On Monday, the FDA issued a proposed order that, if finalized, would reclassify sunlamp products and require labeling to include a recommendation designed to warn …
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Drug Spending Down for First Time Ever; Doctor Visits Also Decline
By Alvin Tran
Americans’ per capita spending on prescription drugs fell last year for the first time on record, according to a report released Thursday by the IMS Institute For Healthcare Informatics firm headquartered in Danbury, Conn., which tracks pharmaceutical sales and other health care data.
The report titled, “Declining Medicine Use and Costs: For Better or Worse?” found that in real dollars, total spending on prescription drugs fell by 3.5 percent per capita in 2012, while use of health care services, including visits to doctors, declined for the second consecutive year.
“The largest driver of this slowdown has been an unprecedented cluster of very popular and effective medicines losing patent protection and facing generic competition at the same time,” said Michael Kleinrock, a lead author and the company’s director of research development. Read the full story »
Doctors Must Be Involved in Development of Guidelines
By Harvey B. Lefton, M.D.
We are practicing in an age of rapidly changing treatment modalities and increasing pharmacologic options. What is changing even more rapidly …
Physician Group Sues to End Recertification Program
The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons (AAPS) has filed suit in federal court against the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) for restraining trade …
New Website Will Disclose Payments To Doctors
By Ankita Rao
For the first time, the government will make information about financial relationships between doctors, teaching hospitals and drug manufacturers publicly available.
To comply with a provision …
Concern in Pennsylvania About Insufficient Medical Resident Positions
As medical students and residents made their rounds through the Pennsylvania state capitol one cool April morning, a central message echoed through the halls. An …
Patient Satisfaction Does Not Mean Good Surgical Care
By Jordan Rau
You may have found your doctor to be a great communicator, your hospital room clean and quiet and your pain well controlled. Yet …
FDA Blocks Generic Versions of OxyContin
The patent on original OxyContin expired yesterday. That’s big news in the pharma world. OxyContin had $2.8 billion in sales last year. Generic drug manufacturers …
