Via FuturePundit, I see that a recent open access paper outlines the results of applied cancer research over the past four decades. Declining Death Rates Reflect Progress against Cancer The success of the "war on cancer" initiated in 1971 continues to be debated, with trends in cancer mortality variably presented as evidence of progress or failure. We examined temporal trends in death rates from all-cancer and the 19 most common cancers in the United States from 1970-2006. ... Progr...

By Matthew Holt I met with Bob Quinn the CTO and Geoff Rutledge, the CMO, of Epocrates at HIMSS last week. The company has a big footprint in mobile (and web) reference content for physicians. The big news is that...

By BOB WACHTER One of my interns was “running the list” with me last week (giving me a thumbnail update on the plans for each of our inpatients). It was standard stuff until he got to Ms. X, a 80ish-year-old...

Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office joined a federal lawsuit yesterday that contends that Johnson & Johnson paid tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks to get its drugs, especially the powerful antipsychotic Risperdal, prescribed in nursing homes. The action was taken as Coakley’s office disclosed that it is also scrutinizing companies that market antipsychotics to Massachusetts nursing homes. These drugs are widely used in some homes for residents suffer...

A preliminary ruling by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority says AstraZeneca broke advertising rules by failing to accurately reflect the side-effects of its antipsychotic Seroquel.The policing arm of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has allegedly found the Anglo-Swiss drugmaker to be in breach of the Code on three counts, with claims made in an ad – published in the British Journal of Psychiatry in 2004 - that Seroquel (quetiapine) has a favourable w...

Documents from a lawsuit by the state of Louisiana accusing J&J of off-label marketing shed fresh light on the company's long-standing desire to broaden the market for Risperdal beyond the ailments listed initially on the label—psychotic disorders linked to schizophrenia. J&J disclosed the documents from the suit, filed in the Opelousas district court in September 2004, after Bloomberg News asked the court to unseal them. The case is scheduled to go to trial in September. As early...

By Matthew Holt Allscirpts' CEO Glen Tullman has had a good year. Allscripts' stock is up four-fold, sales are going well and some people think that ARRA/HITECH's fillup to the healthcare IT industry is mostly his doing--he was an early...

By Matthew Holt RememberItNow! is a feisty little start-up that's aiming at the medication reminder/management space. I like the feature set and the approach, and I hope the Pam Swigley the engaging CEO gets some traction. It’s launching officially on...

Mr. Obama said the auditors would have an incentive to find improper payments because they would receive a small percentage of the savings. “It’s estimated that improper payments cost taxpayers almost $100 billion last year alone,” he said. “If we created a Department of Improper Payments, it would actually be one of the biggest departments in our government.” The auditors — whom some White House officials are already referring to as “bounty hunters” — would have high-tech...

http://www.hcsmeucamp.com/

A patient wants to know about symptoms she may have from a prescription drug she is taking. Consulting the label's "Adverse Reactions" section, she finds a wealth of data. Little does she realize that this information, largely collected during clinical trials, is based almost entirely on clinicians' impressions of patients' symptoms — not on patients' own firsthand reports of their experiences with the drug.via content.nejm.org Posted via web from Jack's posterous

Bisphosphonates are commonly prescribed to treat osteoporosis and are designed to build bone mass. Drugs in the class include Actonel, marketed by Sanofi Aventis SA and Procter & Gamble Co.; Boniva, marketed by Roche Holding AG and GlaxoSmithKline PLC; and Merck & Co.'s Fosamax.Posted via web from Jack's posterousvia online.wsj.comA bone expert once said to me: "what if these drugs make bones harder, but not necessarily stronger?"Two studies presented Wednesday at the Ameri...

To follow on from a recent post on medical tourism for stem cell therapies, I though I'd note the pace of development in Asia. The medical industry in countries like India, Malaysia, Vietnam, and so forth is in many ways more energetic than in the West. It is certainly less burdened by regulation, and that makes all the difference in the long run. For so long as it costs less to achieve the same goals, the level of growth will be greater, and that difference will compound year after year. Hea...

"The jury of 12 believed Ms. Breeden and disbelieved the executives of Novartis in arriving at this verdict. She was committed to her job, but her employer questioned her commitment. No employee should have to choose between having a family or keeping their job, and this jury verdict will help teach that lesson to all employers covered by the FMLA."via healthnewsdigest.com Posted via web from Jack's posterous

via nj.com Posted via web from Jack's posterous

Do you work for a small business in Colorado? Most Coloradans do! John Hickenlooper started as a small business owner. He brewed beer. His brewpub biz got so big that he forgot what it's like to work for or own a small business. Indeed, he forgot what it's like to own a business. John Hickenlooper became a government union man! He went where the campaign contributions are—the executive suites of Colorado's unions. Now John Hickenlooper wants you to pay higher taxes. He's drunk with...

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via guardian.co.uk Posted via web from Jack's posterous

By Lisa Suennen All eyes are on Toyota’s recall of 8.5 million vehicles due to faulty gas pedals and brakes. The recall has sparked congressional hearings, a probe by the U.S. Department of Transportation, possible criminal charges stemming from a...

A special report on managing information: Data, data everywhere | The Economist The world contains an unimaginably vast amount of digital information which is getting ever vaster ever more rapidly. This makes it possible to do many things that previously could not be done: spot business trends, prevent diseases, combat...

From HIMSS: Collaboration and data analytics for Smarter Healthcare. Following is a guest post from IBMer Lonne Jaffe: At the HIMSS 2010 conference in Atlanta this week, the topic of improving collaboration in the healthcare industry will be front and center. At IBM, we believe software that can enable hospitals,...

Medical journals are full of research comparing new treatments to existing treatments or comparing new treatments to placebo treatments. But researchers apparently aren't keen on comparing existing treatments with each other -- despite the fact that this kind of information may be of the most immediate use to consumers. In a study published Tuesday, researchers at Keck School of Medicine at USC and Harvard, found that only 32% of medication studies published in top medical journals compared t...

By gad, sir!

The Democrats' "Amazon Tax" has put them on the defensive in Colorado's legislature where the Republican minority is demanding that the anti-small business tax be repealed immediately. Tax and spend Democrats are trying to blame Amazon, not their tax, for dropping its Colorado affiliates because of the tax. As an Amazon customer who's never bought anything on Amazon.com through an affiliate, I really don't care. As a retired small business owner who was an Amazon affiliate and found...

What Democrats don't get is that the Amazon Tax will destroy mom and pop shops and small business jobs in Colorado and across the country. It won't bring business to Colorado retailers, but it will hurt their online businesses. Amost every brick and mortar store also has a web site that sells out of state. If every state follows Colorado's lead, the cost of the software and staff needed to comply with the Amazon tax will be prohibitive for most small mom and pop shops. To comply with states'...

The New Jersey Superior Court Case (Middlesex County) of Baker v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP is now focusing on the drug manufacturer’s advertising strategy. The plaintiff in that case is alleging that he should have been better warned about the risks for weight gain and developing diabetes. On the plaintiff’s side is Dr. Wayne Geller, a former AstraZeneca employee—a global safety officer—who testified that the company rebuffed his efforts to strengthen internal documents...

PHARMACEUTICAL giant Merck is being urged to settle with hundreds of Australian heart attack victims after a Federal Court judge found the company's blockbuster drug Vioxx doubled the risk of cardiac arrest. In a landmark decision with international ramifications, judge Christopher Jessup ruled the anti-inflammatory drug was not "reasonably fit" to be on the market and the selling of it by Merck's Australian subsidiary breached the Trade Practices Act.In a 479-page...

By ROB LAMBERTS I saw a patient today and looked back at a previous note, which said the following: “stressed out due to insurance.” It didn’t surprise me, and I didn’t find it funny; I see a lot of this....

The first job of the day was to 'female slipped on ice - police on scene'. I'll admit that, at half past six in the morning my thoughts towards people, actually towards anything, are often less than charitable. 'It's not that cold', I said to my crewmate - although years of working in all weathers mean that I'm perhaps not best placed to judge, 'I bet she's found the one tiny patch of ice in Newham and fell on that'. It's the end of the financial year, and so there are roadworks and temporary...

Hat tip:http://guzzoextempore.com/

Watch here.MARCIA ANGELL: Well, if you get-- I think it was Senator Rockefeller who said, I mean, that was a wonderful comment he made in the summit last week. Senator Rockefeller referred to the private insurance companies as rapacious, rapacious, and said, "Like sharks, they swim under the water, and you don't know they're there until you feel their teeth." Now there are not many people in America who would disagree with that description and so what this plan does is says, "T...

The 10 New Meds You Need to Know

A doctor friend of mine and I were talking about our HIMSS trip and how many physicians told us were getting “sick and tired” of the business of medical practice. I spoke with a number of docs there looking to get out of medicine and into technology, marketing, management, or other fields. I thought for [...]

Metabolism, which might be broadly defined as the biochemical process of living, is absurdly complex. The way in which metabolism varies between individuals, and then changes over time with aging? Even more complex. This is one of the reasons why slowing aging by changing metabolic machinery - in effect creating a new human metabolism - looks very much like an inferior, harder path in comparison to attempts to restore the metabolism we have to the way it operates in youthful bodies. Complexit...

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has endorsed former Lt. Governor Jane Norton for the U.S. Senate. “Jane Norton is a person of principle and integrity, and I am certain she will be an exceptional representative for the citizens of this state in the U.S. Senate,” commented Suthers. “She has a proven track record of experience in tackling and solving big issues, and I believe she is the right person to stand up for Colorado’s law enforcement communi...

By Matthew Holt One of the most fun times at HIMSS last week was the MEDecision party at the Georgia aquarium. I took a few videos of the Fish and the humans—so something a little different for you all The...

A friend of mine just sent out the following note: There have been developments in the last few days that have caused CCHIT to pause “providing direction on the requirements for test step demonstration for the Interim Final Rule Stage 1 criteria. The reason is because NIST is now publishing Test Methods and Procedures on their [...]

via pharmatimes.com Posted via web from Jack's posterous

By PAUL LEVY What happens next in Massachusetts with insurance reimbursement rates now that many of the facts and figures have been made public? Here's what I see. The dominant parties in the state on whose watch the disparities in...

By MICHAEL MILLENSON The Joint Commission, which accredits four-fifths of the nation’s hospitals, is being accused of misleading consumers about the quality of care at those hospitals and then ignoring suggestions on how to correct the problem. “The organization that...

John Lynn and I spent a few hours together at HIMSS this past week and he gave me a preview of his new How to Select an EMR eBook. When he first told me about it, I figured it was yet another how to go guide with generalities and high level advice. However, as he [...]

By Amy Tenderich We have just opened the 2010 DiabetesMine Design Challenge. This year, we’ll be selecting THREE Grand Prize winners to EACH receive $7,000 in cash and a support package to help winners realize and commercialize their design ideas....

-->Eli Lilly and Co. has agreed to add four new senior positions to "promote highly ethical and compliant behaviors" as part of a settlement of two lawsuits arising from the company's illegal marketing and promotion of several drugs.The Indianapolis drugmaker also has agreed to upgrade its policies and procedures to ensure that patient safety "shall be of paramount importance," according to a government filing the company made today. Last year, Lill...

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Jimmy Lakey has dropped out of the Colorado seventh Congressional District race for the GOP's nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, Lynn Bartels reports. He cut his losses after it was learned that he had not registered to vote and that his claims that he had voted absentee couldn't be documented. Aurora Councilman Ryan Frazier remains the leading contender for the nomination. Lang Sias, Mike Sheely and Michael Demming also are running.

Fired Colorado businesses and not-for-profits that were affiliates of Amazon until Governor Bill Ritter and tax and spend Democrats in the General Assembly enacted a new tax that caused Amazon to suspend its affiliations with Colorado-based web sites are learning that the Democrats are anti-small business. That's not news. The news is that there are some outraged former affiliates of Amazon who are staging a revolt in the comment's section of the Denver Post's comment section. When we had an...

Republican gubernatorial candidate is leading Obama-Democrat Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper 48% to 42%. A month ago, Hick led McInnis 49% to 45%. Three percent of Colorado voters opt for another candidate, most likely Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes. "Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Colorado voters hold a very favorable opinion of Hickenlooper, while 13% view him very unfavorably.?McInnis is viewed very favorably by 17% and very unfavorably by 10%," according to Rasmussen....

This Wednesday, March 10th at 4:30 CET / 7:30AM PST our FREE hour long webinar series will be highlighting the upcoming Health 2.0 Europe conference with our Parisian partner, Denise Silber of Basil Strategies. Joining in the discussion and presenting...