Aim Is to Cut Lupus Disparities
The Department of the Health and Human Services and the American College of Rheumatology are teaming up to ensure that minority women, who are the most likely to be affected by lupus, receive early diagnosis and treatment for the autoimmune disease. As part of the effort, a group of international experts on lupus is recrafting lupus curricula to suggest to medical, nursing, and health professional schools. The ACR also will develop tools to help practicing clinicians provide early diagnoses in at-risk groups. Women are 6-10 times as likely as men to have lupus, and minority women are 2-3 times as likely as white women to have the diseases. Dr. Elena Rios of the National Hispanic Medical Association commented in a statement, “To reach the people who need it most, we must work to educate health care teams and be sensitive to cultural differences, ensuring that appropriate messages about lupus are delivered in the most effective way.”
FDA Issues Warning on Gel Ads
The Food and Drug Administration has warned the drugmaker Novartis that a promotional e-mail directed at consumers overstated the efficacy of Voltaren Gel (diclofenac sodium topical gel). In its April 14 letter, the FDA said that the promotional e-mail also minimized the risks of Voltaren Gel and implied that it had a broader indication than the FDA had approved. Specifically, the e-mail told consumers that the gel could keep osteoarthritis joint pain from “interrupting your days ahead.” But the FDA said there isn't evidence that Voltaren Gel improves activities of daily living. The FDA letter also takes the company to task for putting the efficacy claims in large print and easy-to-understand language, while the risk information is at the bottom of the e-mail in small type and complex medical terms. A Novartis Consumer Health spokeswoman said the company is reviewing the letter and plans to work with the FDA to address the concerns.
State Medical Board Actions Up
State medical boards took 5,721 actions against physicians in 2009, an increase of 342 (or more than 6%) over 2008, according to a report from the Federation of State Medical Boards. Meanwhile, an analysis by the advocacy group Public Citizen found that the rate of serious disciplinary actions rose slightly in 2009 but still sits about 18% lower than the peak rate of 2004. Minnesota ranked last in disciplining physicians, Public Citizen said, and Maryland, South Carolina, and Wisconsin also consistently rank among the bottom 10 states. Arizona, Alaska, Kentucky, North Dakota, and Ohio discipline the most physicians, the group said. “There is considerable evidence that most boards are under-disciplining physicians,” Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, said in a statement. “Most states are not living up to their obligations to protect patients from doctors who are practicing medicine in a substandard manner.”
Pfizer Paid $35M in 6 Months
Pfizer Inc., the latest drug manufacturer to disclose physician payments, said it paid approximately $20 million to 4,500 physicians and other health care professionals for consulting and speaking services between July and December 2009. Pfizer also said it paid $15.3 million to 250 academic medical centers and other researchers to fund clinical trials in the last 6 months of 2009. The Pfizer disclosures were required by an integrity agreement the company signed last year to settle a federal investigation into promotion of off-label uses of drugs. Pfizer is the first major pharmaceutical company to disclose clinical trial payments, although drug maker GlaxoSmithKline has said it will begin publishing payments made to researchers in 2011.
Governor Signs Meth Law
Alabama Gov. Bob Riley (R) has signed a law intended to help law enforcement officials quickly track excessive purchases of pseudoephedrine, the chief ingredient used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The law creates a new electronic database in an effort to modernize logs that already are kept on paper, making it possible to instantly track excessive purchases of pseudoephedrine. Every pharmacy or retailer selling ephedrine or pseudoephedrine products will be required to enter the purchaser's identifying information into an electronic database prior to any sale. The database then will notify the seller if the purchaser has exceeded the daily or monthly limit for such purchases.
Report Urges Relaxed E-Rules
The federal government could better foster use of electronic medical records if it relaxed its “meaningful use” standards, according to a market analysis firm. That standard requires physicians, hospitals, and other health professionals to meet 25 wide-ranging criteria for how they use EMRs in order to be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. The report by Kalorama Information said that the stringent requirements could limit sales of new EMR systems. “Getting physicians used to these systems is the challenge to a totally paperless health care system in the United States, and we think gradual, achievable goals would be preferable,” Bruce Carlson of Kalorama Information said in a statement. Some members of Congress also have backed less-stringent meaningful use requirements for both physicians and hospitals.