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General Professional Issues

Striking a Nerve: MS Cured With an OTC Drug?

A neurology researcher is planning a clinical trial of a widely available drug that he thinks could stave off disability in multiple sclerosis patients. How much should he (or we) say publicly about it?

AAFP to Look at Allowing NPs, PAs to Join

SAN DIEGO -- The American Academy of Family Physicians wants to further study whether nurse practitioners and physician assistants should -- or would want to -- become nonvoting members.

Oncology Clinics Caught in Financial Vise

Community oncology clinics continue to feel the squeeze of a changing reimbursement structure that has forced 288 clinics to close in the past 6 years.

Health Insurers Improve Claims Processing

CHICAGO -- The percentage of claims incorrectly processed by health plans fell for the third straight year to 7.1% in 2013, according to the American Medical Association.

CDC: Cut Back on Doxycycline Use

A continuing shortage of doxycycline means the drug should be used only for conditions that have no alternative treatments, the CDC advised this week.

Face Up to Front Office Challenges

Your front office staff are the face of your practice -- an expression of your practice's philosophy, attitude, and values. Here practice management consultant Rosemarie Nelson shares tips for helping them put the best face forward.

Cystic Fibrosis: Charity and Industry Partner for Profit

When a disease-related charity becomes a venture capitalist, count the pharmaceutical industry among the winners, but the charity is not far behind as John Fauber explains in this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/番茄社区 investigation.

Lyme Disease, Autism Link Debunked

A new study has found no evidence of an association between Lyme disease and autism.

More Insurance Claims Filed Electronically

Healthcare providers continue to file more insurance claims electronically and submit claims more quickly, a report from the leading health insurance industry group showed.

NuPathe's Patch for Migraine Wins FDA Approval

WASHINGTON -- Adults with migraine will soon have a new treatment option -- Zecuity, a transdermal, battery-powered sumatriptan patch.

'Rugby' Iron Pills Pulled Due to Drug Mix-Up

锘縒ASHINGTON -- The manufacturer of an iron supplement has recalled one lot of the product due to bottles of the affected lot potentially containing anti-nausea tablets instead.

Close-Up: When Hospice Patients Live Too Long

Across the country, Medicare is cracking down on the hospice industry's growing habit of embracing those whose deaths aren't imminent.

FDA: Booze and Xyrem Are Dangerous Mix

WASHINGTON -- The FDA is warning healthcare professionals that patients taking the muscle weakness and narcolepsy drug sodium oxybate (Xyrem) should not consume alcohol or use central nervous system depressants.

Pfizer Will Pay $55 Million in Off-Label Case

Pfizer subsidiary Wyeth has agreed to pay $55 million plus interest to settle allegations it promoted off-label use of the acid reflux drug pantoprazole (Protonix), the company and government officials announced.

Compounder Tied to Tainted Eye Meds, Lost Sight

CHICAGO -- All but one of 12 patients given injections of contaminated bevacizumab (Avastin) prepared by a compounding pharmacy permanently lost vision in the affected eye, researchers reported here.

Cardio Notes: Sex Improves with Stenting

Opening the arteries of those with stable coronary disease also opens the door to an improved sex life. Also this week, bariatric surgery helps remodel the heart.

Pot Smokers Who Quit Find It Harder to Function

The more severe a person's marijuana withdrawal symptoms when they quit using the drug, the bigger the effect on their functional ability and the more likely they were to start using again, results of an Australian study showed.

Viagra from Online Sources Mostly Fake

CHICAGO -- Most of the sildenafil (Viagra) sold online is counterfeit and contains far less of the active ingredient than the real thing, researchers said here.

Brain-Eating Amoeba Came From Faucet

The recent cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis represent the first reported instances of U.S. tap water harboring the amoeba that causes the fatal disease, according to CDC researchers.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. Responding to Bipolar Therapy

After months of silence from his office about his absence from Congress, the Mayo Clinic has announced that Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., (D-Ill.) is being treated at the facility for bipolar disorder.

Olympic Doctors Ready to Treat Team U.S.A.

While the world watches elite athletes like Michael Phelps and Hope Solo go for Olympic gold, the athletes' team physicians will be watching them, too, but with a different perspective.

Oxygen Devices Recalled

WASHINGTON -- The FDA has issued a class I recall of several models of oxygen concentrators because of a potential fire hazard.

AMA: Trust but Verify Genetically Modified Foods

茂禄驴CHICAGO -- When it comes to genetically modified foods, the American Medical Association has adopted a "trust but verify" policy: the foods seem safe, but they still need to be checked out.

Tattoos Replace Bracelets for Medical Alerts

PHILADELPHIA -- As more people with diabetes replace their medical alert bracelets with tattooed warnings, there might be a need for a standard design and body location, a researcher here said.

SocialMed: Drafting a Social Media Policy

As more hospitals and medical centers join Facebook and Twitter, developing a social media policy may be topping more agendas.

Kids Today Really Are Different

The adolescent phase in human development now lasts much longer than it once did, leading to a potential rise in risky behavior, including STDs and excessive drinking, researchers said.

Doctors Say 45 Common Tests 'Overused'

Nine specialty groups have listed tests and treatments that are frequently overused, such as antibiotics for sinus attacks and CT scans for low back pain, in the first phase of a long-term project.

Who Does Not Like Autopsies and Why

Editor-at-Large George Lundberg, MD, presents a case for why we need more autopsies.

ABMS Sets Time Limit for Board Certification

Physicians have between three and seven years after finishing residency to become board certified, according to a new policy from the American Board of Medical 番茄社区.

Komen Official Quits After Controversy

A vice-president at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation has resigned in the wake of the controversy surrounding the organization's decision -- since reversed -- to stop funding Planned Parenthood's breast cancer programs.

Researcher Charged With Fabricating Red-Wine Data

A veteran researcher, known for his work on the heart benefits of the red-grape component resveratrol, allegedly fabricated data in 23 papers published over five years, an investigation showed.

India Emerges as Source for Execution Drugs

Unable to get Pentothal through regular channels, Nebraska prison officials turned to a broker in India so they could execute two convicted murderers.

Parkinson's Called Hidden Killer

Life expectancy for patients with Parkinson's disease is poorer than some previous studies have suggested, with barely one-third of patients surviving six years with the condition, researchers said.

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.

Pacemaker Inventor Dies at 92

Wilson Greatbatch, credited with inventing the implantable pacemaker in 1958, died earlier this week at the age of 92, his family said.

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."

Medical Tourism: Boom or Bust?

Traveling abroad for medical procedures was touted as a trend and it even has its own trade group, the Medical Tourism Association, but some question whether it's as big a growth market as once thought.

AMA: House of Delegates Backs Individual Mandate

CHICAGO -- The American Medical Association's House of Delegates has reaffirmed its support of individual responsibility -- including a requirement that most U.S. residents buy health insurance -- as the foundation of universal coverage.

Why Do So Many Physicians Hate the AMA?

It could just be because the AMA is the best available whipping boy, suggests Editor-at-Large George Lundberg, MD.

Rx Data-Mining Case Reaches Supreme Court

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a case involving a state law that restricts pharmaceutical companies' use of physician prescribing records.

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