Health Risks

Group asks FDA to pull birth control patch off market

Fri, 09 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Arguing that it's a far riskier treatment than the pill, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has asked the FDA to pull the birth control patch Ortho-Evra off the market. Over the last few years, health risks associated with the weekly patch have been discovered, including higher rates of blood clots than women who took birth control pills. This is thought to be the case because patients absorb up to 60 percent more estrogen with the patch. Since 2005, the FDA has updated the patch to include clot warnings but otherwise left the drug alone. On the other hand, the warnings may have had some effect, as demand for the patch has dropped from 9.9 million scripts in 2004 to 2.7 million in 2007.

In the mean time, there's been a flood of state suits against patch-maker Johnson & Johnson, which has been sued by more than 3,000 women and their families, all claiming that its FDA-approved Ortho Evra patch caused harm by delivering much more estrogen than expected.

To learn more about the group's request:
- read this Associated Press item

Related Articles:
Pharmas may be able to drag suits into federal court
FDA issues warning for Ortho Evra patch
Patch delivers killer doses

ALSO NOTED: NJ flunks Medicaid security audit; Study says infants aren't getting vaccines on time; and much more...

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> New Jersey's Medicaid program has flunked a state security audit, which found that the program isn't doing enough to monitor who looks at sensitive data. FierceHealthIT

> A new study suggests that growing numbers of infants don't get their vaccinations on time, a trend that could increase the risk of disease among a fragile population. FierceVaccines

> While electronic medical records can be a big investment, sometimes that investment pays off decisively. FierceHealthFinance

> New research suggests that uninsured children in middle class households face similar health risks to those who are poor and uninsured. Article

And Finally... In heaven, there is no beer--but this guy plans to take it as far as he can. Article

SPOTLIGHT: To cut costs, more hospitals re-using devices

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:59:52 -0400

Increasingly, hospitals are recycling medical devices labeled as single-use, from scissors and scrubs to surgical blades. While this is legal--as long as certain FDA guidelines are followed in sterilizing and re-testing them--many critics still argue that this is a questionable practice at best. To date, however, the GAO has concluded that there's no evidence that such reprocessed devices create elevated health risks. Article