Meds

The Massachusetts gift ban benefits health insurance companies

Kevin

Meds

July 23, 2010

by Edison Wong, MD

With the recent proposal to repeal the so-called Massachusetts “gift ban” (more appropriately referred to as the “interaction ban”), I asked myself who stands to gain the most from such bans?

Is it the consumers or patients? Is it the physicians or their practices? Is it the federal or state governments? Nope. Sadly, it is the insurers who gain the most, at the expense of patients.

The …

Ask your pharmacy to price match prescription drugs

Leslie Ramirez, MD

Meds

June 12, 2010

As we have established repeatedly on LesliesList.org, prescription prices can vary a lot from one pharmacy to another.

But did you know that some pharmacies will actually match a competitor’s price? This could save you a ton of cash, but you have to know how, and whom, to ask for this service. Pharmacy retail chains all have different policies. I spoke to a pharmacist recently at each of the seven top …

Your asthma or COPD inhaler is not available, and what to do

Matthew Mintz, MD

Meds

May 28, 2010

As reported in MedPage Today, the FDA announced the end for CFC-propelled inhalers. Of the seven inhalers with deadlines for removal, only three are still being made:

Flunisolide (Aerobid Inhaler System) on June 30, 2011
Albuterol and ipratropium combination (Combivent Inhalation Aerosol) on Dec. 31, 2013
Pirbuterol (Maxair Autohaler) on Dec. 31, 2013

The reason for this is because CFC’s are harmful for the environment, and the newer inhalers have to be replaced with …

Alternative medicine isn’t taught to doctors in medical school

Kevin

Meds

April 26, 2010

by Crystal Phend

Physicians don’t know much more about complementary and alternative medicine than their patients do, according to a new survey.

Most healthcare professionals who answered an online survey of Drug and Therapeutic Bulletin subscribers said their profession was just as poorly informed about herbal medicines (75.5%) as the general public (86.3%).

And almost half of respondents rated their own knowledge about herbal medicines as “quite” or “very” poor (36.2% and 10.4%, …

Neosporin and other OTC drugs to avoid

Edward Pullen, MD

Meds

April 12, 2010

Most people use non-prescription medications without giving much thought to the potential side effects or problems that may be associated with their use.

Here are 5 popular OTC meds you should avoid, and better alternatives. I bet most of you use one or more of these. Neosporin, Topical Vitamin E, Afrin nasal spray (or other short acting nasal decongestant sprays), daily headache medications, and sedating antihistamines.

1. Neosporin: Neosporin in the most …

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Neosporin and other OTC drugs to avoid

Your metformin may smell like dead fish

Kevin

Meds

March 1, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today

An immediate-release form of the antidiabetic agent metformin has a dead fish odor that may cause patients to stop taking the drug, clinicians warned.

Metformin is known to cause adverse gastrointestinal effects such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, flatulence, distention, and abdominal pain. Those side effects “often necessitate discontinuing the drug,” a group of physicians and pharmacists …

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Your metformin may smell like dead fish

Why doctors are too quick to prescribe drugs for ADHD

Kevin

Meds

February 1, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer

Physicians may be too quick to medicate children suspected of having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The etiology of the disease is not well understood, and while some cases may have neurological causes, children may respond to psychotherapy instead, Esther Fine, PhD, a psychoanalyst in private practice in Los Angeles, told …

How can doctors stop drugs prescribed by other physicians that are no longer effective?

John Mandrola, MD

Meds

January 30, 2010

Here are two vignettes illustrating the failure of doctors to master the obvious and maybe a window onto the future struggles to control medical costs.

A 90-year old is referred for care due to “end stage dementia.” End-stage dementia is medical speak and as such does not really convey the appropriate imagery. It means a skeletal man, in a wheelchair or mostly in bed, with diapers, who has does not know …

How psychiatrists may be giving their patients too many drugs

Kevin

Meds

January 16, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today

by John Gever, MedPage Today Senior Editor

Psychiatrists who prescribe drugs for their patients today usually give more than one at a time, often with little scientific basis, researchers said.

About 60% of patients with psychiatrist office visits leading to a drug prescription received at least two medications in 2005-2006, according to government survey data analyzed by Ramin …

Why you should stop taking Vytorin for high cholesterol

Matthew Mintz, MD

Meds

November 16, 2009

At the American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, the results of the ARBITER 6-HALTS study were released. No Vytorin was used in the study, but I am sure that all the headlines will mention Vytorin.

The actual study published ahead of press online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Essentially, they enrolled over 200 patients from Walter Reed and Washington Adventist who had known heart disease or were at …

Vicodin and Percocet banned and taken off the market, or is a black box warning more likely?

Kevin

Meds

June 30, 2009

The FDA has declared war on acetaminophen, with Vicodin and Percocet being collateral damage. You can bet Dr. Gregory House is sweatin’ pretty hard over this news.

In the last few days, acetaminophen, otherwise known as the brand name Tylenol, has been squarely in the FDA advisory panel’s crosshairs. In general, it’s a very safe medication, but there is …

Meds

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