New Safety Warning Issued for Tainted Wipe-Maker
Povidone iodine swab sticks, prep solutions, scrubs and gels manufactured by H&P Industries of Hartland, Wis., could pose an infection risk to surgery patients and others having surgical procedures, Food and Drug Administration officials warned Friday. H&P Industries this week recalled all lots of the povidone iodine products. Although no direct contamination was found, the FDA was concerned about the lack of a system to detect microbial contamination when the products went on the market. This is the latest massive …
Continue →DePuy Outsources Patient Claims, Causes Controversy
Johnson & Johnson, whose DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. unit recalled its metal ASR hip replacement last year, is taking an unconventional approach to handling more than 2,000 lawsuits. The company has hired a third party—Broadspire Services Inc., which manages workers compensation for insurance companies and employers—to administer patient claims fro out-of-pocket medical costs associated with the recall. Broadspire’s physicians will ultimately determine whether a patient’s hip should be replaced. Typically, companies and their lawyers handle recalls directly. Some legal and industry …
Continue →Rural ERs Behind in Electronic Prescribing
Emergency departments in rural hospitals are lagging in switching to electronic drug prescriptions, which may mean increased medication errors, a new study finds. Although health providers will eventually face steep penalties if they don’t change their systems, the study uncovered a large gap between urban and rural hospitals’ prescribing methods. The study, reported in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, also found wide variation among the four states — Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts and Oregon. While Massachusetts was in the lead with …
Continue →J&J Settle Charge Over Risperdal
Johnson & Johnson reached an agreement in principle to settle a misdemeanor criminal charge related to the marketing of antipsychotic drug Risperdal, the company said this past week. The Justice Department and the United States attorney in Philadelphia will continue to pursue criminal and civil actions against J&J. According to the agreement in principle, J&J is guilty of a single misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The company’s Risperdal sales practices have been under investigation since 2004, …
Continue →New Study Links Mountaintop Removal to 60,000 Cancer Cases
A breakthrough study suggests that among residents living in mountaintop removal mining counties, 60,000 cases of cancer can be directly tied to strip-mining practices. Researchers behind the study gathered data from communities impacted by mountaintop mining in Boone County, West Virginia. The new study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Community Health: The Publication for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, said that the odds for reporting cancer were twice as high in mountaintop mining environments as they were in non …
Continue →McNeil Announces New Dosing Instructions for Tylenol
Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division is announcing new plans to lower the recommended dosing instructions for single-ingredient Extra-Strength Tylenol (acetaminophen) in an attempt to prevent accidental overdose and liver damage. The company also plans to reduce the maximum daily dose for Regular Strength Tylenol and other adult acetaminophen products in 2012. Labels on the bottles will now list the maximum daily dose as six pills, or a total of 3,000 milligrams, down from eight pills a day or …
Continue →Dangerous Pelvic Mesh Creates Worries about FDA Safety
After a number of reports about surgical vaginal mesh-associated complications in women, the FDA issued its second warning about the device in three years. A panel will convene in September to determine whether the medical device needs to undergo more testing. Simultaneously, a group called the Institute of Medicine will issue a report Friday about whether the FDA’s process of approving devices protects patients and promotes innovation in the name of public health. They’re calling into question how the FDA …
Continue →PTSD Drug Found Ineffective
A drug used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans isn’t effective in reducing the overall severity of the condition, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The medication did not have a significant effect on anxiety and depression, researchers reported. The clinical trial, which took place over six months, found that the antipsychotic medication risperidone was no more effective than a placebo at preventing PTSD symptoms. Out of the 247 patients surveyed for …
Continue →What’s Next For Casey Anthony: Legal Expenses, Defamation Suits and Interviews
As the televised trial of Casey Anthony drew to a close, 5.2 million tuned in on cable news channel HLN for the biggest total audience in its history. The 25-year-old famously labeled “tot mom” by Nancy Grace was found not guilty of murdering her two-year-old daughter Caylee, whose remains were found in woods near her Florida home. Anthony was found guilty of four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer and not guilty of aggravated child abuse …
Continue →Bill Would Let Health Researchers Ban Toxic Chemicals
New legislation could help health experts target and eliminate potentially harmful chemicals from commerce each year by labeling them as “high concern.” Under the bill, the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and a panel of experts could designate up to 10 chemicals each year to be banned. Those chemicals would become unlawful to use 24 months after the designation. The bill is to be introduced by Rep. Jim Moran, D-Virginia, and Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, …
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