Wal-Mart To Expand Retail Health Clinics To 400 Stores In Three Years

 Possible opportunity for additional business for local hospitals...BD

Wal-Mart Stores will open health clinics at as many as 400 of its U.S. stores in the next three years, and as many as 2,000 in the next five to seven years, the company announced on Tuesday, Bloomberg/Boston Globe reports (Bloomberg/Boston Globe, 4/25). The health clinics will be managed independently by local or regional hospitals, CEO H. Lee Scott told the World Health Care Congress, a national meeting for CEOs, senior executives and government officials (CQ HealthBeat, 4/24). The clinics will be staffed by nurse practitioners or physicians and will offer preventive and routine care. Companies that operate the clinics will decide whether to accept health insurance for visits, which typically cost $40 to $65, according to Wal-Mart spokesperson Kevin Gardner (Bloomberg/Boston Globe, 4/25). Wal-Mart currently has 76 clinics operating in 12 states (Wall Street Journal, 4/25). Many of the clinics offer walk-in appointments and are open seven days a week. More than half of the people visiting those clinics lack health insurance, and 15% said they would have gone to an emergency department if the clinics were unavailable (Bloomberg/Boston Globe, 4/25). Scott said, "We think the clinics will be a great opportunity for our business. But most importantly, they are going to provide something our customers and communities desperately need -- affordable access at the local level to quality health care" (AP/Indianapolis Star, 4/25).

Source: Wal-Mart To Expand Retail Health Clinics To 400 Stores In Three Years

Read More

The Internet Can Seriously Damage Your Health

This article does a good job on addressing "information over-load" which we all have today it seems in any area of our lives...BD 

Online medical information is changing the tone of GP consultations. From increased awareness of potential problems to robust - if often erroneous - self-diagnosis, a significant proportion of patients are taking Internet based medical information to the GP surgery.
Yet the majority of the information available online is at best confusing, at worst misleading, or simply being used inappropriately. In most cases, patients cannot differentiate between a sponsored link and a real study.

Combine this overload of confusing, often dangerous, information with the extraordinary rise in online pharmacies and the increasing danger of self-medication, and GPs simply cannot afford to ignore the implications of the Internet on patients.
Patients crave information. Using the Internet during a consultation offers real benefits in satisfying this need by directing patients to the right site and delivering essential confidence.

Source: The Internet Can Seriously Damage Your Health

Read More

The new wheelchairs....

Mobility has even gone to produce better wheelchairs for the disabled...some that do stairs...I wonder if any of these will be even partially covered someday by Medicare...BD 

The road less traveled is now within your reach

The iBOT® Mobility System's powerful 4-Wheel Function is designed to provide you with a greater sense of independence, in and out of your home.




By allowing you to travel easily over uneven terrain, such as grass, sand, or gravel, as well as climb curbs up to 5 inches (127mm) high, the iBOT® Mobility System will help you perform many activities of daily living on your own. Whatever you want to do, enter or exit your home, enjoy your backyard or local park, shop for groceries, or visit friends, the iBOT® Mobility System can help you get there. The 4-Wheel Function on your INDEPENDENCE® iBOT® Mobility System lets you handle uneven terrain with ease and stability, wherever life may take you.

For those needing to move over some very rough terrain...here's another alternative... BD

                          http://www.tankchair.com/gallery.htm

 

Source: iBOT® Mobility System: 4-Wheel Function

Read More

Hospital renovations take a page from high-end hotels

 It's hard to believe this is a hospital...BD

(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- Windowless corridors, drab paint and crowded rooms have typified hospitals for more than a century - and the effect can be downright depressing.

Get ready for a radical shift.

Meanwhile, hospitals built in the 1950s to serve the parents of boomers are nearing the end of their life cycle. "It's like a perfect storm," says Anjali Joseph, director of research at the Center for Health Design. She expects a golden age of health-care construction, with U.S. spending projected to top $45 billion this year, up from $11.6 billion in 1997.

The extensive use of natural light has led to shorter patient stays and a happier staff at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Mich.

By embracing a new school of thought called evidence-based design, a few pioneering hospitals have shown that more creatively planned facilities can lead to satisfied patients, a happier staff, and a healthier bottom line.

The model for these new medical centers: high-end hotels.

Take, for example, Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Mich. The lush greenery, indoor pond, and reading spaces in its lobby could just as easily belong in a Hilton. So could the entryway of Parrish Medical Center in Titusville, Fla., completed just four and a half years ago, with its soaring glass dome roof and tranquil pool. Musicians play classical music there several days a week.

The changes--especially the natural light and soothing music--receive high marks from the staff, and costly employee turnover has dropped from a 14 percent annual rate to 12.5 percent since 2001.

Source: Hospital renovations take a page from high-end hotels - April 1, 2007

Read More

Mexican Wal-Mart launches cheap generic drugs

Following suit as done here in the US for the $4.00 generic prescriptions available for over 300 common generic drugs...BD 

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's leading retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico, or Walmex, has launched a line of 150 cheap generic drugs, selling for no more than $3.50, in a new bid to boost its appeal as a one-stop shop for clients looking for low prices.

Walmex's Medi-Mark generics line started selling last week at the retailer's supermarket chains.

The low-priced drugs include everyday staples like pain and fever reliever paracetamol, as well as more complex medicines such as cafergot, used for migraine treatment.

Some of the medicines, which are being manufactured by different laboratories, will cost 90 percent less than the leading over-the-counter brand, according to an industry source.

Source: Mexican Wal-Mart launches cheap generic drugs - Yahoo! News

Read More

Eli Lilly And Company Introduces Reconcile(TM) For Separation Anxiety In Dogs

I don't think I'm quite ready for this yet, and neither is the dog...don't know how big of a seller this will be, but it appears to be another marketing arm in the world of pharma....BD

In field studies of approximately 600 dogs, 73 percent of dogs receiving Reconcile(TM) showed improvement in separation anxiety-related behavior within eight weeks when compared with dogs receiving behavior modification training alone. Within one week of starting Reconcile(TM) treatment and behavior modification training, 42 percent of dogs showed improvement. During trials, the most common adverse reactions to Reconcile(TM) were calm or lethargy, reduced appetite, vomiting, shaking, diarrhea, restlessness, excessive vocalization, aggression and -- in infrequent cases -- seizures.
Reconcile(TM) allows dogs to be more receptive to your training to help with anxiety

Source: Eli Lilly And Company Introduces Reconcile(TM) For Separation Anxiety In Dogs

Read More

Survey says..the latest stats on Doctor/Pharma relationships...

Food is at the top of the listing, I guess we all have to eat...BD 

They surveyed 3,167 doctors from six specialisms: anesthesiology, cardiology, family practice, general surgery, internal medicine, and pediatrics. The response rate was over 50 per cent.
The results showed that:

-- 94 per cent of doctors reported some type of relationship with the pharmaceutical industry.
-- 83 per cent said these relationships involved receiving food in the workplace.
-- 78 per cent said they involved receiving drug samples.
-- 35 per cent received reimbursement for costs of going to professional meetings or continuing medical education (CME).
-- 28 per cent received payments for consulting, giving lectures, or enrolling patients in trials.
-- Cardiologists were more than twice as likely to receive payments as family doctors.
-- Family doctors met with industry reps more often than did doctors in other specialisms.
-- Doctors who practised on their own or in group practices met with reps more often than those working in hospitals and clinics.

In conclusion, the researchers said these results show that:
"Relationships between physicians and industry are common and underscore the variation among such relationships according to specialty, practice type, and professional activities."

Source: Probing Doctor And Industry Ties

Read More

Hospitals Tackling Low-Tech Back Offices

Good article on how even small improvements in IT make a difference, even if the big move to a full on elecronic medical records system is not perhaps yet in the picture...BD 

High-tech health care grabs headlines and the public’s imagination. Some of the buzz derives from the notion that less-invasive surgery or snazzy electronic medical records can save time and money. (But ask Kaiser Permanente about the perils of computerizing patient records.)

Forget the glitz. For many hospitals, even a dose of last century’s computer technology could go a long way toward cutting waste. Routine administrative tasks often are still done on paper. Hospitals are way behind, says Pam Matthews, director of business information systems for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, a professional association. Matthews tells the Health Blog: “This back-office stuff, you are just now seeing it becoming automated like you would in other industries and other larger businesses.”

Source: Health Blog : Hospitals Tackling Low-Tech Back Offices

Read More

Posing as pals, drug reps sway doctors' choices | Science & Health

Interesting article...sometimes the first thing I need to say when walking in to a potential client's office is "I'm not a drug rep" as anyone dressed in business attire these days to conduct business in a physician's office can easily be assumed to be a pharma rep...BD

CHICAGO (Reuters) - As much as doctors would like to deny it, subtle attention from friendly drug sales representatives can have a big impact on what drugs they prescribe, according to two U.S. studies published on Monday.

"Physicians underestimate their own vulnerability. They think they are smarter ... but they are not trained in recognizing this kind of manipulation," said Adriane Fugh-Berman, a Georgetown University Medical Center researcher and co-author of one of the studies.

Source: Posing as pals, drug reps sway doctors' choices | Science & Health | Reuters

Read More

Linking medical data: hospitals join electronic sharing of patients' records

 

“A lot of times patients are unable to give us all the information for a recent visit that they’ve had at the hospital,” he said. “Previously, we had to get records from that outside hospital through their medical records department, which may be closed.

“They may be able to get us that information 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours later.” Now, when a patient comes in from a regional hospital, Ferris only has to sit down at a computer, type in the patient’s name and press a button. “We’re able to get the information so much faster, and the information we get is more accurate,” Ferris said.The WNC Data Link system connects electronic medical records from hospitals across the region through a secured Internet connection, allowing doctors to access a patient’s information at the click of a mouse. “It has expanded access to medical information dramatically for these patients when they come into the emergency room,” Ferris said.

Connecting hospitals                   

Dr. Julian Ferris works on the Data Link computer at Mission Hospitals St. Joseph campus emergency room Thursday. The Data Link project links patient medical records electronically to hospitals across the region.                                                                   

Gary Bowers, executive director of the WNC Health Network, said the WNC Data Link system grew out of the vision of the chief information officers at hospitals around the region.“They have great electronic records systems, but, generally, they don’t talk to one another,” he said.

Source: CITIZEN-TIMES.com: Linking medical data: More WNC hospitals join electronic sharing of patients' records

Read More

U.S. Wonders if Drug Data Was Accurate - Zyprexa

 

“The F.D.A. continues to explore the concerns raised recently regarding information provided to the F.D.A. on Zyprexa’s safety,” Dr. Mitchell Mathis, a deputy director in the psychiatry division of the agency’s center for drug evaluation and research, said.

Source: U.S. Wonders if Drug Data Was Accurate - New York Times

Read More

Number Of Orphan Drugs Increases, But Costs High For Consumers

 

The Hartford Courant on Sunday examined orphan drugs -- those that treat disorders affecting fewer than 200,000 people -- which are "one of the fastest-growing areas in pharmaceuticals" and can be "extraordinarily costly" for consumers. The drugs often are extremely expensive because they are developed for a small pool of patients and "because developing any new medication is a long, risky and costly undertaking," the Courant reports. The pharmaceutical industry estimates that the cost of developing a drug costs $800 million from inception to human clinical trials, and only 30% of experimental drugs ever receive FDA approval. As a result, "when it comes time to affix a price to an orphan drug, companies are eager to recoup their investment quickly," the Courant reports. The increase in orphan drug development activity can be attributed to a 1983 federal law that offers tax breaks and market exclusivity for such products, as well as the "realization by smaller pharmaceutical companies that the drugs represent a lucrative entrepreneurial niche," according to the Courant.

Source: Number Of Orphan Drugs Increases, But Costs High For Consumers

Read More

Digital Signatures coming soon to the Medical Business

 

That simple fact can have major effects on cost reduction, customer satisfaction and higher ROI. CIC Electronic Signature solutions enable a legally binding, compliant, paperless business process for many different industries including:

• Healthcare—HIPAA and other privacy requirements dictate that consumer medical information be protected against access by unauthorized individuals. Electronic signature solutions from CIC can help ensure that your healthcare solutions go that last step in protecting the information in a paperless environment.
• ePrescriptions—Fraud is rampant in the prescription marketplace. Paperless electronic solutions supported by CIC Electronic Signature solutions can make significant inroads to eliminating the problem.
• Government procurement—Paperwork reduction is the government’s mantra. With CIC Electronic Signature solutions, secure, electronic, paperless contract processes can be a reality.
• Materials transportation and tracking—CIC Electronic Signature solutions enable solutions that make electronic bills of lading, and material and inventory tracking secure and trustworthy.
• Contracts management—Secure, non-repudable, paperless, electronic contracts can only be effectively implemented if electronic signatures are part of the solution.
• Consumer purchases—the laws have changed for signatures and capturing just an image is no longer enough to insure dispute resolution of consumer transactions.

Here's an example right here in Orange County with the Planning Division implementing tablets with e-signatures.  BD

"The browserbased
system is accessible from the department’s
intranet, and clients have access via the Internet.
A key strategy of the system is to reduce or
eliminate paper and hard-copy filing systems.
Therefore, the PDSD is beginning to create and
sign documents digitally, storing them in a central
database. The technology behind the system
is Adobe Acrobat software, Adobe Portable
Document Format (PDF), Java, Java Server Pages,
CIC Sign-It for Adobe Acrobat software, and
Wacom signature tablets.
contained legal documents."

Source:  http://www.cic.com/solutions/others/

Read More

Scientists Discover New Virus Responsible For Post Transplant Deaths

 

Three patients who died after receiving transplanted organs from the same donor in Australia were all infected with a previously unknown virus. Researchers at the Greene Infectious Disease Laboratory of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and colleagues in the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia, with the help of 454 Life Sciences, identified that the virus seems to be related to a well-known culprit of post transplant infections:

Over 30,000 organ transplants are performed in the U.S. each year. Knowledge of the genetic sequence of this virus will enable improvements in screening that will enhance the safety of transplantation.

Press release: Scientists Discover New Virus Responsible For Deaths of 3 Transplant Recipients From Single Donor In Victoria, Australia ...

Source: Scientists Discover New Virus Responsible For Post Transplant Deaths
by Michael

Read More

Tax Provision Would Reduce Medicare Payments To Providers

 

Hospitals and small physician practices that obtain a significant amount of their revenue from Medicare reimbursements "stand to be the hardest hit" by a "little-known provision" included in a 2005 federal tax law, the Wichita Eagle reports. Under Section 511 of the 2005 Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act, the federal government by 2011 must withhold 3% of payments to all businesses that pay taxes and contract with the government. David Busatti, CFO of Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kan., said, "You already have physicians unwilling to take Medicare patients or are capping them because of (low) Medicare reimbursements, and this certainly will exacerbate the problem. Then you're talking about a critical access problem ... and sicker patients ending up in the emergency room. Hospitals, especially (rural) hospitals, could end up in very bad shape." Chip Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals, last month testified before Congress that the provision "will require a total overhaul of the local, state and federal government reimbursement systems in order to comply." Lawmakers in both the Senate and the House have introduced bills that would repeal the provision

Source: Tax Provision Would Reduce Medicare Payments To Providers

Read More

FDA OKs Generic Ambien

 

The following 13 manufacturers have received FDA approval for zolpidem tartrate tablets: Mylan Pharmaceuticals, TEVA Pharmaceuticals USA, Roxane Laboratories, Watson Laboratories, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Apotex, Synthon Pharmaceuticals, Genpharm, Mutual Pharmaceutical Company, Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Carlsbad Technology, and Lek Pharmaceuticals.

Source: FDA OKs Generic Ambien - Sleep Disorders including, Sleep Apnea, Narcolepsy, Insomnia, Snoring and Nightmares

Read More

Physicians Should Be Able To Review Performance Ratings Before Release

A policy paper and principles assuring that physicians are given the opportunity to comment on performance ratings that they believe are inaccurate were adopted this week by the American College of Physicians (ACP) at its annual meeting. The principles, part of the paper Developing a Fair Process Through Which Physicians Participating in Performance Measurement Programs Can Request a Reconsideration of Their Ratings, also address performance ratings that do not take into account the characteristics of the practice or patient population being treated prior to the release of ratings to the public.
ACP is host to 6,000 physicians for Internal Medicine 2007 from April 19-21 at the San Diego Convention Center.
Accurate reports of physician performance will allow physicians to effectively assess and improve their performance, and enable consumers and purchasers to make informed decisions concerning treatments, coverage and the quality of care. The principles, ACP says, should be considered in tandem with other organizational principles on developing measures; sharing, aggregating, and reporting data; and the ethics of physician performance measurement.
ACP has stated in previous position papers that programs measuring physician performance should operate in a fair, objective and scientifically sound manner. Performance data should be used for public reporting or to determine physician payment only after data are fully adjusted for case-mix composition, including age, severity of illness, co-morbidities, and other features of a physician's practice and patient population that may influence the results.

Source: Physicians Should Be Able To Review Performance Ratings Before Release, USA

Read More

AARP, UnitedHealth, Aetna create new health plans

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Apr 17 - The influential organization for the elderly AARP has expanded its line of health insurance plans for older Americans in conjunction with UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Aetna Inc., AARP said on Tuesday.

AARP and UnitedHealth, which already offer a number of joint insurance plans, will add a Medicare Advantage managed care plan with prescription drug benefits for people who qualify for Medicare.

AARP's new arrangement with UnitedHealth is expected to bring in an extra $22 million a year in royalties for the group, which said it could not comment on what the deal was worth to the insurer. It also said it aimed to boost current enrollment from 7 million AARP members in the insurer's various plans to 14 million by 2014.

AARP has about 38 million members overall.

Source: AARP, UnitedHealth, Aetna Offer New Health Plans

Read More

Wal-Mart Sees Medical Clinic Boom in Retail Stores

 

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) Apr 13 - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is forecasting more than 6,600 in-store medical clinics will open their doors in the next five years in retailers nationwide, a company official said on Thursday.

"I think it's an indication of how bullish individuals (chief executives of clinics and retailers) are," Alicia Ledlie, senior director for Wal-Mart's health business development, said at a health care retailers convention in Orlando.

With 75 clinics in Wal-Mart stores in 12 states, the company has ended its pilot program and plans a faster roll-out of additional clinics nationwide.

Source: Wal-Mart Sees Medical Clinic Boom in Retail Stores

Read More

Hospital, Upset Over Claims Denials, Accuses HMO of Racketeering

 

Its members are suing two of the region's largest health insurers, claiming each tried to weasel out of paying for millions of dollars in patient care.

In the latest suit, filed last week, the Brooklyn-based Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center accused the 1.3 million-member Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York of engaging in an illegal conspiracy to routinely reject valid claims.

Brookdale's chief executive, David Rosen, said the managed care company refused to pay for more than 1 of every 5 days its patients spent at the hospital last year. Often, those rejections were on the grounds that the treatment was not medically necessary.

The lawsuit said many of those denials were baseless, and it cited the example of one patient who spent 11 days at Brookdale after having surgery for a malignant brain tumor.

The gravely ill woman suffered from brain swelling and organ failure and was fed through a tube during her hospital stay. But, according to the lawsuit, the HMO ultimately refused to pay for her final eight days of care, saying "the patient was medically stable.''

Source: N.Y. Hospital, Upset Over Claims Denials, Accuses HMO of Racketeering

Read More

How an Email Rant Jolted a Big HMO

 

A 22-Year-Old's Tirade
Made Trouble for Kaiser;
Mr. Deal Got Fired, Famous

By RHONDA L. RUNDLE
April 24, 2007; Page A1

LOS ANGELES -- On a Friday morning last November, Justen Deal, a 22-year-old Kaiser Permanente employee here, blasted an email throughout the giant health maintenance organization. His message charged that HealthConnect -- the company's ambitious $4 billion project to convert paper files into electronic medical records -- was a mess.

In a blistering 2,000-word treatise, Mr. Deal wrote: "We're spending recklessly, to the tune of over $1.5 billion in waste every year, primarily on HealthConnect, but also on other inefficient and ineffective information technology projects." He did not stop there. Mr. Deal cited what he called the "misleadership" of Kaiser Chief Executive George Halvorson and other top managers, who he said were jeopardizing the company's ability to provide quality care.

"For me, this isn't just an issue of saving money," he wrote. "It could very well become an issue of making sure our physicians and nurses have the tools they need to save lives."

Source: Critical Case: How an Email Rant Jolted a Big HMO - WSJ.com

Read More

Captain America Arrested With Burrito In Pants

 Family MD blowing off a little steam?  BD

MELBOURNE, Fla. -- A Brevard County doctor dressed up in a Captain America outfit was arrested with a burrito in his tights. What he allegedly did at the police station got him into more trouble.

Doctor Raymond Adamcik, 54, would probably rather forget about the weekend when he was arrested on charges of battery, disorderly conduct, drug possession and trying to destroy evidence. It's not what you would expect from a doctor or Captain America.

The Palm Bay family physician was at On Tap bar as part of a pub-crawl with other medical professionals. It was a sort of costume party on a bus that would take them around from bar to bar.

Everything was fine until, witnesses said, Captain America started getting too forward with a burrito he kept tucked inside his blue tights, a burrito that ultimately landed him in jail.

Source: Captain America Arrested With Burrito In Pants - News Story - WFTV Orlando

Read More

Mandatory tablet splitting

I came across my first instance of an insurance company requiring a patient to split tablets about a month ago. One of our regulars has recently switched to a new doctor, and the doctor is adjusting doses on his various therapies. In any case, the doc prescribed citalopram 20mg qd #30, but the insurer (UnitedHealth for the win!) would only pay for citalopram 40 ½ tab qd #15.

What the hell is with that? You’re going to make a guy with acid reflux, anxiety, depression, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, BPH, and T2DM split his fricken tablets?? Are you kidding me? This guy can barely remember all the medical conditions he has, nevermind what pills he takes at what time for which condition. (There’s about 15 meds in all that he takes on a daily basis.

Source: Mandatory tablet splitting :: OnThePharm

Read More

Desktop & Mobile - RIM Around the Rosies, Pocket Full of Posies

Can't beat them...join them I guess....good move on the part of RIM.  BD 

Microsoft's Windows Mobile team should declare a holiday. RIM is supporting Microsoft's mobile operating system, even if by supplanting one user interface with another.

Earlier today, RIM announced support for Windows Mobile 6 devices in a surprising usurpation of Microsoft's software. The forthcoming Blackberry Application Suite will come with an application that recreates the look and feel of RIM's device software and major features.

No doubt some folks at Microsoft will balk at RIM pushing aside the Windows Mobile 6's UI, even if just temporarily, to mimic a competing product. But RIM's forthcoming software suite should also smell of sweet victory for Microsoft.

With Windows Mobile 5, Microsoft introduced corporate, RIM-like push-to-mail features from Exchange Server 2003. In early 2005, most businesses running Exchange Server had yet to move to version 2003. Two years later, there are many more Exchange Server 2003 installations, and version 2007 is available.

For all the snappy-looking Blackberries out there, many more devices run Windows Mobile software. In a change from past upgrades a number of U.S. carriers will provide Windows Mobile 6 upgrades for version 5 devices like Samsung's BlackJack. Numbers favor Microsoft, whether Exchange Server on the back end or Windows Mobile on the device.

Source: Microsoft Watch - Desktop & Mobile - RIM Around the Rosies, Pocket Full of Posies

Read More

A City Goes Tablet PC for Building Inspectors...

 

The City of Corvallis, Oregon, has gone Tablet PC with its building permit process. Applications and payment in the process can now be done 24 hours a day. Designed to eliminate paperwork and save time and money, the on-line process allows residents to monitor the status of projects.

With the new PC tablets, inspection reports are automatically uploaded to computers so staff members won’t have to type them in, said Craig Perkins, city electrical inspector.
“I’ve had this tablet since about November,” Perkins said, as he gave a demonstration of the unit at the CoHo Ecovillage development site in south Corvallis last week. “There’s a little learning curve. It’s actually pretty cool. It’s made my life a little bit easier.”
He showed how the PC tablet can pull out sections of the building code and plug those directly into e-mails.
Tom Day, construction superintendent of Legend Homes, looks forward to getting e-mails instead of searching job sites for written inspection cards at 5 p.m.
“I’m building houses instead of running around,” he said.

This only makes sense, and I’m betting we’ll see more and more of this in the future.

Source: A City Goes Tablet PC

Read More

Possible Contamination and Malfunction of Heart Valves and Valve Conduits, Annuloplasty Rings, Surgical Grafts, Meshes and Other Devices Manufactured by Shelhigh, Inc.

Issued : April 18, 2007

Dear Healthcare Practitioner:

This is to notify you that all medical devices manufactured by Shelhigh, Inc. of Union, N.J. were manufactured under conditions that may have contaminated the devices and may result in devices that fail to function for the expected life of the products. We are also recommending actions that could help minimize risks to patients.
Background

FDA’s inspections of Shelhigh, Inc. revealed significant manufacturing problems that included improper sterilization and extension of expiration dates for the firm’s medical devices. The FDA has seized all the medical devices at the Union, N.J. manufacturing plant (http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01612.html).

To identify a Shelhigh device, we recommend that you first check for the manufacturer’s name and address (Shelhigh, Inc., currently located at 650 Liberty Avenue, Union, New Jersey 07083; and, previously located at 67-71 East Willow Street, Milburn, NJ 07041), which we believe are consistently displayed on the device packaging. Below are some brand names known by FDA of medical devices manufactured by Shelhigh, Inc., including those that have not been cleared/approved by FDA:

* Shelhigh BioRing™ (annuloplasty ring)
* Shelhigh Gold™ perforated patches
* Shelhigh Internal Mammary Artery
* Shelhigh No-React® Dura Shield
* Shelhigh No-React® EnCuff Patch
* Shelhigh No-React® Pericardial Patch
* Shelhigh No-React® PneumoPledgets
* Shelhigh No-React® VascuPatch
* Shelhigh No-React® Stentless Valve Conduit
* Shelhigh No-React® Tissue Repair Patch/UroPatch™
* Shelhigh Pericardial Patch
* Shelhigh Pre Curved Aortic Patch (Open)
* Shelhigh Pulmonic Valve Conduit No-React® Treated
* Shelhigh BioConduit™ stentless valve
* Shelhigh BioMitral™ tricuspid valve
* Shelhigh Injectable Pulmonic Valve System
* Shelhigh MitroFast ® Mitral Valve Repair System
* Shelhigh NR2000 SemiStented™ aortic tricuspid valve
* Shelhigh NR900A tricuspid valve

Recommendations

1. Consider using alternative devices.

2. We recommend that you assess the overall health status of each patient implanted with a Shelhigh, Inc. device, and provide the testing, monitoring and care that is appropriate considering each patient’s individual case. The following information will help with your assessment:

* Shelhigh, Inc. received FDA’s clearance to market medical devices beginning in 1997.
* We are aware of published reports of premature (accelerated) failure associated with some Shelhigh devices.
* A Shelhigh device could potentially be contaminated with bacteria, fungi, and endotoxin.

3. You may wish to provide to your patients the FDA’s Preliminary Advice For Patients (http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/medicaldevicesafety/atp/041807-shelhigh.html).

Read More

Lilly Drops Its Prescription Assistance Program for the Poor

 

In a little-noticed move, Lilly has dropped “Lilly Answers,” its Patient Assistance Program for people without health insurance. Merrill Lynch’s David Risinger noted that ending the free-drugs-for-poor-people effort may have helped goose Lilly’s 1Q numbers.

“Eli Lilly reported 1Q pro forma U.S. sales up 11% YOY, including 10% net price and 1% volume.  The net price benefit was surprising because the transition of dual eligibles (Medicaid to Medicare) annualized January 1, 2007.  We think a key factor was less free goods due to the ending of the 'Lilly Answers' patient assistance program on December 31, 2006.  Many prescriptions previously filled under that program are now covered by payers (particularly Medicare Part D), which boosts realized net price dramatically in some cases (i.e. Forteo).”

Source: http://www.brandweeknrx.com/2007/04/lilly_drops_its.html

Read More

St. Jude Medical - FDA Approval of Internet Based Data Management for Implantable Cardiac Devices

 

Merlin(TM).net Patient Care Network is First Cardiac Rhythm

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2007--St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Merlin.net Patient Care Network, (PCN), an Internet-based central repository for patient device data that enables physicians and clinicians to connect directly to their patients' stored device data at any time, from anywhere, that Internet access is available.

Merlin.net PCN collects data from implant procedures, remote transmissions and in-clinic follow-up sessions. With immediate access to patient information through the secure Merlin.net PCN website, physicians can monitor and assess patient device data and determine the level of care needed remotely. Patients can send data directly to physicians using Merlin.net PCN from the comfort of their own home via the currently available Housecall Plus(TM) portable transmitter. Merlin.net PCN supports all currently marketed Atlas(R) and Epic(R) family implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-D) device families in the United States.

Source: St. Jude Medical | News Releases

Read More