medicines news from FierceHealthcare

Shortages of drugs used in cancer care and surgery are forcing hospitals to take desperate measures. Some hospitals revert to older medicines. While they can be as effective, because medical Read more...

Actor Dennis Quaid, whose newborn twins nearly were killed by an overdose of heparin last year, is now becoming an advocate to reduce medical errors. Quaid, at the annual meeting of the Association Read more...

A new study suggests that drug trials involving children get shockingly little oversight from outside safety monitoring groups. The study, which reviewed 739 international trials mounted between Read more...

For more than a decade, drug makers have not been required to pay much attention to the potential psychiatric side effects generated by experimental medicines. Now, however, new FDA rules will Read more...

Doctors, maybe it's worth spending a few extra moments telling patients how they should take their medicines. According to a study which will be published next week in the Annals of Internal Medicine, patients with inadequate reading skills often make mistakes with their drugs because they have trouble reading prescription labels. At greatest risk are people with below sixth-grade literacy levels and people with multiple prescriptions to manage, researchers concluded. To …

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A small but growing number of medical practices are combining religion and medicine to serve those who share similar values. At Tepeyac Family Center in Fairfax, VA, for instance, the medical staff starts every day with a prayer and religious images greet patients when they walk into the office. The doctors at Tepeyac refuse to prescribe medicines or devices, such as birth control or sterilization, which are not in line with their faith. Instead they promote natural family planning. …

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Louisiana State University and the Department of Veteran's Affairs announced a plan to build a new $1.2 billion medical center in New Orleans. The hospital will probably take over the role played by historic Charity Hospital, although no official announcement has been made yet on the older hospital. Construction is slated for October 2008. Some doctors groups have criticized the plan as unnecessary, arguing that damage to the first floor and basement of the hospital could be repaired …

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A new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente finds that spending caps on prescription drugs don't save insurers money and may end up harming the health of patients--especially those who are chronically ill. The research, which appears in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed about 200,000 Kaiser Permanente patients in Northern California who had Medicare+Choice (now referred to as Medicare Advantage). The study found that those with limits were more likely to end up …

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The Food and Drug Administration issued its annual report on pharmaceutical industry post-marketing. According to the new figures, drug companies have started only about 35 percent of the studies that they have agreed to conduct. The FDA grants fast track approval in some situations if drug makers pledge to conduct studies after new products go on the market. Critics argue that the industry does not take the obligation seriously, with the result that patient safety is often compromised. …

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The Bush administration released a much-anticipated report outlining steps it wants to take to improve the nation's disaster preparedness in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Near the top of the list is an expanded role for the department of Health and Human Services, which the White House wants to take the lead in providing medical assistance in future disasters. The report also recommends that FEMA maintain a larger stockpile of emergency supplies and medicines.

In response to the …

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