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Feds announce comprehensive plan to combat painkiller abuse

The new strategy will put increased pressure on the state of Florida, which has a reputation as being "the nation's pill mill."

21 Apr 2011

America’s best loved drugs: Report

According to the latest report from consulting firm IMS Health, Americans are consuming a lot of prescription drugs. And they seem especially fond of those to lower their cholesterol, relieve heartburn, aid in depressive disorders and lessen pain. Overall, however, their spending on such drugs is slowing.

20 Apr 2011

Stepped up measures to tack rising painkiller abuse

Prescription drug abuse is one of the largest problems in the country say experts and according to White House drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, the Congress must require special training for doctors and other health care workers before they are allowed to prescribe powerful drugs such as OxyContin.

20 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: On debt, Medicaid, Medicare and the budget; planned parenthood; one couple's insurance rates

Sen. Marco Rubio said he wouldn't vote for an increase unless it included "a plan for fundamental tax reform, an overhaul of our regulatory structure, a cut to discretionary spending, a balanced-budget amendment, and reforms to save Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid" — everything on the conservative agenda, basically.

20 Apr 2011

Plans to combat painkiller abuse

This Tuesday, the Obama administration announced a plan to fight prescription drug abuse, warning that accidental fatal overdoses now exceed the combined deadly overdoses from the crack epidemic of the 1980s and black tar heroin in the 1970s.

19 Apr 2011

Patients with RLS more likely to develop cardiovascular conditions

Results from a two-year retrospective cohort study presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, Hawaii, U.S., showed that patients were significantly more likely to develop cardiovascular conditions, including hypertension, cardiac dysrhythmias and chronic ischemic heart diseases after an initial diagnosis of RLS, as compared to controls without RLS.

15 Apr 2011

Obama's deficit plan earns raves, pans from editorial boards; more views on abortion and planned parenthood

I've proposed a balanced approach that looks at the entire budget for savings. The third step is to reduce the growth in health care spending in order to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid for future generations. We will get rid of wasteful subsidies and fraud that cost Medicare billions of dollars each year. We'll cut spending on prescription drugs by helping to get generic brands of medicine to market faster.

15 Apr 2011

Depression can sabotage efforts to effectively treat Hepatitis C

Adherence to interferon, an important medication used to treat Hepatitis C, is critical to successfully clearing the virus that causes the disease. A new observational analysis by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. finds that when Hepatitis C patients are also being treated for depression -- a frequent side effect of interferon use -- they are more likely to remain on their interferon therapy.

12 Apr 2011

Florida Society of Pain Management Providers applauds Senate President for supporting PDMP

The Florida Society of Pain Management Providers, applauds Senate President Mike Haridopolos, Senator Mike Fasano and Attorney General Pam Bondi for their support of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program and their united opposition to the attempt to repeal the program.

11 Apr 2011

FDA accepts Antares Pharma's Anturol NDA for filing, assigns PDUFA date

Antares Pharma, Inc. today announced the New Drug Application (NDA) for Anturol® Gel in patients with overactive bladder (OAB) was accepted for filing for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Anturol is an oxybutynin gel incorporating Antares' ATD Gel technology.

8 Apr 2011

Doctor files whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against Catholic Charities of Washington

Dr. Charles C. Briggs filed a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit today in D.C. Superior Court against Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in connection with the organization's failure to rectify serious medical violations committed against patients at its clinics in Washington, D.C. and Langley Park, MD.

8 Apr 2011

Catalyst Health prices public offering of 5,500,000 shares of common stock

Catalyst Health Solutions, Inc. today announced the successful pricing of its public offering of 5,500,000 shares of common stock, consisting of 4,500,000 shares to be sold by the Company and 1,000,000 shares to be sold by one of its stockholders, Principal Holding Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Principal Financial Group, Inc., at a price of $53.00 per share.

8 Apr 2011

Rite Aid reports fourth quarter net loss of $205.7 million

Rite Aid Corporation today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended February 26, 2011.

7 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Major news organizations on Ryan plan: Solution or 'hypocrisy'?

Give House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan credit for finally putting Republicans' money where their mouths have been for years: His 2012 budget proposal, released Tuesday, would actually begin to produce the smaller government Republicans have always said they wanted, even as they were ramping up federal spending, creating a prescription drug benefit without paying for it, campaigning against efforts to curb Medicare, and turning budget surpluses into titanic deficits.

7 Apr 2011

Optimer, Cubist sign deal to market DIFICID for CDI treatment in the U.S.

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the signing of an exclusive two-year co-promotion agreement to market DIFICID, in the United States.

6 Apr 2011

CMS: Medicare advantage rate increases will be lower-than-expected

The payments will be lower than initially projected because of lower-than-expected spending on doctor visits.

6 Apr 2011

Study finds marked increases in teen use of marijuana and Ecstasy

Following a decade of steady declines, a new national study released today by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation indicates that teen drug and alcohol use is headed in the wrong direction, with marked increases in teen use of marijuana and Ecstasy over the past three years.

6 Apr 2011

Children with ASDs benefit from certain medical and behavioral treatments

Some medical and behavioral treatments show promise for reducing certain behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders, but more research is needed to assess the potential benefits and harms, according to a new report funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The research results were published online in the journal Pediatrics.

5 Apr 2011

State Roundup: Budget cuts in Texas, Wash. State; Ariz. smoking, weight fees; Coping with Rx drug abuse

The Texas House voted 98-49 Sunday night to slash funding for public schools, nursing homes and college financial aid in a dramatic show by Republicans elected on a limited-government message in the face of a massive budget shortfall.

4 Apr 2011

Optimer study highlights economic burden of acute and recurrent CDI in hospital patients

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the presentation of information from insurance claims and survey databases highlighting the unmet need for targeted therapies to treat subpopulations at high risk of recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection.

4 Apr 2011