State privacy rules complicate EMR adoption; Vitae scores $242M Alzheimer's pact with Boehringer;

> The heady task of computerizing medical records for hundreds of millions of Americans is made even tougher by a "patchwork" of state laws meant to protect patient privacy and confidentiality, two Los Angeles-based healthcare attorneys say. FierceEMR

> More than 20 organizations, including the eHealth Initiative, sent a letter to members of Congress asking for all of the health IT elements from the stimulus package to be integrated into the health reform legislation. FierceHealthIT

> FDA wants some allergy and asthma drugs to come with a new warning of potential psychiatric problems. In an announcement Friday, the agency said it had asked drugmakers to add cautionary language to the labels of Singulair (Merck), Accolate (AstraZeneca), and Zyflo/Zyflo CR (Cornerstone Therapeutics). FiercePharma

> Vitae Pharmaceuticals struck a $242 million deal--$42 million of that as upfront or near term money--to develop Alzheimer's therapies with Boehringer Ingelheim. Vitae stands to earn $200 million in pre-commercialization milestones with more money at stake for additional compounds and indications. FierceBiotech

And Finally... Looks like she's got a career in medicine. Either that, or maybe her doctors are in the wrong line of work. Article