GLG News by Physicians in the U.S. who Treat Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)

Rising costs for care of seniors in physician offices will be made more painful by the reimbursement cuts. Will it impede care of seniors??

Due to possible tumor growth warnings will be attached to the use of erythropoietin agents.

This paper as well as http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/26/2765 report the efficacy of an oral anticoagulant type drug that appears to be better & safer than parenteral low molecular weight heparin (LMWH).

Keep the stuff refrigerated.

Antipsychotic drugs have been shown to increase morbidity and mortality in demented patients.  These agents are used to keep patients calm and easy to manipulate because there is not enough nursing home staff to adequately care for patients mental and physical needs.  "Chemical straight-jackets",...

For the right patient, epoietin products can make a world of difference in quality of life.  For the wrong patient, the drugs can cause clotting and can be fatal.  (I was involved with a patient's care once who died from a PE due to epoietin.  She had a hematocrit of 55% when she died.) ...

Safety concerns continue to be voiced re: the effect of erythropoietin products (Epos) on tumor growth.

Only 1 in 5 physicians use electronic patient records. ( and those are either in University Hospitals, large multispecialty clinics or VA hospitals)

Another agent that lowers HBA1C by 0.02% is not a big deal.  There are already too many of these products on the market, none of which do much of anything to improve diabetes care. 

The evidence for this idea was shaky to begin with.  I'm not surprised that it  was finally debunked.