Posted in Congress, Consumer Protection, Health, Litigation, Pharmaceuticals, Product Safety on June 26, 2008 | No Comments »
Maybe, the founding fathers actually knew what they were doing when they set up a system of checks and balances that ensure that no one branch of our government can become too powerful. We see examples all the time where the President and Congress clash over issues or where the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in [...]
Posted in Consumer Protection, Health, Pharmaceuticals, Product Safety on June 19, 2008 | 2 Comments »
If the British recognize that the drug propoxyphene is too dangerous to prescribe to patients, what’s keeping Americans from realizing the same thing?
The U.K. began a phased withdrawal of Darvocet, which contains propoxyphene, from the British market in 2005, after the U.K. Committee on Safety of Medicines recommended that they do so. In its report, [...]
Posted in Health, Pharmaceuticals, tagged codeine, Health on June 3, 2008 | No Comments »
Are you or is someone you know taking codeine to relieve pain? Then some new information in Public Citizen’s Worst Pills, Best Pills June newsletter will be of interest.
It turns out a substantial minority of people using codeine may be at risk of getting inadequate pain relief or experiencing serious side effects because of certain [...]
Posted in Congress, Consumer Protection, Health, Litigation, Pharmaceuticals, Product Safety, tagged celebrities, Dennis Quaid, drug safety, FDA, Heparin on May 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Photo by Bridgette Blair
Taking a mislabeled drug or using a defective medical device is a dangerous thing. Just ask actor Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberly.
In November 2007, their newborn twins were given a massive overdose of Heparin, an anticoagulant drug. The twins were supposed to receive another drug that would ease the intravenous administration [...]
Posted in Health, Pharmaceuticals, tagged contraception, FDA, Ortho-Evra on May 8, 2008 | No Comments »
When Johnson & Johnson received approval from the FDA in November 2001 for Ortho-Evra, a contraceptive patch, the company claimed its product would have two key advantages over existing oral contraceptives:
1) A constant delivery of hormones
2) Improvements in compliance compared to the daily dosing of oral contraceptives
It sounded like a great deal. Women could wear [...]
Posted in Health, Litigation on May 1, 2008 | No Comments »
From Deepak Gupta @ Consumer Law & Policy Blog: Did you know that a smoked turkey sandwich (930 calories) at Chili’s has more calories than a sirloin steak (540 calories)? Or that a large milk shake from Mc Donald’s has over 1,000 calories, about half a day’s recommended amount? Or that two jelly-filled doughnuts at [...]
Posted in Health, Pharmaceuticals on April 29, 2008 | No Comments »
Kudos to the Association of American Medical Colleges for pushing to stem the influence of drug and medical device makers on college campuses. In a set of recommendations released this week, the association called for an end to the industry practice of offering gifts, travel and other perks to students and staff at the nation’s [...]
Posted in Health, Pharmaceuticals, Product Safety on April 28, 2008 | No Comments »
Developing a product that could be used as a blood substitute — one that has a long-shelf life and doesn’t require refrigeration or cross-matching — would be a great medical advance. Imagine the use of it in battlefield M.A.S.H. units or in times of natural or man-made disasters. But a new study by researchers from [...]
Posted in Consumer Protection, Health on April 25, 2008 | No Comments »
Here’s a roundup of stories that followed Public Citizen’s release of its annual state medical board rankings:
L.A. Times: California disciplined fewer doctors in 2007
Miami Herald: Oversight of Florida doctors criticized
Charleston Post & Courier: South Carolina lowest in doctor discipline
Tulsa World: Doctors disciplined more in Oklahoma
El Paso Times: Report faults doctor discipline
State Journal-Register (Ill.): State improves [...]
Posted in Consumer Protection, Health on April 22, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Public Citizen released its annual ranking of state medical boards today and the findings show that there is a continuing decline in the rate of serious disciplinary actions being taken against bad doctors. That’s a troubling trend because it shows the boards may not be meeting their obligations when it comes to protecting the public [...]
|
