Public Health & Policy
AMA Adopts Policies on Circumcision, Gun Safety
The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates has adopted a number of new policies at its interim meeting, including policies on male circumcision, physician discussion of gun safety, and a new medical coding system that will go into effect in 2013.
Nov 16, 2011
FDA Blocks Sale of Supplements for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
WASHINGTON -- The FDA filed a permanent injunction against two Minnesota companies that distributed amino acid products marketed as treatments for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and a number of other neurological disorders.
Sep 16, 2011
FDA Slams 'Dr. Oz' for Apple Juice Report
Mehmet Oz, MD, the Columbia University thoracic surgeon who gained fame first in books and more recently with his syndicated television show, has run afoul of the Food and Drug Administration with his report about levels of arsenic in popular brands of apple juice.
Sep 15, 2011
Time Is Money and Some Doctors Are Paying the Price
No one likes to wait and the waiting can be even more tiresome when it is a worried patient who is waiting to see his or her physician. So it's not surprising that patients are speaking out about -- and in some cases billing for -- time spent waiting for to hear, "The doctor will see you now."
Jul 07, 2011
Medicare to Keep Paying for Avastin
WASHINGTON -- Medicare will continue to pay for bevacizumab (Avastin) when it's used to treat metastatic breast cancer, even if the FDA decides to remove that indication from the drug, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said.
Jun 30, 2011
FDA Warns of High-Grade Prostate Ca Risk With BPH Drugs
WASHINGTON -- The FDA has issued a warning of an increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer with the 5-alpha reductase inhibitors finasteride (Proscar) and dutasteride (Avodart), currently approved to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy.
Jun 09, 2011
FDA Panel Recommends New Rules for Kids' Acetaminophen
SILVER SPRING, Md -- For the first time since they came on the market in the 1950s, children's liquid medicines containing acetaminophen would carry dosing instructions for children younger than 2, if the FDA follows the unanimous recommendation of a federal panel.
May 18, 2011
Cephalexin Useful in Pediatric MRSA
Children with uncomplicated skin and soft tissue infections can still be treated with cephalexin -- along with drainage and careful wound care -- even though community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has reached epidemic proportions worldwide, a randomized study suggested.
Feb 21, 2011