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Purdue Pulls New OxyContin Application, and Questions Follow

FDA disavows previous requirement for study of abuse-deterrent formulation

House Committee Votes to Defund AHRQ

Attempt to restore funding fails on voice vote

Evolocumab Receives Mixed FDA Review

FDA sees strong efficacy of new injectable heart drug, but questions appropriateness of study population

FDA Okays Stiolto for COPD

Will include black-box warning about increased risk of asthma-related death.

FDA Panel Gets Earful on Homeopathy

Speakers ranged from harsh critics to vocal proponents.

SNUS: Is This a 'Safe' Tobacco Product?

Swedish smokeless tobacco maker wants FDA to soften warning label.

FDA Advisers Unimpressed by Nocdurna

Another setback for nocturia indication

FDA Launches Compounding Advisory Committee

The 14 committee members come from a variety of disciplines.

AstraZeneca's Move to Protect Nexium Market Ruled Legal

"Pay to delay" strategy upheld by court.

Calif. Docs Among Top Billers for Complex Visits

Three California doctors are among the top five nationally in billing for the most complex office visits, according to data released by Medicare and analyzed by ProPublica and KQED.

Top 5 Reasons Why Internists Are Sued

Not properly diagnosing a condition and nonmedical errors such as equipment failure accounted for more than half of the malpractice lawsuits against internists, a study found.

FDA Panel Says Yes to Inhaled Insulin Device

HYATTSVILLE, Md. -- An FDA advisory panel has voted in favor of approving a new inhaled insulin device, Afrezza, as a short-acting treatment to improve glycemic control in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

ICD-10 Follies: Watch Where You're Walking

Yes, there's a code for that. To mark the forthcoming move to the ICD-10 coding system, 番茄社区 is spotlighting some of those thousands of new codes that might just be getting a bit too granular.

ICD-10 Follies: Struck by an Orca

Yes, there's a code for that. To mark the forthcoming move to the ICD-10 coding system, 番茄社区 is spotlighting some of those thousands of new codes that might just be getting a bit too granular.

ICD-10 Follies: The Birds

Yes, there's a code for that. To mark the forthcoming move to the ICD-10 coding system, 番茄社区 is spotlighting some of those thousands of new codes that might just be getting a bit too granular.

5 Problems With Mobile Health App Security

No federal agency has the power to properly regulate the fast-growing world of mobile health applications and telehealth systems, researchers noted while outlining several security risks and privacy threats.

Pay and Practice: Are Neurologists Primary Care Docs?

WASHINGTON -- Neurology isn't often mentioned in the same breath as primary care, but the American Academy of Neurology is again lobbying to gain that sobriquet -- this time to take advantage of a recent policy change that benefits primary care providers.

10 Questions: Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD (R-Ga.)

If you could change one thing about the healthcare system, what would it be? Eliminate Obamacare, says Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD (R-Ga.). That's his answer to just one of the 10 Questions the 番茄社区 staff is asking leading clinicians, researchers, and leaders in their community to get their personal views on their chosen profession. In this series we share their uncensored responses.

AMA President Discusses SGR Repeal Efforts

Shortly after the American Medical Association's interim meeting adjourned, Ardis Hoven, MD, president of the American Medical Association, sat down for a one-on-one interview with 番茄社区 to discuss the AMA's SGR repeal strategy.

Docs Need Info on 'Grace Period,' AMA Says

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- The American Medical Association wants health plans to notify doctors when patients haven't paid their premiums, a situation that could leave physicians on the hook for unpaid services.

SGR Repeal Still Gets AMA Support

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- The AMA's policymaking House of Delegates voted nearly unanimously to continue its support of congressional efforts to repeal Medicare's payment formula despite its opposition to a 10-year pay freeze that's part of a draft proposal.

Concierge Medicine Gains Ground

SAN DIEGO -- Concierge doctors are spreading the word that it's possible to operate a direct primary care practice, make a living, and avoid one of the biggest headaches for family medicine physicians -- dealing with health insurance companies.

ACP Hedges in Debate on Scope of Practice

The American College of Physicians took a nuanced position on the role advanced nurse practitioners play in clinical care teams in a position paper published Monday.

Congress Probing VA Bonuses to Doctors

WASHINGTON -- A congressional committee is using a recent report questioning performance bonuses for Department of Veterans Affairs physicians as reason to examine a range of pay-for-performance issues at the VA.

Medicare's DME Bidding Program Criticized

Despite complaints from multiple parties, Medicare's bidding program for durable medical equipment -- including diabetes supplies -- now includes suppliers to half of all program beneficiaries.

FDA Panel Vetoes New Tolvaptan Indication

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- An FDA advisory committee has declined to endorse an expanded indication for tolvaptan (Samsca) to treat autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

FDA Panel Favors Nasacort OTC Switch

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- An FDA advisory committee voted Wednesday to make allergy nasal spray triamcinolone acetonide (Nasacort AQ) available without a prescription -- but some expressed concern about its use in children.

Wyeth Settles Rapamune Marketing Charge

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Pfizer's Wyeth Pharmaceuticals unit will pay $490.9 million to resolve state and federal allegations that it marketed rapamycin (sirolimus, Rapamune) for unapproved indications.

FDA Panel Nixes Humira for Spinal Arthritis

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- An independent panel of FDA advisers overwhelmingly rejected AbbVie's bid to gain approval of Humira (adalimumab) for treatment of spinal arthritis.

Xarelto Gets a No for Stent Thrombosis

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- The FDA has rejected an application for a new indication allowing rivaroxaban (Xarelto) to be used to reduce the risk of stent thrombosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Public Citizen's Wolfe Still Needling FDA

Sidney Wolfe, MD, founder of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, sat down this week with 番茄社区 in his Washington office to discuss his 40 years of work as a leading voice in consumer health advocacy.

Medicare to Pay for More FDG-PET Scans

WASHINGTON -- Up to three scans using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-enhanced positron emission tomography technology can be covered by Medicare for oncology treatment planning, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said.

CHIP Faces Uncertain Future

锘縒ASHINGTON -- The final implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could be bad news for re-authorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a congressional staffer said.

Gun Control: Docs Told to Speak Up

WASHINGTON -- Physicians need to do a better job at promoting the data that supports stronger gun-control laws, experts here said.

FDA Lowers Age for OTC Plan B

WASHINGTON -- The FDA has approved over-the-counter sale of the emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step to women and girls as young as 15.

FDA Splits on Safety of Endo's Aveed for Low-T

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- An FDA advisory committee was split Thursday on the safety of an injectable form of testosterone replacement, but voted overwhelmingly against a proposed risk mitigation plan.

More Docs Joining Forces in ACOs

SAN FRANCISCO -- The number of physician-led accountable care organizations (ACOs) has recently surpassed the number led by hospitals, becoming the largest backers of the payment and delivery model, an analysis showed.

Docs May See Pay Delay Under ACA Exchanges

SAN FRANCISCO -- A provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) states that insurance companies will not process claims on patients who haven't paid their premiums in 3 months, leaving doctors on the hook to recoup payment directly from the patients.

Docs' Charting Falls Short of ICD-10 Demands

SAN FRANCISCO -- Nearly 65% of clinical documentation doesn't contain enough information for coders to use for billing under the upcoming ICD-10 coding system, a survey of patient charts found.

Judge OKs $762 Million Deal in Aranesp Case

A federal judge approved a $762 million settlement Wednesday in a case involving Amgen's off-label promotion of darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp), an anemia drug.

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