Genomics, Health Disparities Center
The National Institutes of Health has established the Intramural Center for Genomics and Health Disparities to study how populations are affected by conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. The center will collect and analyze genetic, clinical, lifestyle, and socioeconomic data to study a range of clinical conditions. The center will be headed by genetic epidemiologist Charles N. Rotimi, Ph.D., former director of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University, Washington. “This new center will be an NIH resource to help move research related to the complex factors underlying health disparities into the 21st century,” NIH Director Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni said in a statement. Dr. Rotimi said “the availability of tremendous expertise and the remarkable research infrastructure at NIH will make our research activities more robust and will allow us to tackle questions in ways that were not feasible in the past.”
Rx Abuse Worries Americans
The abuse of prescription drugs is as big a problem as the abuse of illegal drugs, according to respondents to a Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive poll. Even so, less than half of those surveyed said they keep prescription medicines in a place whether others can't access them. Seventy percent said they were somewhat or very concerned about the risk of addiction associated with some prescription pain medications. The vast majority of the 2,027 adults surveyed voiced the same level of concern about drug side effects and potentially harmful interactions between pain medications and other prescriptions. About 60% of the respondents said they discuss with their physician other prescriptions they are taking when they are prescribed a new medication. Smaller numbers said they told their physician about over-the-counter medications or nutritional supplements.
Woodcock Named CDER Head
Dr. Janet Woodcock has been named director of the Federal Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Dr. Woodcock, a rheumatologist, served as director of CDER once before, in the 1990s, and has served as acting director since October 2007. The drug industry's chief lobbying group, PhRMA said it welcomed the appointment. Dr. Woodcock “has demonstrated willingness to work with diverse partners, including researchers, Congress, the White House, patients, and pharmaceutical research companies,” said a statement from the group. But Public Citizen's health research group director Dr. Sidney Wolfe said in an interview that he is “not terribly hopeful” that Dr. Woodcock will lead the center well, because she doesn't like conflict or controversy. “I don't think she's the kind of CDER director we need right now,” Dr. Wolfe said. “She is aware of a number of drugs on the market that should be taken off the market, but I don't think she has the fortitude to do something about it.” CDER is charged with assuring that safe and effective drugs—including prescription, over-the-counter, and generic products—are available to Americans.
Physicians Respond to Medicare Pay
The current uncertainty about Medicare payments to physicians is causing practices to postpone hiring staff, postpone investments in new technology, or even stop accepting new Medicare patients, according to a survey from the Medical Group Management Association. For example, 46% of respondents said that in light of the 10.6% cut in Medicare payments expected in July, they will refuse to accept new Medicare patients or limit the number of new Medicare patients. Nearly 28% said they would limit the number of appointments for Medicare patients. The pending cut could also affect the implementation of health IT systems, including e-prescribing. More than 60% of respondents said that they were more likely to postpone purchasing decisions related to e-prescribing because of the Medicare payment situation. The results are based on responses from more than 1,000 group practices, according to MGMA.
Amputations Up for Hispanics
The hospitalization rate for adult Hispanics for diabetes-related foot or leg amputations greatly increased between 2001 and 2004, according to recent data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The rate rose from 63 admissions per 100,000 Hispanics in 2001 to nearly 80 admissions per 100,000 in 2004. During the same period, the diabetes-related amputation rate for white patients remained steady at about 28-31 admissions per 100,000 people, and among blacks decreased slightly from 113 per 100,000 people to about 104 admissions per 100,000 people. Overall, about 86,000 Americans underwent diabetes-related amputations in 2004.