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Washington Watch

Standards Issued for Healthcare Interpreter Services

All U.S. healthcare organizations must be able to talk with patients about their care in a language they can understand, according to new Joint Commission standards.

Pfizer Moves May Dim Prospect for New Antibiotics

Infectious disease specialists are concerned that a corporate decision by Pfizer to scale back its R&D spending next year -- plus a transition to China -- will further slow development of new antibiotic drugs.

More Vets Approved for Agent Orange Claims

WASHINGTON -- Veterans who served in Korea from 1968 through 1971 were probably exposed to Agent Orange, which makes them eligible for treatment at VA medical centers, according to a ruling from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

FDA Panel: Keep ECT Devices as High Risk

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- The FDA should continue to regulate electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) machines as high-risk devices for treating depression and most other conditions for which ECT is typically used, members of the agency's Neurological Devices Advisory Committee agreed.

FDA Panel Rejects Cystic Fibrosis Drug

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- An FDA advisory committee has voted against approval of liprotamase (Sollpura), a pancreatic enzyme product for cystic fibrosis and other diseases that cause pancreatic insufficiency, saying there is not enough evidence that the drug works better than agents already on the market.

FDA Cans Alcoholic Beverages that Contain Caffeine

The FDA has acted to effectively ban the sale of beverages that combine caffeine and alcohol, including Four Loko and Joose, by declaring that caffeine is an unsafe food additive for alcoholic beverages.

FDA Panel Looks at Trials of Devices to Treat Depression

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- An FDA advisory panel met Friday to discuss how to analyze trials designed to test devices used to treat depression, but didn't offer the FDA any clear-cut guidance.

Not Enough Evidence to Use BMP Off-Label, Panel Says

BALTIMORE -- A Medicare advisory committee has voted that there is not enough evidence to warrant off-label use of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein, or BMP, for bone surgery.

Take Rosiglitazone Off the Market, Says FDA Staff

WASHINGTON -- Rosiglitazone (Avandia) should be pulled from the market because of the "serious" cardiovascular risk the diabetes drug poses, which exceeds that of competitor pioglitazone (Actos), FDA staff reviewers again recommended.

FDA Advisers Turn Down New RSV Drug

WASHINGTON -- An FDA advisory committee recommended Wednesday that the agency not approve the investigational drug motavizumab to treat respiratory infections, deciding that it didn't offer any advantages over the drug already on the market, and that it may be more dangerous.

FDA Panel Recommends Limited Use of Investigational Antipsychotic

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- An FDA advisory panel voted to recommend FDA approval for sertindole (Serdolect) to treat schizophrenia, but only for a subgroup of patients that the agency would have to define.

New Jersey Doctor-Delegate Sees Big Trouble in Universal Coverage

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Ben Chouake, M.D., of Cliffside Park, N.J., an internist and emergency medicine specialist, is the son of holocaust survivors. He is a delegate for John McCain at the Republican National Convention here.

Hillary Clinton Touts Obama's Goal of Healthcare for All

DENVER -- Despite tortuous battles during the presidential primaries over the nuances of healthcare reform, Sen. Hillary Clinton was ringing in her support for Sen. Barack Obama's goals at the Democratic National Convention here.

McCain Cites 'Strong Evidence' of Link Between Vaccines and Autism

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, has given credibility to "strong evidence" of a link between autism and thimerosal in childhood vaccines. He cited "divided scientific opinion" on the matter.

Presidential Frontrunners Play it Close to the Vest on Healthcare

WASHINGTON -- If the devil is in the details, the strengths and weaknesses of the healthcare positions of the major presidential candidates of both parties are only beginning to emerge.

'Second-Tier' Republicans Sound Off on Health Care

WASHINGTON -- As dark-horse candidates often leave footprints on the political trail, three Republicans vying for the presidential nomination may have an impact on the health care debate.