Drugs and prescribing

1,242 articles · Since 2007

Articles, page 46

Making more drugs non-prescription is bad for patients

April 24, 2012Apr 24, 201214

In our world of 24/7 media, where we seem to hear about the next big cure, important dietary change or very dangerous drug virtually every day, it is hard to believe that the news people, tweeters and bloggers could miss anything that is going on in health care today. However, it appears most everyone missed a big one. This might be one of the most important stories in health care today, that no one …

Has direct to consumer advertising improved patient care?

Martha Rosenberg

April 13, 2012Apr 13, 20124

An excerpt from Born With a Junk Food Deficiency, (Prometheus Books, 2012). Can anyone remember life before Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) advertising with its notorious “Ask Your Doctor” ads? The only thing laypeople knew about prescription drugs came from the ads they…

An excerpt from Born With a Junk Food Deficiency, (Prometheus Books, 2012).

Can anyone remember life before Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) advertising with its notorious “Ask Your Doctor” ads? The only thing laypeople knew about prescription drugs came from the ads they peeked at in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in the doctor’s waiting room. The ads were full of vaguely ominous terms—nulligravida? hemodialysis?—as well as side …

Involve doctors in any drug substitution process involving biologics

Richard Dolinar, MD

April 12, 2012Apr 12, 20123

As a treating physician who also serves as the Chairman of the Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines (ASBM), I have been watching with great interest as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) begins to unveil the approach it will take to bring “biosimilar” medications to the US. Biosimilars are attempts to replicate brand name biologic medicines. But as the name indicates, they are similar to them but not identical. Interestingly, …

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Insurers will plunder until patients demand value for their money

Stewart Segal, MD

March 27, 2012Mar 27, 20129

Welcome to my day from hell. It is 2 p.m. and I’ve just logged my fifth prior authorization denial of the day. In simpler terms, five patients will either change their medications or pay for them out of pocket. Personally,…

When it comes to prescribing medication, I am very judicious in my prescribing habits. According to one of the largest insurers, my percent of generic prescriptions …

Unregulated supplements are a tragedy in waiting

George Lundberg, MD & Gilbert Ross, MD

March 17, 2012Mar 17, 20128

The latest supplement toxic alert thankfully involves only two young soldiers who died suddenly, both reported to have the unregulated amphetamine-like dimethylamylamine, DMAA, aka "Jack3d" and "OxyelitePro," as the suspected death-dealing toxicant. Who knows how many other unexplained deaths and…

The latest supplement toxic alert thankfully involves only two young soldiers who died suddenly, both reported to have the unregulated amphetamine-like dimethylamylamine, DMAA, aka “Jack3d” and “OxyelitePro,” as the suspected death-dealing toxicant.

Who knows how many other unexplained deaths and near-deaths can be attributed to the vast experiment foisted upon an unwary American populace by such drugs — I mean, “supplements”?

Thanks to 1994’s Hatch Act, the Dietary Supplement Health …

Glorifying Xanax and alcohol on television is wrong

Linda Pourmassina, MD

March 6, 2012Mar 6, 20124

Confession: I have been watching the reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Quite frankly, I don’t take shows like that seriously and often wonder if it is bordering on obscene to have such lavish lifestyles displayed on the…

Confession: I have been watching the reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Quite frankly, I don’t take shows like that seriously and often wonder if it is bordering on obscene to have such lavish lifestyles displayed on the televisions of homes across America (and around the world) during these hard economic times. But I was particularly disappointed in some of the footage that was shown on a recent episode. …

How a birth control medication recall can lead to high drug costs

Dominic A. Carone, PhD

March 1, 2012Mar 1, 2012

Recently, the world’s largest research-based drug company, Pfizer, announced that an automated packaging error led to a recall of the birth control medication, Lo/Ovral-28 and the generic counterpart, Norgestrel/Ethinyl Estradiol. The packaging issue had to do with the placebo pill…

The packaging issue had to do with the placebo pill being placed in the wrong order in the 28-day cycle and an inexact number of placebo (should be 7) or active forms (should be 21) of the medication. The placebo pill …

Should doctors talk about the cost of drugs with their patients?

Peter Ubel, MD

February 23, 2012Feb 23, 201221

I first realized something was amiss when I picked up my prescriptions and the pharmacist explained that she could not fill the anti-malarial medications as prescribed: "Your medication plan only pays for 30 days of pills, and your prescription was…

I first realized something was amiss when I picked up my prescriptions and the pharmacist explained that she could not fill the anti-malarial medications as prescribed: “Your medication plan only pays for 30 days of pills, and your prescription was for five pills.” The pharmacist continued: “Your PBM [that’s an acronym for pharmacy benefits management company, the type of company that coordinates many peoples’ medication coverage] only fills this medication …

Answers to common vaccine questions

Erica Armstrong, MD

February 21, 2012Feb 21, 201217

Here are some of the most common questions I encounter regarding vaccines and my answers. I’m writing this post, from a parent to a parent, because I want to equip you with accurate information to protect your child. We give…

We give so many vaccines now and it seems like we are constantly adding more. Isn’t this too much for my child’s immune system? Isn’t it antigen overload?

The immune system is very complex, …

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Answers to common vaccine questions

A look behind the growing cost of cancer drugs

Merrill Goozner

February 7, 2012Feb 7, 20122

Julie Gralow, an oncologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, recently prescribed an exciting new therapy for a 60-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer. Three-and-a-half years into her battle against the disease, the patient had already exhausted three…

The newly prescribed drug, Novartis’ Afinitor, is one of the recently approved targeted therapies that have …

An American ER doctor in Tasmania

Rick Abbott, MD

January 23, 2012Jan 23, 20122

Beginning work at Launceston General Hospital in Tasmania, orientation really, I noticed a lot of things missing: places to sign my name. For any given patient I’d sign: the completed chart note, perhaps a lab (sorry, pathology) and imaging slip,…

Beginning work at Launceston General Hospital in Tasmania, orientation really, I noticed a lot of things missing: places to sign my name.

For any given patient I’d sign: the completed chart note, perhaps a lab (sorry, pathology) and imaging slip, a prescription form (in triplicate – ok, so that was weird), and a GP letter.

I didn’t have to sign (physically or electronically) multiple different “attestations,” I didn’t have to generate multiple …

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An American ER doctor in Tasmania

Is it ethical to prescribe a placebo for a patient?

Jim deMaine, MD

January 11, 2012Jan 11, 20128

Betty was complaining at an escalating rate. She'd been in her nursing home for four years and wasn't happy. She kept coming up with new symptoms like aching, fatigue, nervous stomach, tingling, dizziness, etc. Her daughter Nancy was getting daily…

Betty was complaining at an escalating rate. She’d been in her nursing home for four years and wasn’t happy. She kept coming up with new symptoms like aching, fatigue, nervous stomach, tingling, dizziness, etc. Her daughter Nancy was getting daily calls from Betty and the staff at the nursing home. Multiple trips to the doctor for diagnostic tests had ensued: blood counts, liver functions, x-rays, thyroid function, plus many others. …

Abbreviate your med list with caution

WarmSocks

December 23, 2011Dec 23, 20113

People who regularly take medicine should know what we’re taking. To me, this seems obvious, but there are always those who need everything stated explicitly. People taking prescriptions, vitamins, herbs, and any other treatments should know what’s being taken and…

It’s pretty easy to make yourself a list and stick it in your wallet so that it’s always available. If you need medical assistance (for instance, if you’re in a …

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Abbreviate your med list with caution

Why I vaccinated my sons against HPV

Orly Avitzur, MD

December 21, 2011Dec 21, 20114

I knew it was more than a tragic coincidence when two of my friends, middle-aged men without the usual risk factors of tobacco and alcohol use, developed late stage (IV) tongue cancer, reportedly the identical condition with which actor Michael Douglas was diagnosed last year. Cancers of the mouth and throat are growing so quickly that experts in the medical and scientific community are calling this an “epidemic,” for which …

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Why I vaccinated my sons against HPV

Vaccines, preventable disease, and the nature of risk

Danielle Rosenman, MD

December 20, 2011Dec 20, 20119

Two nights ago, I was watching, with my family, an old episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, in which a young woman is bitten by a rabid wolf, develops rabies, and dies. That same night, I read a post on Facebook decrying the dangers of immunizations, with a link to an online “news” article blaming immunizations for everything from spreading cancer to HIV.

My mother, as a girl, was bitten by …

How medications are like vehicles

Stewart Segal, MD

December 15, 2011Dec 15, 20115

I usually cringe when I see a pharmaceutical company ad on TV. I think most pharma commercials do more harm than good. The ads scare patients out of taking medications they need. Actor: Do you have uncontrollable diarrhea? I did,…

I usually cringe when I see a pharmaceutical company ad on TV. I think most pharma commercials do more harm than good. The ads scare patients out of taking medications they need.

Actor: Do you have uncontrollable diarrhea? I did, and then my doctor prescribed “No-More-Poop!” Now I feel great and don’t have to worry about embarrassing accidents.

Commentator: Clinical studies done at a leading university prove that “No-More-Poop” cures 99% of …

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How medications are like vehicles

Taking the knife to doctor-drug company relationships

Nagarathna Manjappa, MD

December 15, 2011Dec 15, 201117

With health care industry reaching unsustainable lows, media attention is on physician's relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. A Google search will give results that paints doctors as culprits, leading to a prejudiced opinion where doctors are thought of as co-conspirators…

With health care industry reaching unsustainable lows, media attention is on physician’s relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. A Google search will give results that paints doctors as culprits, leading to a prejudiced opinion where doctors are thought of as co-conspirators with drug companies. This article teases this tainted relationship, from a typical doctor’s perspective.

Pharmaceutical companies have strategies not only to survive, but also to grow with general public investing in …

Let’s close the chapter on statin safety

John Mandrola, MD

December 6, 2011Dec 6, 201111

There was important news recently on statin drugs. As one of the world’s most effective and commonly used medications, statins provide great writing topics. Lots of people have high cholesterol–including cyclists. Lots of people are interested in avoiding our mostly…

I’d like to tell you about a recently-published landmark study in the Lancet that should quell safety concerns over statin drugs.

The punch line after I tell you the study’s …

Explaining Propofol to patients after Michael Jackson and Conrad Murray

American Society of Anesthesiologists & John E. Vazquez, MD

December 1, 2011Dec 1, 2011

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. Since the passing of Michael Jackson and the recent trial of his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, I have been frequently asked by patients whether they will receive the…

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

Since the passing of Michael Jackson and the recent trial of his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, I have been frequently asked by patients whether they will receive the drug that killed the singer. As have many of my anesthesiologist colleagues, I have taken this opportunity to educate patients on what propofol is and how it should be safely …

I eat lunch with drug company representatives and I’m proud of it

Stewart Segal, MD

December 1, 2011Dec 1, 201159

Today, I want to review another article I wrote in last year. That article started with a confession: "I confessed that I ate lunch with a representative of a pharmaceutical company." I must now confess that I often eat lunch…

Today, I want to review another article I wrote in last year. That article started with a confession: “I confessed that I ate lunch with a representative of a pharmaceutical company.”

I must now confess that I often eat lunch with representatives of pharmaceutical companies and I’m proud of it. At this stage of my career, I can well afford my own lunch. I could sit quietly and relax over a cup …

Drugs and prescribing

Articles, page 46

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