MRSA: Patients revolt against hospital secrecy

November 19, 2008

A night-shift nurse slipped into Jeanine Thomas’ hospital room and whispered, “I don’t know how you’re taking this so well. If I were you, I’d be curled up in a ball crying.”

The remark mystified Thomas. She’d had ankle surgery, and yes, there had been complications. But she thought she was recovering. Was there something she didn’t know?

 

In November 2000, Thomas, then a 45-year-old antiques dealer, had slipped on ice and shattered her left ankle outside her suburban Chicago home. But days after surgery at her local hospital, the skin surrounding the incisions turned black, and her body swelled. Doctors wanted to amputate, but Thomas, an avid tennis player, refused to let them.

 

Then, a friend told Thomas about her mother’s battle with MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant germ. Their symptoms matched. Thomas confronted a doctor and learned the truth: She, too, had MRSA. Only now did the nurse’s comment make sense.

 

Read Article: Seattle Times

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

AARP Orders Investigation Concerning Its Marketing

After a Senate inquiry found evidence of deceptive marketing, AARP, the lobby for older Americans, has hired an outside investigator to look into sales of some of its popular health insurance products.

 

AARP and UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest insurers, have voluntarily suspended sales of the policies, which pay fixed cash benefits — often much less than consumers had expected — for selected services.

 

The investigation will be conducted by Elizabeth Rowe Costle, who was the insurance commissioner of Vermont from 1992 to 2003, when Howard Dean was governor.

At issue are insurance plans that were sold by UnitedHealth and carry the AARP brand. More than a million people have bought the policies, which have names like AARP Medical Advantage, Essential Plus and Hospital Indemnity Plan.

 

Read Article: New York Times

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

Federal Court Upholds Drug Privacy Law

A federal appeals court in Boston on Tuesday dealt a setback to the pharmaceutical industry and companies that collect prescription data for use in drug marketing.

Ruling in support of a New Hampshire law, the court upheld the right of states to prohibit the sale of doctor-specific prescription drug data that is widely used in pharmaceutical marketing.

 

The case is a defeat for two large data-mining companies, IMS Health and Verispan. They sued in 2006 to block implementation of the New Hampshire law, which prohibited the sale of computerized data showing which doctors were prescribing what drugs.

The law was intended to cut down on state health care costs by eliminating the tool used by drug sales representatives in promoting brand name drugs.

 

By purchasing the data describing which doctors prescribe what drugs, pharmaceutical sales forces are better able to identify which doctors might use their products and be receptive to their sales pitches. They can also focus on persuading doctors who do not write many prescriptions for their products to change their minds.

 

Read Article: New York Times

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

Iowa woman files lawsuit over deadly crash

A Protivin (PRO-tuh-vuhn) woman is suing a trucking company involved in a deadly crash that killed her two children in December 2006. Nicole Sanders filed the lawsuit against Lee Steyer Trucking of Soldiers Grove, Wis., and driver William Creager, of Westby, Wis., in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

Sanders’ children, 3-year-old Raven Williams and 2-year-old Wesley Williams, died in the crash on U.S. Highway 63 near New Hampton. Authorities say Sanders’ vehicle lost control on the icy highway and collided with a van. Both vehicles came to rest in the road before being struck by the semitrailer driven by the Wisconsin driver.

 

Read Article: Chicago Tribune

 

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FDA looks at risks of cosmetic face fillers

Plastic surgeons pledged today to help the government track the safety of one of the most popular new beauty treatments: facial injections of various kinds of gels to smooth away wrinkles.

Women, and even some men, are drawn to skin fillers by the promise of youthful good looks at far less cost and trouble than a face lift. A “minimally invasive” touchup now and then can boost deflated middle-age egos. Unfortunately, for some patients, the result can be blotchy skin, bumps on the face and worse.

At a hearing today, the Food and Drug Administration asked independent advisers for recommendations on how to monitor the long-term safety of face fillers and for guidance on improving testing and warning patients about potential risks.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons told the FDA advisers it is ready to take a leading role by encouraging the reporting of problems, improving training for doctors and their assistants, and advising consumers. “We feel it is time for medicine to step up and take the lead,” said Dr. Richard D’Amico, a New Jersey plastic surgeon and immediate past president of the group.

 

Read Article: Los Angeles Times

 

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