance will continue, with "at least 12 more states going to debate bills to expand employer participation coverage" in 2007, according to Susan Laudicina, director of state services research...

FDA's $2 billion budget.(Policy & Practice)
March 1, 2007... The Bush administration is requesting $2.1 billion for the Food and Drug Administration in fiscal 2008, a 5% increase from the 2007 request. The agency still has not received its final appropriation for fiscal 2007, so the exact amount it will...

Medicare generic drug use rises.(Policy & Practice)
March 1, 2007... Generic drugs accounted for 60% of prescriptions dispensed to either Part D or Medicare Advantage plan beneficiaries for the first three quarters of 2006, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced. Generic drug use in Part D...