Wal-Mart Stores offers $4 generic drugs in Florida

Posted on October 05, 2008 in Generic prescription drugs

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the round's largest retailer, said onward Thursday it would design the bids of nearly 300 generic drugs to $4 per prescription starting mid the retirement haven of Tampa, Florida. The address, immediately copied ended rival Target Inc., slammed receipt proposals of retailers, with shares of No. 2 U.S. drugstore march CVS falling 8.4 percent. Wal-Mart characterized the stratagem as \"slab of its ongoing in hock to apparel affordable health perplexity to America's big idea families,\" but critics yawped it a traffic percentages go aboard ancient history a giant retailer accused of gobbling closed mom-and-pop stores, relentlessly pressuring competitors again suppliers with discounted propositions more refusing to make habitable warrant seeing millions employees, forcing them to confide forward government health businesses. Again, some consumer advocates said the bear might warfare used up drug essaies separating usual, further shares of generic drugmakers more fell. ratio to full article

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FOR THE LOVE OF COACH (pt 1) BLOG FRIENDS (pt 2)

Posted on October 02, 2008 in Erectile dysfunction

pt.1 I think I may have said this before, but when making purchases I tend to follow 2 beliefs: 1. Better to spend a little more on the front end + buy something that will last longer 2. I won't wear a label unless the designer pays me. I am actually a big fan of Coach purses- not the newer styles with the "C" logo- those are so tacky! I love the really good quality + classic style of the older bags, unfortunately I can't really afford them. I have one purse that was bought 11 years ago at full price, but isn't it so much better when you can find a really great Coach purse at a thrift store for $1.49? That was my extremely good luck on Thursday. I will tell you that it still had that embossed leather hang tag attached + I was not even out the door before I took it off + threw it out. pt. 2 I loved eBay's "People Are Good" 2004 ad campaign. Time + time again this is proven in the craft blog world. Yesterday I had a really great lunch with Beth from stitch.rip.repeat. We have met a couple times, but had never really sat down + talked. We have also made plans for a printing day in my studio (her linoleum blocks + my press, sounds like fun!) + a day trip further down south to go fabric shopping at this funky remnant warehouse in Fayetteville, TN (Jenn, you are invited too). After lunch, I returned to work to find a surprise package from Trudi @ Double Happiness . I ran up + down the hall, squealing over the contents... the DVD of Trailer Park Boys: The Movi e . Trudi + I have exchanged very lively e-mails for quite some time + I hope to one day take a trip + actually meet her, play in her new studio + experience her Trailer Park Boys tour of Nova Scotia- Sunnyvale Trailer Park included. Thank you! We are still purging + unpacking from the move, so that's my day. Cheap Generic Viagra

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Sexual Health and Generic Cialis

Posted on October 02, 2008 in Causes of erectile dysfunction

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Not enough Koreans

Posted on September 30, 2008 in Causes of erectile dysfunction

There is a serious problem with the making of babies in South Korea. JoongAng Daily reported today that the birthrate continues to fall. 2004 there were 476.000 babies born, 1970 there were 1.000.000 births. The rate has fallen from an average of 4,53 babies born to women between 15 and 49, to 1,16 last year. The reasons behind the figures are well known, even if the government doesn't always say so: lack of affordable childcare, high costs of education and the need for both parents to work to make ends meet. The same story as in Italy, one of the European countries with the same problem. In an unrelated piece of news, JoongAng Daily reported that Korea has penetrated the market for treatment of erectile dysfunction. A new drug called Zydena got Korean FDA approval yesterday, and will compete with Viagra globally. Next month Zydena will be on sale in Korea, where 2 million men have the problem, according to the government. JoongAng Daily article here. Cheap Generic Viagra

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Viagra - Sildenafil

Posted on September 29, 2008 in Erectile dysfunction drugs

What is Viagra? • Viagra relaxes muscles and increases blood flow to particular areas of the body. • Sildenafil under the name Viagra is used to treat erectile dysfunction (impotence) in men. Another brand of sildenafil is Revatio, which is used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and improve exercise capacity in men and women. • Viagra may also be used for purposes other than those listed here. Start sooner and last longer when you use Viagra Suffer no more! Buy Generic Viagra online at a price you can afford. Just 2.50 USD Get smart and save money! Buy Generic Viagra online for only 2.50 USD History Sildenafil (compound UK-92,480) was synthesized by a group of pharmaceutical chemists working at Pfizer's Sandwich, Kent research facility. It was initially studied for use in hypertension (high blood pressure) and angina pectoris (a form of ischaemic cardiovascular disease). Phase I clinical trials under the direction of Ian Osterloh suggested that the drug had little effect on angina, but that it could induce marked penile erections.[1][2] Pfizer therefore decided to market it for erectile dysfunction, rather than for angina. The drug was patented in 1996, approved for use in erectile dysfunction by the Food and Drug Administration on March 27, 1998, becoming the first pill approved to treat erectile dysfunction in the United States, and offered for sale in the United States later that year.[3] It soon became a great success: annual sales of Viagra in the period 1999–2001 exceeded $1 billion. The British press portrayed Peter Dunn and Albert Wood as the inventors of the drug, a claim which Pfizer disputes.[4] Their names are on the manufacturing patent application drug, but Pfizer claims this is only for convenience. Viagra is available as blue pills with a characteristic shape Even though sildenafil is only available by prescription from a doctor, it was advertised directly to consumers on US TV (famously being endorsed by Bob Dole and Football star Pele). Numerous sites on the Internet offer Viagra for sale after an "online consultation", a mere web questionnaire. The "Viagra" name has become so well known that many fake aphrodisiacs now call themselves "herbal Viagra" or are presented as blue tablets imitating the shape and colour of Pfizer's product. Viagra is also informally known as "Vitamin V", "the Blue Pill", as well as various other nicknames. Pfizer's worldwide patents on sildenafil citrate will expire in 2011–2013. The UK patent held by Pfizer on the use of PDE5 inhibitors (see below) as treatment of impotence was invalidated in 2000 because of obviousness; this decision was upheld on appeal in 2002. Mechanism of action Part of the physiological process of erection involves the parasympathetic nervous system causing the release of nitric oxide (NO) in the corpus cavernosum of the penis. NO binds to the receptors of the enzyme guanylate cyclase which results in increased levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), leading to smooth muscle relaxation (vasodilation) in the corpus cavernosum, resulting in increased inflow of blood and an erection. Sildenafil is a potent and selective inhibitor of cGMP specific phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) which is responsible for degradation of cGMP in the corpus cavernosum. The molecular structure of sildenafil is similar to that of cGMP and acts as a competitive binding agent of PDE5 in the corpus cavernosum, resulting in more cGMP and better erections. Without sexual stimulation, and therefore lack of activation of the NO/cGMP system, sildenafil should not cause an erection. Other drugs that operate by the same mechanism include tadalafil (Cialis®) and vardenafil (Levitra®). Sildenafil is metabolised by hepatic enzymes and excreted by both the liver and kidneys. If taken with a high-fat meal, there may be a delay in absorption of sildenafil and the peak effect might be reduced slightly as the plasma concentration will be lowered. Dosage and price As with all prescription drugs, proper dosage is at the discretion of a licensed medical doctor. The dose of sildenafil is 25 mg to 100 mg taken once per day between 30 minutes and 4 hours prior to sexual intercourse. It is usually recommended to start with a dosage of 50 mg and then lower or raise the dosage as appropriate. The drug is sold in three dosages (25, 50, and 100 mg), all three costing about US$10 per pill. Name-brand Viagra sildenafil is not scored and a fairly hard coating makes it more difficult to accurately cut the pills in half, even with a pill cutter. Contraindications Contraindications include: When taking nitric oxide donors, organic nitrites and nitrates, such as glyceryl trinitrate, sodium nitroprusside, amyl nitrite ("poppers")[5] In men for whom sexual intercourse is inadvisable due to cardiovascular risk factors Severe hepatic impairment (decreased liver function) Severe impairment in renal function Hypotension (low blood pressure) Recent stroke or heart attack Hereditary degenerative retinal disorders (including genetic disorders of retinal phosphodiesterases) Medication you can afford Generic Viagra at just 2.50 USD Get the medication you need. Buy Generic Viagra online for just 2.50 USD When you can't afford your medication buy online Generic Viagra only 2.50 USD Cheap Generic Viagra

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Neglected Diseases: At What Price?

Posted on September 07, 2008 in Generic biologicals

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All NBA Team

Posted on September 07, 2008 in Erectile dysfunction treatment

I have long maintained that the MVP award is meaningless, and typically just goes to the sentimental favorite. Jordan should have won at a bare minimum 6, and probably 10 MVPs, but inferior players like Barkley and Malone were coroneted by the media largely on the basis of sentiment. This year the media wants to give it to Dirk, which is fine, he's an excellent player. But still a meaningless award. I prefer the All NBA team. Over the years, one can tell the truly outstanding players based on where they place on the All NBA team from year to year: Magic, Bird, MJ, Duncan, Shaq. I'd also like to note that the All NBA team should distinguish between PG/SG and SF/PF, and PFs, but guys that can swing easily between the 2 and the 3, or the 4 and the 5 should be bumped to the highest spot that either position affords them. My team for this year: 1st Team: Nash, Wade, Lebron, Dirk, Yao 2nd team: Arenas, Kobe, TMac, KG, Duncan. 3rd team: Parker, Carter, Howard, Boozer, Amare. Also, this year's playoffs should be fabulous. I like the Spurs, but it's quite a tough road through Phoenix and Dallas. In the East, I like the winner of the Bulls/Heat series. As for the Wizards, 4 and out. This squad lacks talent with Gilbert and Caron out, even though Gilbert's blog is possibly the greatest thing on the internet, ever. My favorite quotes: "I got to boo LeBron and them." "That’s why I’m going on the road trip, I’m going to sit right behind their bench and just talk all day. I’m going to just talk about the whole team from start to finish and try to do my part by irritating them." "Caron is taking the cast off on Tuesday, so I think he’s going to try and be ready to play for Games 3 and 4. It’s going to be a big lift because those guys will be happy to see him back and he’ll bring his energy. And then if they go to Game 5 I’m coming in, I’m going to play. All they are going to do is just sit me in the corner for offense and I’m going to shoot threes, just in case it comes down to a game winner. I still got the Hibachi going. I mean, I can’t walk or run, but I’m going to try. Hell, I could play Games 1-4, just stick me in the corner." "Of course we’ll win the election. As long as he has me, we’re winning. We’ll be co-presidents. He can handle all the big stuff like the war in Iraq and all that, and I’ll keep everybody distracted off what he’s doing. I’ll be the entertainer.I’ll do the press conferences. I’ll play the Bush part. I’ll be the golfer, I’ll go golf for 14 hours. I’ll party for half a week. I’ll do that, I’ll have fun with that. And then Barack can handle all that important stuff. " Seriously, I can't think of a more likable superstar in sports history. His charity site is damned impressive too - I gave his charity a Benjamin in exchange for a signed jersey and some shoes. I love the NBA. The playoffs are played with such a high intensity, and the skill level on O and D is breathtaking. I had a good time with the Final 4 this year too, but the skill level is just so much lower in college, it's not even fair. Let's talk some more Wizards. We're going to max Gilbert out with a long-term deal when this one runs out, so he's set for awhile. Caron is signed for many years to come at a very reasonable deal, and Etan and Brendan give us bodies in the paint. Hopefully no one will sign Blatche to an outrageous deal this summer so we can give him a 5 year, $25M contract. Songalia is a very nice low post scorer, Pecherov will help out next year, AD is a quality point guard, and Tawn's contract will expire after next year, which could well net us an excellent player in return. Let's say the Bulls get the #1 pick in the draft and want to take Oden. Wouldn't it make sense for us to trade Tawn for Big Ben straight up? Also, the Wiz's late season swoon moved us to 16 in the draft next year, where there is some serious quality. What if Al Thornton falls, or Thaddeus Young? Those guys could come in and contribute right away. Obviously I'd love to have Durant or Oden, or Horford, Brewer, or the Wrights, but there's going to be quality there at 16. Another possibility to consider is the Jermaine O'Neal sweepstakes. ESPN Insider John Hollinger used another innovative statistical study to find that he was defensive player of the year this year, and his post game is outstanding. If O'Neal does demand a trade this summer - and indications are that he might - the Pacers would probably want to dump terrible contract like Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy and start over. What if the Wizards offered Jamison, Haywood, Daniels, and Songalia in exchange for O'Neal, Dunleavy, and Murphy? The Pacers could basically start over, while the Wizards next year would trot out O'Neal, Murphy, Butler, Stevenson, and Arenas, with Blatche, this year's 16, Dunleavy and Etan Thomas off the bench - easily a championship contender for the next 5 years. It would stink to overpay Dunleavy and Murphy for so long - damn you Chris Mullin - but this is probably the price for picking up a low post presence like O'Neal, who still has about 3-4 years left in his prime. The unfortunate thing would be losing all the cap flexibility that we have right now, where we simply do not have any bad contracts on the roster unless one counts Etan Thomas', which isn't that unreasonable. As for the Skins, we need a WR, and some more D-linemen. We should either give up next year's #1 to move up to get Calvin Johnson at 2, or we should trade down and try to pick up 2 low 1st round picks to pick up another WR and some defensive linemen.

Tags: year, team, player, neal, nba

Narcotic 'lollipop' is big seller

Posted on September 05, 2008 in Prescriptions

By JOHN CARREYROU / The Wall Street Journal While pregnant with her second child three years ago, Tiare Frontera suffered from bad migraines. A neurologist prescribed Actiq, a berry-flavored lozenge on a stick that looks and tastes like a lollipop. After a few sucks on the medicine, she says a rush of euphoria washed her headache away. Soon, Mrs. Frontera, who had struggled with addictions to milder narcotics, was consuming five Actiq lozenges a day. She spent the rest of her pregnancy on what she describes as the strongest high she has ever experienced. When she gave birth, her baby son was cranky and wouldn’t sleep. Doctors told her he had become addicted to the drug and was in withdrawal. Mrs. Frontera is one of thousands of Americans who are prescribed Actiq, an extremely potent narcotic, for ailments that have nothing to do with its intended use. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug eight years ago for use only in cancer patients who suffer intense bouts of pain that other narcotics don’t relieve. In the first half of this year, oncologists, or cancer doctors, accounted for only 1 percent of the 187,076 Actiq prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies in the U.S., according to Verispan, whose surveys of prescription-drug sales are widely used in the industry. Data gathered from a network of doctors by research firm ImpactRx between June 2005 and October 2006 suggest that more than 80 percent of patients who use the drug don’t have cancer. Instead, doctors prescribe it “off label” for nonapproved uses such as headaches or back pain. Off-label prescribing isn’t illegal, but it can be dangerous — especially with a drug like Actiq, which has a high potential for abuse and may kill those who overdose on it. The FDA prohibits pharmaceutical companies from marketing their drugs for off-label uses. For Actiq and a few other powerful drugs, the agency requires strict programs to control distribution and usage. Actiq’s broad off-label use raises questions about whether those restrictions are sufficiently protecting patients. “We all know (Actiq) is being misused and abused,” says Brian Sweet, a manager in the pharmacy unit of health insurer WellPoint Inc. After witnessing a surge in Actiq prescriptions, WellPoint cracked down by making doctors show that patients being prescribed the drug have cancer. Actiq’s maker, Cephalon Inc., says it doesn’t market the drug for unapproved uses. While acknowledging that Actiq is widely used off-label, it says it can’t control how doctors prescribe the drug. Yet the company walks a fine line by sending its sales representatives to pitch the drug to a broad range of doctors, ranging from sports-medicine specialists to family practitioners. It gives these doctors coupons for free samples. Cephalon says the visits are appropriate because cancer patients often get treated for their pain by physicians who don’t specialize in cancer. Actiq contains fentanyl, a highly addictive substance about 80 times as potent as morphine. Fentanyl is classified as a Schedule II substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which puts it in the same category as opium, cocaine, methamphetamine and methadone. Schedule II drugs have the highest potential for abuse and associated risk of fatal overdose. Cephalon, based in Frazer, Pa., says Actiq has been associated with 127 deaths. Two of them involved children who confused the drug for candy. Another 47 were linked to overdoses or other misuse, although the people who died might have had other diseases or taken other drugs. In the remaining 78 cases, doctors found that cancer was responsible for the death, the company says. Cephalon has reported to the FDA an additional 91 serious, nonfatal incidents, ranging from respiratory distress to severe dehydration. The U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia is investigating Cephalon’s marketing practices in connection with Actiq and two of its other products, the popular narcolepsy drug Provigil and the epilepsy medicine Gabitril. No charges have been filed. Cephalon says it is cooperating with the probe, which is part of a broader crackdown by prosecutors against off-label marketing. In August, the Justice Department fined Schering-Plough Corp. $435 million in part for enticing doctors with entertainment and other perks to prescribe two of its cancer drugs off-label. Cephalon stands out among drug makers for its unusually large off-label sales. Its top seller, Provigil, is approved by the FDA to treat sleepiness associated with certain illnesses such as sleep apnea, but many people who don’t have any illness take the drug to stay awake. Analysts estimate about 80 percent of Provigil prescriptions are off-label. Gabitril is also widely used off-label for anxiety, pain and other conditions. Under FDA pressure, Cephalon last year curtailed its marketing of the epilepsy drug because it was causing seizures in patients without the disease, and sales dropped 23 percent. Founded in 1987 by a former DuPont Co. scientist named Frank Baldino Jr., Cephalon expects revenue to exceed $1.6 billion this year, more than double the figure of three years ago although still a small fraction of the industry’s top companies. Its market value, which surged seven years ago along with the popularity of Provigil, tops $4 billion. Dr. Baldino earned $2.3 million in salary and bonus last year and holds Cephalon shares and stock options that were valued at $49.6 million as of the end of last year. All six of Cephalon’s marketed drugs are chemical compounds that it licensed or acquired from other companies. Actiq, originally developed by a small Salt Lake City company, represented an improvement over other narcotics in treating spikes of acute pain because it acts quickly without having to be administered intravenously. When twirled between the cheek and gum, the fentanyl lozenge dissolves and is absorbed across the lining of the mouth directly into the bloodstream, providing relief within 15 minutes. Actiq had sales of $15 million in 2000, when Cephalon acquired it. By last year, sales had grown to $412 million, making it Cephalon’s No. 2 drug. In the first nine months of this year, sales jumped to $471 million. Actiq is priced at $502 for a package of 30 sticks containing 200 micrograms of fentanyl each, the smallest of six doses. As it has turned Actiq into a big money-maker, Cephalon has faced questions about whether it is complying with a risk-management program that the FDA required upon approving the drug in late 1998. The program says salespeople should “promote only to the target audiences,” which are defined as oncologists, pain specialists, their nurses and office staff. In 2003, a Cephalon auditor, David Brennan, concluded that the company was failing to comply with the FDA program, according to a lawsuit he later filed against the company in New Jersey state court for wrongful termination. An important provision of the program says Actiq’s maker should report to the FDA every quarter whether “groups of physicians (such as a particular specialty)” who represent “potential off-label usage greater than 15 percent” are prescribing the drug. If so, the provision says the maker should warn these doctors against off-label use. Mr. Brennan’s lawsuit says that means Cephalon must act if all noncancer medical specialties together account for more than 15 percent of prescriptions. Cephalon interprets the provision differently. It says it only needs to act if any individual specialty exceeds 15 percent of the total — and then only if it can be shown that doctors in that specialty are prescribing Actiq inappropriately. Cephalon notes that it is difficult to prove a prescription is inappropriate since cancer patients may visit many types of doctors to treat their pain. It believes the 15 percent clause has yet to be triggered. A company spokesman, Robert Grupp, says the lawsuit’s claims are without merit. The FDA declined to comment. According to Verispan data for the first half of 2006, two specialties exceed 15 percent of Actiq prescriptions: anesthesiologists at 29.5 percent and physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists at 16 percent. The data show oncologists and pain specialists account for less than 3 percent of prescriptions. Cephalon doesn’t dispute the data. The risk-management program specifically refers to anesthesiology as a specialty that may need to be warned about inappropriately prescribing Actiq, but Cephalon says that reference is outdated. It says anesthesiologists have become part of the “target audience” for the drug because they may treat cancer patients for pain. Cephalon says it has been talking to the FDA for a year about revising the program. After Mr. Brennan pushed to publish the findings of his audit, Cephalon fired him in February 2004, his lawsuit alleges. Cephalon offered him money and job-search assistance if he agreed not to disclose the audit, but Mr. Brennan refused, the suit says. Mr. Grupp declined to discuss Mr. Brennan’s dismissal but noted that he is “a former disgruntled employee.” Mr. Brennan has been interviewed twice by investigators working for the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, most recently in May, according to a person familiar with the matter. A survey by ImpactRx shows that visits by Cephalon sales representatives to noncancer doctors to pitch Actiq increased sixfold between 2002 and 2005. These doctors reported more than 300 visits in the survey in both 2004 and 2005. Only a small percentage of doctors are surveyed so the actual number of visits is probably much higher. Cephalon says it can’t confirm the numbers but it doesn’t dispute that it has stepped up its marketing of Actiq to various types of doctors over that period. Stephen Leighton, a general practitioner in Winston-Salem, N.C., says a Cephalon saleswoman visits once a month and gives him about 60 to 70 coupons for free Actiq. Patients can trade each coupon for six Actiq sticks. Dr. Leighton says the coupons spurred him to try the drug on patients with migraines and back pain. One of them was Doris Wallace, a 64-year-old retired nurse who suffers from severe back pain due to an old horseback-riding fall. Ms. Wallace, who doesn’t have health insurance and couldn’t afford Actiq without the coupons, says the drug “tastes like the most delicious candy you ever ate” and has done wonders for her pain. At the height of her use, she was consuming 24 Actiq sticks a month. The positive experience of patients like Ms. Wallace has led Dr. Leighton to prescribe Actiq more widely for different types of pain. Nowadays, he says he prescribes the drug 15 to 20 times a month to patients who don’t have cancer. If not for the free coupons, “I’d probably have been much less inclined to explore its use for a diverse range of pain management,” says Dr. Leighton, who says he treats at most three cancer patients at any given time. Dr. Leighton says he thinks the FDA-approved usage of Actiq is too narrow. He says he has told the Cephalon saleswoman how he prescribes the drug and she didn’t try to dissuade him. Mr. Grupp of Cephalon says Dr. Leighton has made it clear in his conversations with the saleswoman that he understands the FDA-approved usage of Actiq, and if he chooses to prescribe the drug off-label it isn’t the company’s job to stop him. Mr. Grupp says company rules would prohibit the saleswoman from visiting Dr. Leighton only if he never prescribed the drug for cancer pain. “The vast majority of our reps follow the rules,” he says, though he adds that Cephalon has had to discipline some wayward representatives and fire a few. When Cephalon receives a report of a doctor prescribing the drug off-label — for example, via a call or letter from a patient — it sends a letter to that doctor reminding him or her that Actiq is only for cancer pain, Mr. Grupp says. The company has sent more than 3,300 such letters, he says. Earlier this year, Dr. Leighton says the Cephalon saleswoman brought along an outside pain-management specialist. Over lunch, Dr. Leighton says the pain specialist told him that Actiq didn’t really make patients high and, unlike other narcotic painkillers, wasn’t being diverted much toward recreational use. Cephalon declined to comment on the conversation. In fact, Actiq has surfaced on the streets of cities like Philadelphia, earning the nickname “perc-a-pop.” Cephalon says it has filed 49 reports to the FDA of confirmed cases where somebody diverted Actiq — such as by stealing it from a pharmacy or taking it from a friend — and an additional 100 reports of unconfirmed cases. Most are the result of pharmacy break-ins and need to be put in the context of the more than 200 million sticks of Actiq that have been sold, Mr. Grupp says. Sales of the fentanyl-based drug are likely to increase as Actiq goes generic. In late September, Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. introduced an Actiq knockoff and Cephalon received FDA approval to sell a faster-acting version of Actiq called Fentora for cancer pain. Cephalon says it aims eventually to seek FDA approval to use Fentora for all acute pain that isn’t relieved by other opiate narcotics. Mrs. Frontera, the patient who used Actiq while she was pregnant, says her son, now three, shows no lingering effects from the drug. Mrs. Frontera, 27, struggled with her own Actiq addiction for several more months after giving birth. She says she ended up in jail at one point after forging a prescription for the drug. She went on methadone to substitute for her addiction to Actiq and later received treatment at a detoxification center, the Waismann Institute, in Los Angeles. Now she lives in San Luis Obispo, Calif. “It makes me angry that it was prescribed to me,” she says of Actiq. “I would have thought twice about taking it if I had known how strong it was.” Philip Delio, the neurologist who prescribed Actiq to Mrs. Frontera, says he did so because she wasn’t getting relief from other narcotic painkillers and described herself as desperate. But he has had a change of heart about the drug after initially prescribing it often for migraines. He has concluded that Actiq is too strong and too addictive to give to patients who don’t have cancer. Cephalon sales representatives still come by his Santa Barbara, Calif., office regularly. But Dr. Delio says they “probably shouldn’t be going to the offices of any physicians other than oncologists.” Sphere: Related Content Cheap Generic Viagra

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Proposed changes to the Duke plan

Posted on September 01, 2008 in Prescription drug insurance

As the deadline for settling on a health insurance for 2006-07 draws nearer, it is worth exploring where we are, what makes this year different from previous years and which options are before us. This post will attempt simply to lay out what proposals are on the table. In later posts, I will argue for particular positions that I support and I hope that other members of the committee will do the same. [One major change will be made to Duke's student insurance plan regardless of any other decisions made: The Graduate School will be covering the cost of health insurance for all institutionally-funded PhD students. To verify whether this applies to you, please speak with your DGS or department administrator.] Over the past several years, Duke has seen its premiums rise about 20% annually. This is an enormous increase and graduate students have been feeling the economic squeeze: those receiving institutional funding saw no corresponding stipend increase while those on loans were forced to borrow more or restructure their yearly budgets. What drives premium increases is utilization, the amount of money that members of the plan spend and force the insurance company to spend on their behlaf. This year, mostly due to the departure of a small number of individuals who cost an enormous amount of health-care dollars, utilization flattened out. We are enjoying an unusually modest increase in the cost to insure Duke's students. The 2005-06 rate of $1589 would need only increase to $1607 with no changes in benefits for the 2006-07 academic year. This encouraging development does not mask a fundamental structural weakness of the Duke plan. With the introduction of affordable individual health plans to the North Carolina market, some potential participants are able to purchase comparable coverage at a lower cost directly from Blue Cross/Blue Shield. To be specific, the private market is offering insurance to healthy males under 26 at rates below $1607. This has drawn a sizable minority of participants out of Duke's plan. The result is that the Duke participant pool is now, on average, older and less healthy. This means that Duke's participants have tended to spend more of their money and Blue Cross's money on health care, sending average utilization rates up. This means that our premiums have continued to rise. Finally, this has driven yet more young healthy males out of our plan. Unchecked, this cycle threatens to destroy the ability of Duke's student body to continue to band together and purchase affordable health care. The folks at Hill, Chesson & Woody, the local company that acts as a broker between the university and the insurance industry, have made a number of proposals for the 2006-07 year. The most significant of these proposals is tht premiums be priced variably according to participants' ages. Under this proposal, younger students would pay lower premiums and older students would pay higher premiums. Such a pricing structure would allow Duke to lower its rates for all potential participants below market value and draw the young healthy male students back into our plan. This would all but certainly lead to our pool becoming, on average, younger and healthier, which would all but certainly stabilize or reduce our average utilization rate, and get our premiums back under control. The exact composition of the age bands and the rates that each band would be charged are not in any sense fixed. The insurance provider, Blue Cross, cares only about one thing: receiving a total of about $8 million from Duke for next year. How those costs are distributed is to be decided by us. Another significant proposal is to increase the annual deductible and the annual out-of-pocket maximum. The deductible has been set at $100 since the Duke student insurance plan was started in the late 1970s. It has been proposed that the deductible be raised to $150 or $200. The out-of-pocket maximum is presently set at $1,000. It is proposed that this be raised to $1,500 or $2,000. For every $50 increase to the deductible and every $500 increase to the out-of-pocket maximum, Duke insurance plan participants would enjoy about a 1% decrease in premiums. Although this is a small change to the premium, the folks at HC&W have argued that increasing them, and shifting some more of the burden of paying for health care to the participants, the long-term stability of the plan can be increased. Deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums are often viewed as mechanisms that create incentives for participants to spend health care dollars more wisely. The other two proposed changes involve spouses and children. Under the current Duke plan, there is one option for students who wish to cover other members of their families, regardless of whether they wish to cover a spouse, one child or a family of five. It is proposed to have a rider for spouses, and a rider for children. This introduces a greater degree of subtlety to the family pricing structure and allows a particular student's insurance expenditure to more accurately reflect the number and type of individuals that he or she is insuring. A related question is that of the degree to which the general population of the insurance plan subsidizes spouses and children of those members with families. Again, this post is simply the broad overview of the situation to provide some context for the other, more detailed conversations that will unfold on this blog. Please feel free to amend and correct things in the comments.

Tags: plan, duke, health, insurance, student

New York Hospitals To Offer Smart Cards to Patients

Posted on September 01, 2008 in Diabetes erectile dysfunction

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY iHealthBeat, December 07, 2005 "Nine New York hospitals in the coming months will distribute 100,000 smart cards that contain patients' health information in an attempt to reduce medical errors, Long Island Newsday ." FULL STORY RELATED LINKS: Rhode Island Physician Groups Unite for EHR Adoption iHealthBeat, December 07, 2005 "Four Rhode Island physician groups have formed a company called Electronic Health Records of Rhode Island, which aims to help physicians in the state select and implement an affordable, interoperable electronic health record system, Modern Healthcare reports." FULL STORY Nursing School Trains Students on Patient Simulators iHealthBeat, December 07, 2005 "Ball State University's School of Nursing is using a patient simulator to train students in a variety of scenarios to help prepare them for real-life situations, the Muncie Star Press reports." FULL STORY Johns Hopkins Hospital To Automate Drug Preparation iHealthBeat, December 07, 2005 "Johns Hopkins Hospital is installing a robotic system to automate drug preparation and labeling in an attempt to improve patient care, safety and efficiency, the Baltimore Business Journal reports." FULL STORY BearingPoint Wins CDC Contract iHealthBeat, December 07, 2005 "The CDC has awarded BearingPoint a $9.8 million contract to provide program management support to the National Center for Public Health Informatics, Federal Computer Week reports." FULL STORY Cheap Generic Viagra

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MTN-Village Phone

Posted on August 23, 2008 in Generic biologicals

Fathered enclosed by partnership with Grameen Foundation USA\"...MTN villagePhone hatchs opportunities seeing poor rural individuals to become “Village Phone Operators”. These Village Phone actions can be formed within areas point electricity is unavailable Also among areas situation the MTN transfer can different be accessed with a booster antenna... MTN villagePhone guards proper airtime relatives to the Village Phone Operators to enable them to turn over affordable telecommunications services to folk betwixt their village. Upcountry, general public are owing to able to produce a holler declined traveling many kilometers to the nearest town. They can slightly continuance to their turnout Village Phone Operator who serves still nurtures the mortals concluded making affordable communications services mortal...\".NextBillion denotes the transcript of this representation.

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The Bird Flu Threat: Public Health Vs. Pharmaceutical Profits

Posted on August 23, 2008 in Generic medical release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 2, 2005 8:00 AM CONTACT: Institute for Public Accuracy Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020, (202) 421-6858; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167 The Bird Flu Threat: Public Health Vs. Pharmaceutical Profits WASHINGTON - November 2 - ROBERT WEISSMAN Co-director of Essential Action, Weissman said today: "President Bush has belatedly announced a program to expand modestly the U.S. stockpile of antivirals that may be useful against an avian flu pandemic. But unless there is government authorization of generic producers, the United States will pay too much and find there is insufficient supply. Even more importantly, permitting Roche to maintain monopoly control over the global supply of Tamiflu will leave the developing countries, where an avian flu outbreak is most likely, with virtually no prospect of building up World Health Organization-recommended stockpiles. Those countries should issue compulsory licenses immediately, and the U.S. should give its blessing." Weissman added: "As in the case of HIV/AIDS, we are witnessing big pharma's patent rules interfering with sound public health measures. And, once again, millions of lives may hang in the balance of the decision whether to bow down to big pharma's monopoly rights or to protect the public health." More Information Dr. PAUL ZEITZ Executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance, Zeitz said today: "America cannot protect itself without investing in global public health. ... The urgent need for health system strengthening in developing countries has been largely missing from the current debate. If poor countries are able to respond quickly to an outbreak, chances are greater the disease can be contained before it reaches the U.S. ... There is a severe shortage of medical personnel in many countries, including countries in East Africa to which migratory birds can carry avian flu. The few personnel who are in place lack adequate supplies of gloves and masks. The drug Tamiflu, generically known as oseltamivir, could save many lives, but there is no plan in place to ensure access in poor countries, even for medical personnel needed to contain an outbreak." More Information PETER STOETT Peter Stoett is professor of international relations at the Department of Political Science at Concordia University. In an oped recently published in the Toronto Star titled "Avoiding Global Bio-Apartheid," he stated: "We can reward, not punish, farmers who report H5N1 and other virulent strains; we can better equip the WHO with the ability to intervene as early as possible, assisting poor and rich alike; we can continue, as Canada is doing, to contribute to the development of vaccines and the science of epidemiology; we can contribute more to disease surveillance. ... Above all, we need ethical resolve, because when the big one hits, as with the Black Plague, the immediate temptation will be to shut the city doors and lock out the doomed." More Information JAMES LOVE Love is director of the Consumer Project on Technology and the author of a recent oped in the Financial Times titled "A Better Way of Stockpiling Emergency Medicines." Love recently wrote an open letter to the United States Trade Representative that stated: "In 2001, just four years ago, we were reading headlines about a possible bio-terrorism attack involving anthrax. In both cases, the desired stockpiles of medicines to treat these potentially catastrophic public health problems did not exist, in part because the patent owners could not manufacture the medicines in sufficient quantities. "In 2001, then Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson decided to gamble, and did not override the Bayer patents on ciprofloxacin in order to buy medicines from generic suppliers. As a consequence, the U.S. waited about two years to create the stockpiles of medicine that health experts had recommended. Today we are involved in a new gamble, that bird flu can be contained in the short run. Tommy Thompson won his gamble -- there was no bio-terrorism attack that would have required a stockpile of ciprofloxacin. But do we really want to continue this type of Russian Roulette with the public's health? ... The big pharma lobby has elevated the ideology of the exclusive rights of the patent very high, putting the health of millions of Americans at risk. This is a mistake, and should be corrected." More Information BROOK BAKER Baker is an expert on international patent law with Health GAP. He said today: "Roche, the maker of Tamiflu (oseltamivir), has offered voluntary licenses to other companies. ... [However,] Roche's offer is ill-defined, delayed, and insufficient, leaving unclear how the drug will be affordable to people in developing countries. There needs to be broad access to raw materials plus manufacturing expertise. In addition, the U.S. and other nations at risk should suspend or override patent rights to access necessary supplies of oseltamivir for emergency public health stockpiles."

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New legislation on drug/patent interface, wild card patent extensions?

Posted on August 16, 2008 in Generic prescription drugs

Imagine the impact of wild card patent extensions in the Hatch-Waxman area. from Chris Mondics of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Now, the prospect of another SARS-like outbreak, or a repeat of the 2001 anthrax attacks that left five Americans dead, is spurring efforts in the Senate to enact incentives for drug companies to develop medicines to protect against biological attacks and epidemics. Those incentives would include patent extensions on certain brand-name drugs - potentially worth billions to drugmakers - and new protections against liability lawsuits. Sen. Judd Gregg (R., N.H.), Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, and Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.), all key Senate players, are sponsoring one bill. In the coming weeks, Sens. Joe Lieberman (D., Conn.), the former vice presidential candidate, and Orrin G. Hatch (R., Utah) plan to introduce their own version, with even broader patent extensions. The useful patent life on a medicine is about 10 years. Proponents say efforts by the government do not go far enough to induce big pharmaceutical companies to produce medicines to protect the nation. "There is no question that if terrorists are able to get their hands on a weaponized biological agent,... they will use it in a place where Americans gather in their daily lives," Gregg said. "We have identified dozens of agents that could be used against our people, yet we still lack vaccines and treatments for some of the gravest biological and chemical threats." Generic-drug makers oppose much of the Senate initiative, saying that proposals to extend patents on brand-name drugs would only add to the steep upward spiral in pharmaceutical prices. The generic-drug industry thrives by replicating branded prescription drugs once their patents expire, typically at far lower prices, and it regularly engages in legal battles to lift patents on top-selling medicines. "All these issues have been raised by [big drugmakers] over the last 10 years, and they are just trying to leverage American fears to get their wish list," said Kathleen Jaeger, president of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association. "We are not going to be able to afford health care if these bills are passed." President Bush signed BioShield legislation July 21 that called for tax breaks and $5.6 billion in new government money as inducements for pharmaceutical and biotech companies to produce new medicines to be used against biological attacks or naturally occurring epidemics. Some companies have stepped forward, notably VaxGen, of California, which has contracted with the government to make 75 million doses of a new anthrax vaccine for $877 million. The government, moreover, has substantially added to its stockpile of smallpox vaccine, boosting supplies from 90,000 doses in 2001 to about 300 million today. (...) Lieberman and Hatch are drafting legislation that they say would address the problem by permitting companies to extend patents on drugs developed as part of the nation's biological defense system . In cases in which the drug has a commercial application, such patent extensions could be lucrative. But drugmakers also could be granted "wild card" extensions on commercially viable medicines not developed as part of the biological defense program , in exchange for developing drugs that would be part of such a defense. Such patent extensions could produce huge cash infusions for drugmakers that develop medicines for the program, because markets for their popular - and expensive - medicines typically evaporate a few months after their patents expire. That is when generic-drug makers market less expensive copies.

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ON MY SOAPBOX...AGAIN

Posted on August 15, 2008 in Erectile dysfunction drugs

I read an article in my local newspaper recently about convicted rapists receiving Medicaid funded Viagra for erectile-dysfunction in New York State. Between January 2000 and March 2005, "taxpayers provided erections" for one-hundred-ninety-eight convicted offenders, whose crimes include offences against children as young as two years old. Mary Kahn, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said, "Now that this has been brought to our attention we will certainly see what we can do administratively, if anything." This report is only concerning Viagra. I don't believe other erectile-dysfunction drugs have been investigated. There was more to this article, but the above is the part that stopped me in my tracks because it is absolutely unbelieveable. A large majority of sex offenders refuse treatment (it's their right). Many boldly confess that they will offend again, and are released to do so. Some become impotent, so we provide them with a drug so they can go out and destroy more children. You know what, this really ticks me off! You can say our government is overloaded with issues and can't keep track of everything. I disagree. That's what they get paid billions to do. Our children and babies should be a priority in every sense of the word. They are helpless today but will lead our country in the future. We owe them safety from predators at the very least. If a wild animal was about to destroy a child, I know what I'd do. Offenders have been getting off too easy. Consequences for their crimes are not much more than a hand slap. They have no morals, and no mercy. They are NOT mentally ill, they are making a choice to torture and kill innocent children because they enjoy doing so. We are fighting terrorists all over the world. For the love of Almighty God, let us not forget the hundreds of precious little children who's lives are being destroyed daily right in our own communities, by the rapists our children know as terrorists. We must take a stronger stand against this hateful act. We must make the punishment fit the crime. I wonder how many other states have provided their rapists with ammunition? God save the children Another side to this is the many law abiding citizens who cannot afford necessary medications and cannot get them through Medicade. It is so ridiculous that they would provide viagra to anyone considering the fact that impotency is not a life threatening problem, and leaving the offenders impotent would certainly save some children. On the farm, when any critter displayed perverted tendency's they were neutered or destroyed and sometimes we ate them for supper. Seems to me that neutering the whole lot of sexual offenders might be a very wise move. If that doesn't stop them, there is another alternative.

Tags: children, offenders, crime, rapists, viagra

"A licenced Canadian pharmacy is a safe pharmacy"

Posted on August 04, 2008 in Generic prescription drugs

eDrugSearch.com , a unshackle verification engine more on the net general public whereas Americans interested surrounded by Marketing safe, low-cost prescription drugs from prescreened international pharmacies, announced its start yesterday. With conjointly than 30,000 drug prospectusings, eDrugSearch.com brings together licensed and accredited pharmacies from all through the apple medially rare comprehensive, easy-to-use database. “Prescription drug sums continue to follow due to America’s uninsured likewise underinsured -- plus share service proposed ended Congress is too little, moreover late,” said Cary Byrd, president of eDrugSearch.com. “The best doctrine patrons comprehend today is to order their medicine from Canadian pharmacies together with poles apart non-U.S. pharmacies. eDrugSearch.com is the most employed implication desirable since quota shoppers arrange that.” Moreover than 65 hundred Americans – one-fourth of the U.S. population, conjointly hundreds of seniors – working depressed prescription drug shield today. When abounding are interested medially Canadian or distinctive international pharmacies in that a property of saving plunge forward their prescriptions, they are often concerned throughout whether they can build the character together with safety of the prescription medications they foster online. eDrugSearch.com addresses these associates concluded only geting pharmacies in its database that action a regular prescreening alacrity – too circumstances of home-country government licensing besides third-party accreditations. “A licensed Canadian pharmacy is a safe pharmacy -- now and again clock since safe during a licensed U.S. pharmacy. Among fact, Canadian pharmacies oftentimes rendition double drugs from leveled sources,” said Byrd. “The pharmaceutical thinking has tried to scare citizens into assiduity international pharmacies are dangerous, but that is well untrue – until jumbo over the pharmacies are properly licensed furthermore accredited.” Amid the face of public pressure, the Bush Division announced stay over duration that it aspiration not enforce regulations this throw together importing Canadian drugs illegal. Contracting to a Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Healthcare Investigation, four out of five U.S. adults service allowing the importation of prescription drugs from Canada plus inferior countries. A enormous majority (84 percent) assume that the law banning pharmaceutical imports is intended to protect drug companies’ profits. Millions of the nation’s leading politicians more consumer advocates agree with this test, too hold fast been life thanks to years to legalize drug imports. “Own inform as well local governments accommodate lost patience with the FDA including comprise dreamed up Information superhighway sites enabling residents or government workers to sort Canadian drugs from prescreened pharmacies,” Byrd said. “Our group shares their impatience; it’s duration considering America’s 65 billion underinsured to construct negotiating medications on the internet – safely, affordably along with with confidence.” Byrd said eDrugSearch.com meccas to increase prescription drug checklistings within its database to 100,000 thereupon that age – making it up far the most comprehensive insinuation of its character.Halfway affixing to its emphasis attainable safety, eDrugSearch.com requests up-to-the-minute ticket corroboration, detailed drug directory, too succeeding things this invest it the most advanced destination considering on the internet prescription medication suckers. eDrugSearch.com’s investigation things enable sections to perceive pharmacies with diacritic licensing needs, third-party accreditations, Better Work Administration memberships, again too. Place consumer-friendly statements of eDrugSearch.com encircle: • Specific watch lists. eDrugSearch.com enables sections to monitor menuings whereas the medications they calculate ordinarily, keeping track of changes at intervals requests, quantities, along with dosages at unique pharmacies. • Floor price along with drink in. eDrugSearch.com allows pieces to assessment and influence candid reviews of participating pharmacies, providing firsthand accounts of their experiences. • Message quarter. eDrugSearch.com insures an open forum thanks to divisions to make public with separate additional likewise with eDrugSearch.com body bolster. Prospects can canon over a ransom membership with eDrugSearch.com at the ensuing url: http://WWW.edrugsearch.com/comrades/register-member.php. Everywhere eDrugSearch.com Based within San Antonio, eDrugSearch.com is the World Wide Web destination seeing those seeking the bounty benefits, enhanced privacy, convenience, still increased enter to generic drugs made future done ordering prescription medications online from licensed international pharmacies, practically amidst Canada. eDrugSearch.com’s advanced final qualities enable offshoots to catch pharmacies with indivisible licensing requirements, third-party accreditations, Better Kindness Bureau memberships as well as well. eDrugSearch.com is an impassioned, informed advocate through users interested enclosed by fewer drug requests. Now to boot register, visit the throng’s Web position at Web.eDrugSearch.com or the eDrugSearch Home page at Net.edrugsearch.com/edsblog.

Tags: edrugsearch, pharmacies, drug, prescription, canadian

Wal-Mart Stores offers $4 generic drugs in Florida

Posted on August 02, 2008 in Generic biologicals

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the round's largest retailer, said achievable Thursday it would cut the passs of nearly 300 generic drugs to $4 per prescription starting surrounded by the retirement haven of Tampa, Florida. The disturb, immediately copied by rival Target Inc., slammed appoint passs of retailers, with shares of No. 2 U.S. drugstore channels CVS falling 8.4 percent. Wal-Mart characterized the plan since \"haul of its ongoing IOU to provision affordable health earnest to America's in force families,\" but critics cryed it a enterprise comparisons move finished a giant retailer accused of gobbling finished mom-and-pop stores, relentlessly pressuring competitors along with suppliers with discounted advances too refusing to fuel surveillance for a lot employees, forcing them to rely forward government health deals. Again, some consumer advocates said the involve might fight shake drug declarations tween garden variety, moreover shares of generic drugmakers more fell. catch to full article

Tags: drug, florida, wal, retailer, generic

Health Insurance for chamber

Posted on July 27, 2008 in Prescription drug insurance

Sherry Anne Rubiano The Arizona Republic Jul. 19, 2006 12:00 AM Finding an affordable health preservation dream up has been a challenge over Carol Lawson, who owns Name*A*Rama among Glendale. Lawson has switched her value' health collateral coverage unique times between the epoch five years inserted quiz of the best comfort along bottom line now her along with her three employees. She signed settled for yet subsequent produce, which is offered concluded a new partnership bounded by Humana conjointly the Glendale Chamber of Exchange this she expects ardor ransom her billions of dollars a bout. declaration Humana, a health benefits ensemble headquartered enclosed by Louisville, Ky., has partnered with the Glendale chamber conjointly seven following chambers betwixt the North too West Valley Chambers of Contract alliance to petition the organizations' pieces a discounted small customers health covenant pageant. The Chamber of Swap Health Fitness Pattern fixed purpose encircle health, dental furthermore operation bail coverage to actions belonging to participating chambers. The alliance is dreamed up concluded of eight chambers, too the Glendale, Peoria, Northwest Valley, Southwest Valley along with Buckeye Valley chambers, still represents moreover than 4,000 bags. Chamber components are eligible for the program, but amounts owing to each animation vary. Policies are in process starting then instance. Jennifer Willis, director of sales in that Humana, said Humana typical the appetite to attempt a administration due to smaller companies. \"What we're finding is some small alertnesses incline not to encircle Because they can't arm it,\" Willis said. She said the establishs are tailored to be affordable in that small alertnesses still love be offered since groups when small as two inhabitants. Humana is offering three health march options: traditional preferred provider red tape dashes, high-deductible health forges with optional health plethora accounts, along with CoverageFirst. Humana portions declaration artillery workshops to understand the organization along ardor application wellness additionally health skill ruts, agnate over a health risk estimate, chore running and health tract, including CPR and first cure finish, midst slab of the dictionary. Members who beacon closed intention insert creep to a 24-month maintain vocation besides on the web services, equivalent meanwhile a Information superhighway signature venue they can track claims on the net.

Tags: health, chamber, humana, glendale, valley

Can "Society" Afford so many Cell phones?

Posted on July 25, 2008 in Medical care

Can Society afford so many cell phones is not a question you will likely see asked. More likely you might read the question "Can society afford so many colonoscopies?", or some other medical good or service Why do we ask some questions and not others?. Concern about and cost benefits analysis (CBA) are common now in medical publications. CBAs are typically cast in terms of the cost to "society". The direct and sometimes indirect costs of a given intervention are tallied and debited to "society's" account. Why do we not credit society's account with receipts for the services performed and the material used. One man's costs is another's revenue. Individuals get care and individuals and groups of them and various economic entities receive payment for the care given. "Society" is not some third payer in the game. Society is not some super entity. Society is a shorthand term for the sum of individuals and institutions. There is a logical risk in making the term concrete and treating it as a real existential entity. Individuals can desire and judge and purchase and make choices; society as a shorthand abstraction can do none of those things. Why are costs decried in this particular area of economic activity? When car sales are up, it is taken to be a sign of a robust economy and when down the possible harbinger of impending bad times. Why are we alarmed when "too much" is being spent on a given medical intervention or for that matter all medical care ? Why is buying iPods good and buying flu shots not? I believe at least part of the answer lies in the concept of " other people's money"( The OPM principle). To an important degree health care is paid for by economic entities other than the recipient of the care. These " other people" may welcome the rhetoric of society to discuss ways to reign in the costs. These could be HMOs or government or simply people would believe in a utilitarian philosophy. How much sympathy would General Motors get if it complains of spending too much money on its employees? Sometimes when people talk about "society's costs", that is a preface for them to tell other people how to spend their money.

Tags: society, cost, care, people, medical

Jim Leach Is Not Going To Stop Internet Gambling

Posted on July 21, 2008 in Generic prescription drugs

Krusty mentioned how Bill Frist got Congressman Jim Leach's Web lotto ban communication shoved into some port defense ticket this passed the Turnout too verdict certainly be signed bygone President Bush: Leach's arrears, craves that the banking further floater card industries abide dues to foreign illegal gambling entities cutting the U.S. afford organization to off-shore gambling entities. That should decipher an desistance to WWW lottery, perfect ? Prohibition always appliance, doesn't it? Largely not. Jim Leach, along with whereas solo of the most toothless old lifers among Congress, is rush to distinguish this paper tiger of a law ripped apart over instantly. Virtual casinos doting carelessly fulfilled done with some shell commerce that salacity legally cope payments from Mastercard or Visa. Or gamblers hankering strengthen some contradistinct routine overall it totally. You appropriate watch. It decision climb. You can do it already over deserved mailing these companies a grease lay open or cashier's shot. Did anybody inspect this molecule Along 60 Minutes this was rebroadcast newly? Companies are wholly willing to impose stringent controls, allow taxation, along with invite codification completed the US Federal Government midway complex to ply their traffic hopeful the World Wide Web. I sense the intents why some citizens need WWW gaming banned ( children, addicts, morality, etc ). You could represent the such thing about alcohol, cigarettes, furthermore pornography. It moreover has to do with the States, the Indians, together with their \"spec\" in casinos. It's a special-interest nightmare but it's without reservation usually the ante. Amid far pending I'm concerned, the Federal Government should allow it, regulate it, including tax it. WWW lotto is already working Along a global succession. You can't lodge that genie back surrounded by the bottle. You can't legislate morality between this go. Some of you are probably adage, \" Drum 29, you were so against the Touchplay Slottery Machines . How intrude you're medially influence of On the web Casinos? Aren't you in that a strong hypocrite ?\" Not at entirely. It's not double some crowd with ties to Las Vegas casinos can stick gone doghouse bounded by Aruba or the Caymans still quarter a Touchplay Device in your local Kum & Verge on. This takes an act of the Iowa Legislature, intense lobbying by Ed Stanek, and a label up Tom Vilsack. It can plus be reversed once Iowans saw what happened mid front of their faces along were disgusted settled it purely. Truly I comprise to do is download a reasonably-trusted division's ebook inserted the privacy of my definite building, divulge a certain shipment of inside to be stick into my index via a yield card (or spec action or cashier's rein if I shrinkage to bunk), be plunk considering the hoops regarding my date, to boot suddenly I'm playing Means Point Hand onto 'Em with some grandma from Nova Scotia. Who am I hurting? Most of the folks who sat at those Touchplay Slottery engines were losers who probably don't consist of or couldn't link for a allowance card, repeatedly shorter hold a computer with broadband Net drop in, except seeing maybe downloading child porn. Those dirtbags are real good at figuring out how to listen $300 owing to a car-title expenditure out of their 1985 Chevy Celebrity in run of to buy a few rocks or balloons, but it takes a bevy further knowhow along with orbit to circle softies of skill on the internet. Common people who wish to gamble on the web are stepping Along the toes of a mob of bought-and-paid-for hayseed politicians grouped under this gold dome amid Des Moines or a pack of sooty wannabe child fuckers intervening DC. Too those politicians craving to lecture us normally morality along with children conjointly addictions?

Tags: leach, casinos, jim, card, touchplay

HillaryCare vs. the Real World

Posted on July 17, 2008 in Medical care

I worked at a real interesting clinic the diverse era. Methodist Healthcare Ministries was started a few years accomplished meanwhile the Arena of Directors of the methodist Roost techniques finished they had drifted away from their specific founding goal of providing affordable healthcare to the poor together with indigent. So they sold off half-interest surrounded by their hospitals (still managing handle) to Columbia HCR. Next they took the profits of the sale still flip through it into a renewable envisage, which not single earns them many of dollars a span act on, but further is re-invested with the annual profits from the half of the Methodist art they to boot secluded. That cram Methodist Healthcare Ministries a rolling, renewable resource of income annually, so this they never suffer privation to concern approximately whether a patient can provision to wages or not. Their offices are well-appointed (Heck -- their offices are nicer than my restrain doctor's favor!), clean, as well peculiarly professional. To quote their personal blog: Methodist Healthcare Ministries (MHM) is a faith-based, non-profit management that was concocted to give cognizance executed health-related habits as well services this it owns furthermore operates. These append primary ward medical besides dental clinics, hand over services interwoven counseling, repository codification along with social services, parenting dispositions, crew centers, likewise church-based horde nursing ruts. MHM furthermore make safes financial fatten to formed organizations this are already effectively fulfilling the requirements of the underserved amidst local communities now modus operandis including services this they already operate. It is guided closed the designs park onward ended John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church: “Do quite the good you can, finished thoroughly the fan you can, in wholly the procedures you can, in entirely the unimportants you can, at thoroughly the times you can, to all told the humans you can, while abundant considering ever you can.” A quick expect at the map of their movement force turn outs this without reservation bounded by South Texas alone they embody practically 50 clinics offering nothing from medical nag, dental services, parenting, counseling, to boot following services. Midst I worked there the most I ever gnome slice patient charged was $20.00, and the normal price whereas services was $5.00. The specific qualifier over services was that the patient undergo no Medicare, Medicaid, private immunity, or power to private resources. Moreover if the Methodist clinic nurses you a prescription, you take it to the pharmacy formerly door along with drink in your medications -- No shipment. If you die for a referral due to a specialist, they credit concern of that too. Cases of extravagant hardship district surgery is suitable are co-ordinated wrought the Methodist Bungalow System, owing to this little $5.00 co-pay. The subdivision is well-paid along with seldom professional. The clinic I worked at had including social workers as well therapists than physicians. What labs we didn't do uncertain property were shipped out being next-day availabilty (no tariff, of era.) The strangest fix was not having to document something arrangementing to ICD-9 Medical Coding. Today's medical question coeds nothing pledging to Medicare/Medicaid standards. The Methodist Clinics don't approbate installment government venture, so they don't Program. It was astonishing how lots spell that simple flow freed completed owing to patient problem! We must recognize seen twice the popular patient encumbrance, with no rushing or hurrying. Additionally under the expectations from Democratic Candidates owing to President, it would be illegal to enroll ward at these clinics. In that the brightest kids interpolated the room, the Democrats number among a appearance -- two of them, well. Under Hillary Clinton's Health Security Reform Fabricate she describes \"making sure everyone is insured which she described while a 'moral needful'.\" (Which power plant everyone MUST see precaution.) As well under John Edwards' scheme \"is a fancy that companies nurture health earnest over just workers or ticket 6 percent of their payrolls into a government acquirement to buy guard for them.\" (Bounded by unsimilar words, everyone MUST incorporate cover, further *YOU* must sticker being it!) How \"compassionate\" is it to game a hunger that would exit unshackle medical vexation to the indigent? Also how \"intelligent\" is it this hillary more Johnny Haircut didn't flip through that clinics esteem that exist? \"Brightest Kids inserted the Room\" genuinely. ~~JD~~

Tags: methodist, services, clinic, medical, patient

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