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May 2009
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Volume 3, Issue 9
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InforMed Society
Offical E-Newsletter of the Medical Society
Keeping you InforMed about the latest health care news!
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| Sebelius Announces HHS Office of Health Reform Personnel |
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today announced the establishment of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Health Reform. This Office will spearhead the Department's efforts to pass urgently needed health reform this year and coordinate closely with the White House Office of Health Reform. Both offices were created by an April 8 Executive Order to help deliver on one of President Obama's top priorities. "The skyrocketing cost of health care is crushing families and businesses and we must enact health reform this year," said Secretary Sebelius. "The HHS Office of Health Reform and the White House Office of Health Reform will work in tandem to advance legislation and take immediate actions to cut costs, assure quality and affordable health care for all Americans, and guarantee Americans can choose their doctor and their health plan." The following key staff members have been appointed to the HHS Office of Health Reform: Jeanne Lambrew, PhD, Director of the HHS Office of Health Reform: Jeanne Lambrew will lead the health reform effort in the Office, helping the Secretary to marshal the experience and assets of the Department. Dr. Lambrew was previously an associate professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and worked on health policy in the Clinton Administration. Read more... |
USA Today's Most Influential Doctors
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Unless you've had heart trouble in Schenectady, N.Y.,
you've probably never heard of cardiologist Steven Weitz. But he has
made a difference in this leafy town of 60,000 on the Mohawk River.
Weitz has helped usher in major changes in how
local paramedics, emergency room staff and heart specialists treat
heart attacks so doctors can clear patients' clogged arteries as
quickly as possible.
His colleagues say that when Weitz talks, people
listen. It's their high regard for him, their tendency to follow his
lead, that distinguishes Weitz as one of the nation's Most Influential
Doctors, a database USA TODAY is launching online today.
Created for USA TODAY by the Santa Fe
medical information firm Qforma, the database lists about 6,000
specialists in the treatment of high cholesterol, high blood pressure,
diabetes and asthma from more than 300 communities across the USA. More
doctors in other specialties will be added in coming months.
Complete article...
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USA Today's Most Influential Doctors Database
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Most Influential Doctors, an analysis by the medical information firm Qforma,
lists thousands of physicians considered the "thought-leaders" in more than 300 U.S. metro areas.
These are the doctors other doctors listen to, send patients to and can influence care.
To measure this influence, Qforma analyzed doctors' geographic
proximity to other doctors, their publication history, medical
partnerships, hospital and academic affiliations, and prescribing
history, among other data. Doctors' names, addresses and practicing
status were reviewed by health care data providers Wolters Kluwer
Health and SK&A Information Services. This listing includes roughly
6,000 doctors in four specialties: hypertension, high cholesterol,
asthma and diabetes. More physicians in other specialties will be added
in coming months.
Analyses like this can guide drug companies in their development and marketing of new products.
USA TODAY, in publishing Qforma's list, is making such a list public for the first time.
Influence does not imply a measure of quality of care, nor does
this list serve as an endorsement by USA TODAY or Qforma. Readers are encouraged to seek additional
information to determine a doctor's quality.
View database here
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Arizona Medical Board
Member Elected to National Medical Board
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Ram Krishna, M.D., has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Federation
of State Medical Boards (FSMB) for a three-year term. The election of new Board
Members took place last week at the organization's 97th Annual
Meeting in Washington,
D.C. Dr. Krishna is the first
Arizonan to serve on the FSMB Board.
Dr. Krishna, who is an orthopedic
surgeon in Yuma,
has been a member of the Arizona Medical Board for nearly 15 years. During that
time, he has served as the Board's Secretary and Vice-Chair and was elected
Chair three times. Two years ago, Dr. Krishna was elected to the board of the
Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and recently was re-elected
as a trustee and as a member of its executive
committee.
Read more...
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Novel H1N1 Flu a Naturally Circulating Virus, Not From a Laboratory
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The World Health Organization (WHO) is refuting claims made by an
eminent virologist that the novel H1N1 strain that is circulating is
derived from a laboratory.
Keiji Fukuda, MD, MPH, assistant director-general ad. interim for
health security and environment at the WHO, spoke at a press conference
today.
According to Dr. Fukuda, on Saturday, May 9, the WHO was contacted
by Dr. Adrian Gibbs, who Dr. Fukuda referred to as a "credible"
virologist. After looking at the gene sequence of H1N1, Dr. Gibbs
speculated that the virus circulating may have been from a
laboratory-derived virus.
Dr. Gibbs, an emeritus professor at the Australian National
University in Canberra, said that all 8 of the genes from the novel
H1N1 strain seemed to have evolved at a faster rate than would have
been expected if the virus had just emerged naturally from pigs.
Dr. Fukuda stated that the WHO discussed the hypothesis provided by
the scientist and they contacted the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the World Animal Health Organization (OIE). WHO
asked their virologists to "look at the evidence and then provide their
opinion to us - was this a credible hypothesis or not?" he said.
Read on...
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HHS to Award $1.79 Billion to Help People Living with HIV/AIDS
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today
announced the release of $1.79 billion to ensure that people living
with HIV/AIDS continue to have access to life-saving health care and
medications. The grants are funded through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which helps more than 529,000 individuals every year obtain the care and services they need to live longer, healthier lives. "These
grants will provide state-of-the-art treatment for people currently in
care and critical services to newly diagnosed individuals who are being
brought into care," said Jeffrey S. Crowley, director of the White
House Office of National AIDS Policy. "The care and services these
grants will support can help Americans living with HIV/AIDS to live
longer, healthier lives." The Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA), an agency within HHS, oversees the Ryan White
HIV/AIDS Program, which provides funding for health services for people
who lack sufficient health care coverage or financial resources to cope
with HIV disease. Read complete article... |
Aging Baby Boomers and Cancer: The Oncoming Burdens
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The aging of America will contribute to a 45% increase in the total
number of annual cancer cases - from 1.6 million to 2.3 million - over
the next 2 decades (from 2010 to 2030), according to a new cancer
incidence report published online April 29 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
By
2030, Americans 65 years and older will account for 70% of all cancer
diagnoses - up from about 61% of current cases, says the report.
The
expected increase in cancer as the Baby Boomer generation ages is a
daunting clinical and political challenge, suggested June M. McKoy, MD,
who is the lead author of an editorial that accompanies the cancer
incidence report.
More information...
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USPSTF Recommends Folic Acid Supplements for Women of Child-Bearing Age
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New observational evidence supports previous evidence from a
randomized controlled trial that folic acid-containing supplements
lower the risk for pregnancies affected by neural tube defects,
according to a US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) statement and
review of evidence reported in the May 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The review suggests that the previously noted association of folic acid
use with twin gestation may be confounded by fertility interventions.
Based on the evidence, the USPSTF has issued a grade A
recommendation that all women planning or capable of pregnancy take a
daily supplement containing 0.4 to 0.8 mg (400 - 800 µg) of folic acid.
Regarding benefits of this preventive measure, the USPSTF found
convincing evidence that taking supplements containing 0.4 to 0.8 mg
(400 - 800 µg) of folic acid during the periconceptional period lowers
the risk for neural tube defects. Regarding potential harms, adequate
evidence suggests that folic acid from supplementation at usual doses
is not associated with serious harms.
For women who are planning or are capable of pregnancy, the USPSTF
therefore concludes that there is high certainty that the net benefit
of folic acid supplementation during pregnancy is substantial.
More information...
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Research Helps Pinpoint Mutations Associated With Autism
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Evidence is accumulating rapidly that a particular region of the
human genome is associated with the development of autism. This
information could help enormously in the development of treatments for
the condition.
In a study presented here at the 8th Annual International Meeting for Autism Research and published online April 28 in the Annals of Human Genetics, a team of researchers found a clustering of mutations associated with autism in a region known as 5p14.1.
Another study, by some of the same researchers, published online April 28 in Nature,
also linked his region with autism spectrum disorders. Located very
close to this region are 2 genes coding for proteins known as cadherins
that are involved in adhesion of neurons; these, in turn, are
implicated in autism pathogenesis.
Read complete article...
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Tarceva Gets Safety Warnings for Potentially Fatal GI Perforation, Other Disorders
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New safety information has been added to the Warnings and Precautions safety labeling for erlotinib (Tarceva, Genentech, Inc, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday.
Information about 3 disorders has been added: gastrointestinal
perforation; bullous, blistering, and exfoliative skin conditions; and
ocular disorders. According to an alert sent from MedWatch,
the FDA's safety information and adverse event reporting program, the
new safety information comes from routine pharmacovigilance activities
of clinical study and postmarketing reports.
Gastrointestinal perforations, including some fatal cases, have been
reported in patients receiving erlotinib. Those at increased risk
include those taking concomitant anti-angiogenic agents,
corticosteroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and/or
taxane-based chemotherapy, or who have prior history of peptic
ulceration or diverticular disease. The FDA advises that erlotinib
should be permanently discontinued in patients who develop
gastrointestinal perforation.
More information...
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