This series is brought to you by MedPage Today.
1. Court: Off-Label Drug Marketing Is 'Free Speech'. A decision by a federal appeals court this week could have a dramatic impact on the marketing of prescription drugs in America, potentially affecting patient care and everything from TV advertising to future government prosecutions which, in the past, had yielded billions of dollars in settlements.
2.
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There was good news recently in the atrial fibrillation world.
Though no surprise to heart rhythm doctors, an FDA investigation reveals no evidence that new cases of bleeding are any higher with dabigatran (Pradaxa) than with warfarin.
The full statement from the FDA is here.
The assessment was undertaken because after approval of the novel anticoagulant (blood-thinner) a large number of adverse events were reported to the FDA. Despite
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Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 46-year-old woman is evaluated for a 4-day history of an intensely pruritic rash on her face and neck. She started using a new facial moisturizer about 1 week before the onset of the rash. She has stopped using the moisturizer, but the rash has persisted. She has treated the rash with calamine lotion ...
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Traditionally the patient is supposed to come to the doctor to get some sort of help with a problem. That's what people pay us for, I guess. Patients bring us their various miseries, we help them figure out what they mean and what causes them and prescribe potions or recommend they do something that will help make them better, if there is such a thing. But in the normal give ...
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The state legislature in Florida decided it is legal and appropriate for pharmacists and pharmacies to begin administering vaccines against multiple diseases. Their list of adult vaccines includes seasonal flu shots, Pneumovax (pneumonia vaccine) and Zostavax (vaccine to prevent shingles). The rationale of the legislature is that access to doctors to receive these preventive vaccines is limited and difficult.
By refusing to administer vaccines in their office because it is time ...
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This series is brought to you by MedPage Today.
1. Advair: How Safe Is This Drug? The 2001 product launch of the asthma drug Advair (fluticasone/salmeterol) was a lavish, Las Vegas affair.
2. Treatment of RA in Older Patients Questioned. Patients with later-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may be receiving less effective treatment than their younger counterparts
3. FDA Probes Deaths, Injuries Tied to ...
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Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 78-year-old man is evaluated in the hospital for poor glycemic control before undergoing femoral-popliteal bypass surgery. He has been on the vascular surgery ward for 3 weeks with a nonhealing foot ulcer.
The patient has an extensive history of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, including peripheral vascular disease, and a 20-year history of type 2 diabetes ...
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In the ongoing battle to gain from our society’s scientific illiteracy, Dr. Oz has nocked another arrow. This time, he as the cure for all fatigue. I hope he’s got this right because this is one of the most common and most difficult problems to treat.
Fatigue is a tough one. Everyone has experienced fatigue at some point, and as a physician, part of my job is to figure ...
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I was driving home from a night shift and the scorching sound of Texas guitars flamed out of my car speakers. The group ZZ Top was old, but the song was new. It went like this, “25 lighters on my dresser, yessir. You know I gotsta get paid.”
Mostly, I was shocked that any members of the band ZZ Top were still alive, let alone putting out new music that was actually ...
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Generic formulations of drugs using active pharmaceutical ingredients are an immense cost savings to patients and healthcare systems.
On the other hand, questions remain as to whether generics are truly equivalent to brand name pharmaceuticals. Are the pharmacokinetics the same? Are they bioequivalent? While this is a difficult topic to research clinically, I would argue that the vast majority of brand name and corresponding generic drugs are indeed equivalent (though there ...
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-Eric Topol, MD, author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine
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Past 6 Months
Dear lawmakers: This is what it’s like to be a doctor today
Matthew Moeller, MD | PhysicianA gun owner responds to Sandy Hook
Edwin Leap, MD | PhysicianIs Chris Christie too obese to run for president?
Jeffrey Parks, MD | PhysicianIf I’m wrong about guns, can you please explain why?
Claire McCarthy, MD | PhysicianPrimary care doctors may no longer be needed
Doug Olson, MD | PhysicianWalgreens moves into primary care, and it’s our own damn fault
Kevin Pho, MD | Kevin's Take