Consumer Reports. More than 500,000 Americans misinterpret prescription drug instructions each year.  For example, a 2007 study revealed that one-third of patients didn't understand that "two tablets by mouth twice daily" meant taking four pills in a 24-hour period.  Inconsistent information regarding side effects, medical jargon and small type all seem to also play a role.  Consumer Reports visited 5 pharmacies for the same drug, and found varying instruction labels. Click on the link to read about the study, and their suggestions for cleaning up drug labels. (6/1) Full story  

Kaiser Health News. Federal subsidies to help laid-off workers afford COBRA insurance have ended as of Wednesday.  This has raised concern as to how laid-off workers will be able to afford health care.  In 2014, more than 30 million Americans will gain coverage as an expansion of Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program, but until then, some families may struggle for coverage. (Galewitz, 9/1) Full story  

Drugs.com. The FTC's final report on authorized generic drugs concludes that when drug companies introduce an authorized generic version of their brand-name drug, it can reduce prices. The report also found that authorized generics have a substantial effect on the revenues of competing generic firms. When a competing generic manufacturer is given the sole right to compete against the brand-name company's generic version for the first 6 months, the presence of an authorized generic competitor reduces the first-filing generic's revenues by 40 to 52 percent, on average." (9/1) Full story