Analysis of:
Medicare Bil Includes e-Prescribing Bonus (www.modernhealthcare.com)
Medicare will use a very small carrot to entice financially stressed physicians to employ electronic prescribing technology. Later on, Medicare will switch to the stick and penalize physicians who don't use such a system.
Analysis of:
Bill to Block Medicare-Fee Cuts (online.wsj.com)
Cuts in Medicare put off for the time being, though only under substantial political pressure. This band-aid will last only so long; real reform of the flawed sustainable growth rate eludes us yet again! Bush and friends still favor the insurance lobby over senior's access to their phys...
Analysis of:
Drug Makers Say FDA Safety Focus Is Slowing New-Medicine Pipeline (online.wsj.com)
Drug makers complain that the FDA's 'safety focus' slows down their development of new medications. They would love to see accelerated approvals; next they'll get the immunity from lawsuits that device makers have already received!
Analysis of:
China Muscles In On The Generics Industry (www.pharmalot.com)
Any finished medication that a Chinese company tries to bring to the US (or European) market will face tremendous scrutiny. Look for Indian generic manufacturers (e.g. Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy's) to maintain their competitive edge due to their track record of safety. Eventually, lower cost generics...
Analysis of:
Renal Failure Linked to Cosmetic Soft-Tissue Filler Injections (www.medscape.com)
These 3 cases add to a number of others which have appeared in the news media, raising public awareness regarding procedures performed by unlicensed practitioners. Such cases are unlikely to impact the blooming market in FDA-approved fillers when administered by medical professionals.
Analysis of:
Warning over drug trial’s effects on testing (www.ft.com)
For too long big pharma has dictated which drugs will come to market and what they will cost. The entire American healthcare system is literally collapsing because of two costs: medications and bureacracy. Expect more payers to look for ways to bring down costs in the fu...
Analysis of:
Promising phase I/II data in HIV with once-daily NNRTI from Idenix (www.pipelinereview.com)
A new NNRTI that overcomes class resistance and with a low threshold for development of resistance will be a useful addition to our antiretroviral armamentarium.
Analysis of:
Universal flu vaccine shows early promise (www.fiercebioresearcher.com)
If early results are confirmed, this vaccine will revolutionize influenza immunization
Analysis of:
Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Initiates Two Phase 2 Studies for Novel Antibiotic Compound RX-1741 (www.pipelinereview.com)
Successful completion of these studies in community acquired pneumonia and skin and soft tissue infection will hopefully lead to approval of an additional new drug active against drug resistant bacteria, such as MRSA.
Analysis of:
Ventilator-associated pneumonia - the wrong quality measure for benchmarking (www.annals.org)
Hospitals and physicians are under increasing pressure to follow benchmarks or be penalized. When this happens and when already lean payments are cut further, how can that lead to an increase in quality?