March 31, 2008

Wowowow: Check It Out!

by Stephanie Koze

What do five female, media powerhouses have in common -- other than being female and media powerhouses? Wowowow.com. Check out this Web site for women 45+, newly launched by Mary Wells, Lesley Stahl, Peggy Noonan, Liz Smith and Joni Evans.

Together with their esteemed friends, among the likes of Candice Bergen, Whoopie Goldberg, Marlo Thomas, Sheila Nivens and several other distinguished partners, these ladies are providing insights and points of view regarding the latest world events and current social issues. Think along the lines of The View for the Web.

In addition to learning about their perspectives, you can post your thoughts. Don't forget to participate. Let's keep this site alive.

Posted by stephanie_koze at 01:29 PM
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January 18, 2008

The Ultimate "Halo" Effect

by Peter Pitts

A US study by the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona has found surgical residents performed better during simulated surgery after playing on the Wii for an hour beforehand.

"The whole point about surgery is to execute small, finely controlled movements with your hands, and that is exactly what you get playing Wii," Kanav Kahol, who conducted the study with colleague Marshall Smith, told New Scientist magazine.

Professor John Quin, executive director of surgical affairs at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, said the study was interesting and showed promise, but it was still not clear whether better performance in simulated surgery translated into better performance in surgery on a live patient.

"What it shows at the moment is only that if you repeatedly play video games you get better at playing video games," he said, adding the RACS was conducting a Federal Government-aided study to determine the effectiveness of simulated surgery.

Professor Quin said he hoped high-tech tools like the Wii and simulated surgery proved useful because "it's getting more and more difficult to train the full experience of the surgical operation".

The study found only those games requiring precise movements, like Marble Mania in which a player guides a marble through a 3D obstacle course using the Wii's motion-sensitive remote, are effective.

"You don't gain a lot from swinging an imaginary tennis racket," Kahol said.

Past research by other academics has similarly found video games requiring fine control can help build the skills surgeons need for operations like keyhole surgery.

Kahol and Smith are now reportedly designing Wii software to accurately simulate surgical procedures. For developing countries unable to provide expensive professional training systems, the Wii could be used as a cheap and effective training tool.

In conducting their study, the pair called on eight trainee doctors to play the Wii for an hour before performing virtual surgery using a tool called ProMIS. The training tool provides a 3D simulation of a patient's body and tracks the surgeon's movements while they are "operating".

Movement data was then processed using an algorithm and the surgeons were given scores. Those who played the Wii scored 48 per cent higher on tool control and performance than those who didn't.

Posted by peterpitts at 08:29 AM
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April 13, 2007

Knock Knock. Who's There? Liberal Bloggers on Health Care.

by Peter Pitts

Liberal bloggers on health care who?

The wonderful proliferation of blogs devoted to health care in general and pharmaceuticals in particular begs the question -- who's doing it?

Just came across a good study by the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet (a part of the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management).

Many interesting factoids on the issue of political blogs and their readership. Not a lot on health care specifically, but some data did pop out:

* Daily political blog readers are disproportionately "Strong Democrat" and "Strong Liberal."

* Of Democrats who read political blogs daily, 72% agree "strongly" that "Government should provide health insurance for the uninsured." For Democrats who are not daily political blog readers, that number is 53%.

* Same question for Republicans returns a 5% "strongly agree" for political blog readers and 6% for all others.

Perhaps one take-away is that the growing number of health care blogs represent the Democrat "ownership" of the blogosphere. Indeed the study opines that "Some observers have pointed out that conservatives appear to dominate in talk radio while liberals have a greater presence in political blogs."

Ergo, the more blogs on health care and health care related issues (such as the FDA, MMA, Evidence-Based Medicine, etc.) the more disproportionate the liberal voice.

Here's a link to the complete report:

http://www.ipdi.org/UploadedFiles/The%20Audience%20for%20Political%20Blogs.pdf

And certainly grist for the mill for those in Big Pharma who don't think they should enter the fray.

As far as I'm concerned -- the more the better.

Posted by peterpitts at 08:13 AM
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February 28, 2007

A Ticking Time Bomb

by Michael Martell

EVERY 6TH PERSON IS AFFECTED BY NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS WORLDWIDE

A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that neurological disorders, ranging from epilepsy to Alzheimer disease, from stroke to headache, af-fect up to one billion people worldwide. Neurological disorders also include brain injuries, neuroinfections, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson disease.

The Report, Neurological Disorders: Public health challenges, reveals that of the one billion people affected worldwide, 50 million suffer from epilepsy and 24 million from Alzheimer and other dementias. Neurological disorders affect people in all countries, irrespective of age, sex, education or income.

An estimated 6.8 million people die every year as a result of neurological disorders. In Europe, the economic cost of neurological diseases was estimated at about 139 billion euros in 2004.

Access to appropriate care is difficult for many people with neurological disorders, their families and caregivers. WHO advocates for the integration of neurological care into primary health care. For many people, primary health care is the only access to medical care they have. In these settings, doctors can use low-technology interven-tions. Community-based rehabilitation is also an option.

"Despite the fact that highly effective, low-cost treatments are available, as many as nine out of 10 people suffering from epilepsy in Africa go untreated. Health systems need to be strengthened to deliver better care for people with neurological disor-ders," said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General.

Due to the fact that many countries already today can not cope with the health care of their people, it is only fair to say that the increasing number of neurological disor-ders around the world is indeed a ticking time bomb.

The full report can be found at: http://www.who.int/mental_health/en/

Posted by michael_martell at 09:36 AM
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January 10, 2007

Dutch Foot in German Pharmacy Door

by Michael Martell

DocMorris manages to step into the German pharmacy market

The Dutch online and dispatch pharmacy DocMorris met some difficulties and also needed some legal finesse to get a foot into the door of the German pharmacy market. But the start has been made: Recently, the first pharmacy under the DocMorris Logo was given green lights for selling OTC medicines in St. Wendel in the West of Germany. 500 further stores are going to follow within the next three years.
The way to elude the German pharmacy legislation seems very easy. The owner of the pharmacy in St. Wendel is a certified pharmacist in Germany and is, according to German law, allowed to lead a pharmacy. Being a pharmacist is a necessary prerequisite, because it is not permitted that, for example, a foreign finance company buys in approbated specialists and opens a pharmacy store in Germany.
For the patient, the legal regulations seem uninteresting, because they certainly pay less for the OTC medicines which they can buy under the DocMorris Logo. In terms of discount, DocMorris could already disburse approximately 25 million Euro to its customers. The Federal German Pharmacist Association, in contrast, is afraid of negative effects on patient care in Germany. Is the DocMorris pharmacy in St. Wendel also the beginning of the end for the fixed price regulations regarding RX-Medications? Or do German patients even have to fear a dramatic decline in the level of health care?

If you want to read more about the DocMorris coup click here:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901061002-1538600,00.html

http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/76654

Posted by michael_martell at 10:17 AM
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January 02, 2007

You want fries with that?

by Peter Pitts

Meat and milk from cloned animals! Calls for absurd, unscientific labeling!

Just another day at the FDA.

According to the FDA, “the meat and milk from cattle clones and their offspring are as safe as that from conventionally bred animals." In other words – GRAS.

Does this mean cloned beef in your burger? No. At tens of thousands of dollars per “founder” clone this is hardly likely (at least in the foreseeable future). So, unless you’re in the market for a $25,000 Big Mac, relax.

You want fries with that?

In the future, if and when the technology for animal cloning becomes more cost-efficient, it is possible that the meat of clone progeny could be available at retail. And milk from clones is certainly on the way a lot sooner.

By promulgating this new rule, FDA is working to advance the science of cloning -- an important advance towards creating a better, safer 21st century food supply.

"Cloning allows the possibility of identifying the healthiest and the superior sires or boars that are going to be used for breeding purposes," said Barb Glenn of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Dairy producers are worried about what might happen if "clone-free" products start showing up in supermarkets. "We have concerns where people are going to try to draw distinctions and differences where none exist," said Chris Galen, spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation.

Perhaps this cause will be taken up by a new consumer advocacy organization – MOOveOn.org.
(Sorry about that.)

Posted by Peter Pitts at 08:49 AM
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November 06, 2006

What is "efficiency?"

by Peter Pitts

There’s a lot of talk about how our use of pharmaceuticals needs to be “more efficient.”

But what does “efficient” mean?

Does it mean more cost-effective or more medically efficient? Does it mean either?

Let’s call a spade a spade — “efficient” means short-term savings for payors (although, as we shall see in a moment, only in penny wise but pound foolish ways). Restrictive formularies (in the US both public and private) and health care systems (in the EU, Canada, and elsewhere) that deny access to the right drug for the right patient at the right time but pay for more expensive and invasive procedures later on have their priorities upside down.

Perverse in so many ways — not the least of which is that “savings” are entirely transitory.

Consider the facts. A longitudinal prospective study by Dr. Susan Horn, et al.*, examined the relationship between HMO cost-containment strategies and utilization and total cost of health care for a number of medical (non-psychiatric) illnesses. The study showed that the tighter the formulary restrictions, the higher the overall cost of care — and what drove the increased costs was the association between formulary restrictions and utilization of care.

A blunter way of putting this is that “efficient,” as the term has come to be defined, has nothing to do with patient care. “Efficient” is a cost-based word and patient-centric concerns be damned.

Welcome to the world of health technology assessment, aka evidence-based medicine, aka rational use of medicine.

And remember, you can’t spell rational without r-a-t-i-o-n.

* If you would like to see the full study, here’s the full citation: Horn SD, Sharkey PD, Tracy DM, et al., Intended and unintended consequences of HMO cost-containment strategies: results from the Managed Care Outcomes Project. Am J Managed Care 1996;2:253-264

Posted by Peter Pitts at 09:00 AM
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October 30, 2006

And then 10 minutes later you want to get tested again

by Peter Pitts

In case your copy of the People's Daily didn't arrive this morning, some important news ...

Chinese get genetic tests to determine disease risk

More than 300 Chinese have undergone genetic testing to determine their odds of developing cancers and other diseases. According to China's first and only genetic testing clinic at the No.1 hospital affiliated with Zhejiang University School of Medicine, more than 300 Chinese have had their DNA sampled at the center since it opened last October. "We look at a patient's medical history and family history, take their blood to analyze their DNA to look for genes that would possibly cause diseases," said Qi Ming, director of the center and professor at the university. Such tests help identify people more likely to get a disease and allow patients to take action to reduce their risk, he said. More than 1,000 genes have been found to relate to diseases. Breast cancer, colon cancer, abnormal heart rate, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other diseases can be detected by the DNA tests, Qi said. The tests cost between 75 U.S. dollars and several hundred dollars, he said.

This needs to become standard practice in the US if we are to successfully scale the Great Wall of EBM (evidence-based medicine).

Posted by Peter Pitts at 07:00 AM
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