Obama Should Consider Canadian Health Care System ‘Hardships’ When Developing Overhaul Plan, Editorial States

President Obama and congressional Democrats last week took a “first step … toward government-run health insurance” with the enactment of a law to reauthorize and expand CHIP, but they should consider “Canada’s experience” before “proceeding further,” Nadeem Esmail, director of Health System Performance Studies at the Fraser Institute, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

He writes, “Health care resources are not unlimited in any country … and must be rationed either by price or time,” and as a result, when “individuals bear no direct responsibility to paying for their care, as in Canada, that care is rationed by waiting.” Esmail cites several “constitutional challenges” filed by Canadian patients placed on waiting lists for health care that “share a common goal: to win Canadians the freedom to spend their own money to protect themselves from the inadequacies of the government health insurance system.”

FDA Approves Orphan Drug ATryn To Treat Rare Clotting Disorder

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its first approval for a biological product produced by genetically engineered (GE) animals.

The approval is for ATryn, an anticoagulant used for the prevention of blood clots in patients with a rare disease known as hereditary antithrombin (AT) deficiency. These patients are at high risk of blood clots during medical interventions, such as surgery, and before, during and after childbirth.

Pfizer To Disclose All Payments Over $500 Made To Medical Personnel Who Prescribe Drugs

Pfizer on Monday announced plans to begin to report certain payments to physicians and other medical personnel as the pharmaceutical industry “has come under fresh fire for its undue influence and could face toughened legislation,” the Wall Street Journal reports (Johnson, Wall Street Journal, 2/10). As part of the new policy, Pfizer next year will begin to disclose all payments of more than $500 to physicians, physician assistants, nurses and other medical personnel who can prescribe medications.

Thyroxine Is The Only Treatment For Primary Hypothyroidism

New guidelines on the diagnosis and management of primary hypothyroidism state that thyroxine is the only treatment that should be given for this condition, which is caused by underactivity of the thyroid gland. Symptoms include tiredness, muscle cramps and sensitivity to cold.

The guidelines also state that the only validated method of testing thyroid function is on blood, which must include serum TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and a measure of free thyroxine (T4).

Obama Should Consider Canadian Health Care System ‘Hardships’ When Developing Overhaul Plan, Editorial States

President Obama and congressional Democrats last week took a “first step … toward government-run health insurance” with the enactment of a law to reauthorize and expand CHIP, but they should consider “Canada’s experience” before “proceeding further,” Nadeem Esmail, director of Health System Performance Studies at the Fraser Institute, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

He writes, “Health care resources are not unlimited in any country … and must be rationed either by price or time,” and as a result, when “individuals bear no direct responsibility to paying for their care, as in Canada, that care is rationed by waiting.” Esmail cites several “constitutional challenges” filed by Canadian patients placed on waiting lists for health care that “share a common goal: to win Canadians the freedom to spend their own money to protect themselves from the inadequacies of the government health insurance system.”

Bayer Reaches Settlement With 27 Attorneys General Over Misleading Birth Control Ads

German pharmaceutical company Bayer on Monday agreed to conduct a $20 million corrective advertising program for its oral contraceptive Yaz and submit future television advertisements to FDA for approval as part of a settlement between the drug maker and 27 state attorneys general, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said on Monday, Reuters reports. The judgment resolves allegations that the 2008 marketing campaign for Yaz violated terms of a 2007 agreement by not disclosing the drug’s FDA-approved uses (Clarke, Reuters, 2/9). According to the AP/Arizona Republic, the attorneys general alleged that Bayer misled women by claiming that Yaz helped alleviate premenstrual syndrome and treat certain types of acne (Rough, AP/Arizona Republic, 2/10). Reuters reports that the 2007 agreement involved allegations that Bayer engaged in deceptive advertising.

Antibiotics

Question:

i have flagyl and it expired on 2/03/09 can i take this? i took one already when i noticed it was expired. is it fatal or does it lose it potency?

Answer:

Flagyl is a brand name for the drug metronidazole. The expiration dates on drugs such as Flagyl ensure the strength of the drug.  Using an expired drug is unlikely to cause harm but the drug may not work for the intended purpose. Solid dosage forms, including tablets and capsules, are effected by light, moisture, and temperature. Improper storage can cause the drug to lose potency.

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Health Issues In State Of The State Addresses

The following highlights health issues mentioned in governors’ recent state of the state addresses.
Kentucky: In his Feb. 4 speech, Gov. Steve Beshear (D) said his proposal to fill the state’s $456 million budget shortfall “clearly articulates priorities for investment” in “basic health care for our most vulnerable populations,” among other things. He said that providing health care “is not only a moral obligation but one that carries economic return.” He added, “But to protect our priorities we need the targeted application of new revenue, which I propose we obtain by significantly increasing our tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.” According to Beshear, Kentucky has “a cigarette tax which is the fourth-lowest in the entire nation,” but “the health toll of smoking is devastating.” He said, “We spend $1.5 billion a year on health problems related to smoking, including $487 million in Medicaid costs alone — a cost, ironically, that more than matches our current shortfall.” Beshear said, “The people of this state overwhelmingly support a significant increase in tobacco taxes” (Beshear speech text, 2/4).

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Health Issues In State Of The State Addresses

The following highlights health issues mentioned in governors’ recent state of the state addresses.
Kentucky: In his Feb. 4 speech, Gov. Steve Beshear (D) said his proposal to fill the state’s $456 million budget shortfall “clearly articulates priorities for investment” in “basic health care for our most vulnerable populations,” among other things. He said that providing health care “is not only a moral obligation but one that carries economic return.” He added, “But to protect our priorities we need the targeted application of new revenue, which I propose we obtain by significantly increasing our tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.” According to Beshear, Kentucky has “a cigarette tax which is the fourth-lowest in the entire nation,” but “the health toll of smoking is devastating.” He said, “We spend $1.5 billion a year on health problems related to smoking, including $487 million in Medicaid costs alone — a cost, ironically, that more than matches our current shortfall.” Beshear said, “The people of this state overwhelmingly support a significant increase in tobacco taxes” (Beshear speech text, 2/4).

Brain-Injured Patients Can Relearn Emotions, And Regain Ability To Understand Facial Expressions

The visitor in Barry Willer’s office at the University at Buffalo was frustrated and deeply depressed. The man’s wife had sustained a relatively mild traumatic brain injury, and he was doing all he could to support her. But despite his best efforts, the man’s wife described him to friends as being “indifferent.” He was at his wits end.

Willer, UB professor of psychiatry and a specialist in traumatic brain injury (TBI), listened to this scenario with great interest. He was pilot testing a computer-based diagnostic and treatment program he and a graduate student had developed for brain-injured adults to help them regain their emotional lives.