Thursday, October 30, 2008
Just what the druggist ordered
From the Saint John (NB) Telegraph Journal:
It's about to become much easier for New Brunswickers to get the medications they need without waiting for the OK from their doctors.
Changes to the province's Pharmacy Act come into effect tomorrow, significantly expanding the role of the pharmacist in replacing, renewing and, in some cases, issuing prescriptions.
"It's going to improve access for people who need their medications," said Lisa Zwicker, a pharmacist in Saint John.
"And it will save steps for us. Lots of times we have to stop and call or fax a doctor and wait to hear back in order to fill a prescription. It will eliminate that step. I don't think it will make our jobs any busier, but I think it will be better for everyone."
New Brunswick's 700 pharmacists fill more than nine million prescriptions every year.
Bill Veniot, registrar with New Brunswick's Pharmaceutical Society, said the new legislation finally recognizes the extensive training and experience of pharmacists.
"We're experts in drug therapy," Veniot said at a news conference in Fredericton on Tuesday.
"It's natural that we take on more authority with respect to prescribing certain medications." ...more
It's about to become much easier for New Brunswickers to get the medications they need without waiting for the OK from their doctors.
Changes to the province's Pharmacy Act come into effect tomorrow, significantly expanding the role of the pharmacist in replacing, renewing and, in some cases, issuing prescriptions.
"It's going to improve access for people who need their medications," said Lisa Zwicker, a pharmacist in Saint John.
"And it will save steps for us. Lots of times we have to stop and call or fax a doctor and wait to hear back in order to fill a prescription. It will eliminate that step. I don't think it will make our jobs any busier, but I think it will be better for everyone."
New Brunswick's 700 pharmacists fill more than nine million prescriptions every year.
Bill Veniot, registrar with New Brunswick's Pharmaceutical Society, said the new legislation finally recognizes the extensive training and experience of pharmacists.
"We're experts in drug therapy," Veniot said at a news conference in Fredericton on Tuesday.
"It's natural that we take on more authority with respect to prescribing certain medications." ...more
Ottawa to revive supplement safety bill
From the Globe and Mail:
Health Minister Tony Clement plans to reintroduce controversial legislation giving the federal government more oversight regarding the quality and safety of supplements, vitamins and other natural health products.
A spokeswoman for the minister, Laryssa Waler, said yesterday that Ottawa intends to go forward with new safety proposals to cover the booming and poorly regulated supplement field, but didn't offer a timeline.
The decision is likely to cause another pitched battle within the natural health products industry, where one major player, Jamieson Laboratories, yesterday issued a public call for stricter regulations.
It argues that current rules are so lax that Ottawa can't even order harmful products off store shelves and is only able to issue toothless health advisories.
The earlier legislation, known as bill C-51, prompted a vociferous campaign by some smaller health-products companies that said it would lead to government restrictions on the types of supplements available on the market. The bill died when the election was called. ...more
Health Minister Tony Clement plans to reintroduce controversial legislation giving the federal government more oversight regarding the quality and safety of supplements, vitamins and other natural health products.
A spokeswoman for the minister, Laryssa Waler, said yesterday that Ottawa intends to go forward with new safety proposals to cover the booming and poorly regulated supplement field, but didn't offer a timeline.
The decision is likely to cause another pitched battle within the natural health products industry, where one major player, Jamieson Laboratories, yesterday issued a public call for stricter regulations.
It argues that current rules are so lax that Ottawa can't even order harmful products off store shelves and is only able to issue toothless health advisories.
The earlier legislation, known as bill C-51, prompted a vociferous campaign by some smaller health-products companies that said it would lead to government restrictions on the types of supplements available on the market. The bill died when the election was called. ...more
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Pharmacists OK'd to replace, extend and renew prescriptions
From the Fredericton (NB) Daily Gleaner:
New Brunswickers seeking prescribed medications may no longer have to consult their family doctor, visit the emergency room or go to after-hours clinics.
Due to an amendment made last May to the province's Pharmacy Act, pharmacists now have the power to replace, extend and renew existing prescriptions. They can also issue new prescriptions for pre-existing conditions in emergency situations, as well as alter prescriptions to accommodate special needs.
Similar initiatives are underway in the United Kingdom and across Canada, including in Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.
"I think this is a good news story for New Brunswickers," said Bill Veniot, registrar with the New Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society, at a news conference.
"It's going to provide more access and better access to medications where some patients have had difficulties in getting medication. This will alleviate some of those things." ...more
New Brunswickers seeking prescribed medications may no longer have to consult their family doctor, visit the emergency room or go to after-hours clinics.
Due to an amendment made last May to the province's Pharmacy Act, pharmacists now have the power to replace, extend and renew existing prescriptions. They can also issue new prescriptions for pre-existing conditions in emergency situations, as well as alter prescriptions to accommodate special needs.
Similar initiatives are underway in the United Kingdom and across Canada, including in Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.
"I think this is a good news story for New Brunswickers," said Bill Veniot, registrar with the New Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society, at a news conference.
"It's going to provide more access and better access to medications where some patients have had difficulties in getting medication. This will alleviate some of those things." ...more
Fort Erie pharmacist is tonight's speaker at Port High Authors Series
From the Welland (Ont.) Tribune:
Sherry Torkos almost fell over at the thought of becoming an author.
It wasn't that she didn't want to.
It was just that she had never thought about the possibility.
Now a decade into it, the Fort Erie pharmacist seems to have come to terms nicely with her second career.
Torkos is the second author to visit Port High as part of the school's authors series this year.
She has written several books in the past decade. The latest is The Canadian Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.
Tonight she will talk about the importance of proper diet in maintaining health, as well as the role of health supplements can play. ...more
Sherry Torkos almost fell over at the thought of becoming an author.
It wasn't that she didn't want to.
It was just that she had never thought about the possibility.
Now a decade into it, the Fort Erie pharmacist seems to have come to terms nicely with her second career.
Torkos is the second author to visit Port High as part of the school's authors series this year.
She has written several books in the past decade. The latest is The Canadian Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.
Tonight she will talk about the importance of proper diet in maintaining health, as well as the role of health supplements can play. ...more
Safety Information Regarding Overdosage of Venlafaxine HCl Extended-Release Capsules
From Health Canada:
Health Canada, and the manufacturers of venlafaxine extended-release (XR) capsules wish to advise Canadians that the prescribing information for venlafaxine XR is being updated to include safety information about the risks of overdose.
Venlafaxine is in a class of medicines called serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and is used to treat depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (or social phobia) and panic disorder. Venlafaxine XR is sold in Canada under several brand names, including Effexor XR, Co Venlafaxine XR, Gen-Venlafaxine XR, Riva-Venlafaxine XR, Novo Venlafaxine XR, PMS- Venlafaxine XR, Ratio-Venlafaxine XR, Sandoz Venlafaxine XR.
For Health Professionals
For the Public
Health Canada, and the manufacturers of venlafaxine extended-release (XR) capsules wish to advise Canadians that the prescribing information for venlafaxine XR is being updated to include safety information about the risks of overdose.
Venlafaxine is in a class of medicines called serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and is used to treat depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (or social phobia) and panic disorder. Venlafaxine XR is sold in Canada under several brand names, including Effexor XR, Co Venlafaxine XR, Gen-Venlafaxine XR, Riva-Venlafaxine XR, Novo Venlafaxine XR, PMS- Venlafaxine XR, Ratio-Venlafaxine XR, Sandoz Venlafaxine XR.
For Health Professionals
For the Public
Monday, October 27, 2008
Epilepsy drug could help cure Alzheimer's
From the Calgary Herald:
Researchers at the University of B.C. have discovered that a drug commonly used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder significantly reduces brain plaque in mice with Alzheimer's disease.
The discovery, if replicated in humans, could lead to major new treatments for the debilitating brain-wasting disease. "If this works . . . it's going to benefit every patient with Alzheimer's disease," said UBC psychiatry professor Weihong Song, who led the study.
Song and his colleagues took mice genetically modified to exhibit Alzheimer's-like symptoms and then treated them with valproic acid (VPA), a compound usually used as a mood stabilizer or anti-convulsant.
They found the drug reduced the formation of plaque on the mice's brains, which in turn led to less brain-cell death and improved performance on memory tests. "It's very, very significant," said Song.
"There's a striking inhibition of the plaque formation." ...more
Researchers at the University of B.C. have discovered that a drug commonly used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder significantly reduces brain plaque in mice with Alzheimer's disease.
The discovery, if replicated in humans, could lead to major new treatments for the debilitating brain-wasting disease. "If this works . . . it's going to benefit every patient with Alzheimer's disease," said UBC psychiatry professor Weihong Song, who led the study.
Song and his colleagues took mice genetically modified to exhibit Alzheimer's-like symptoms and then treated them with valproic acid (VPA), a compound usually used as a mood stabilizer or anti-convulsant.
They found the drug reduced the formation of plaque on the mice's brains, which in turn led to less brain-cell death and improved performance on memory tests. "It's very, very significant," said Song.
"There's a striking inhibition of the plaque formation." ...more
Leukemia drug may stop progression of MS symptoms
From CTV News:
There is new hope for patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis, as a drug initially developed to treat a form of leukemia may stop the progression of the debilitating neurological disease.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have found that alemtuzumab not only halts the advancement of multiple sclerosis (MS), but it may also restore some function lost by patients.
MS is an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the insulation that covers nerve fibres in the central nervous system.
This causes the nerves to malfunction and then die off, which results in a number of physical and intellectual disabilities.
In the study, the drug reduced the risk of developing disabilities by 71 per cent compared to the common drug treatment for MS, interferon beta-1a. ...more
There is new hope for patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis, as a drug initially developed to treat a form of leukemia may stop the progression of the debilitating neurological disease.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have found that alemtuzumab not only halts the advancement of multiple sclerosis (MS), but it may also restore some function lost by patients.
MS is an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the insulation that covers nerve fibres in the central nervous system.
This causes the nerves to malfunction and then die off, which results in a number of physical and intellectual disabilities.
In the study, the drug reduced the risk of developing disabilities by 71 per cent compared to the common drug treatment for MS, interferon beta-1a. ...more
Full house greets 'faith-based' pharmacy
From the Washington Times:
Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy, one of fewer than a dozen pharmacies in the country that refuse to stock any kind of birth control, cigarettes, pornography or condoms, opened with a Catholic bishop's blessing and sprinklings of holy water Tuesday in Chantilly.
About 100 people, half of them children, crammed into the DMC Pharmacy in Sully Place Shopping Center to hear Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde preach about "transforming hearts through health care" amid boxes and bottles of Clearasil, Neutrogena and St. Ives Apricot Scrub.
"The most fundamental illness in our contemporary society is a pervasive disrespect for the intrinsic worth and dignity of every human person, whose life begins at conception," the bishop said.
Applauding the pharmacy for providing "a faith-based, family-friendly, pro-life environment," he called the opening of the DMC Pharmacy "a historic moment."
The store, just off Route 50 in one of Northern Virginia's busiest corridors, refuses to dispense birth control on the grounds that it destroys a developing life and that the hormones in birth-control pills are dangerous to a woman's health. Catholic doctrine forbids the use of artificial birth control. ...more
Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy, one of fewer than a dozen pharmacies in the country that refuse to stock any kind of birth control, cigarettes, pornography or condoms, opened with a Catholic bishop's blessing and sprinklings of holy water Tuesday in Chantilly.
About 100 people, half of them children, crammed into the DMC Pharmacy in Sully Place Shopping Center to hear Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde preach about "transforming hearts through health care" amid boxes and bottles of Clearasil, Neutrogena and St. Ives Apricot Scrub.
"The most fundamental illness in our contemporary society is a pervasive disrespect for the intrinsic worth and dignity of every human person, whose life begins at conception," the bishop said.
Applauding the pharmacy for providing "a faith-based, family-friendly, pro-life environment," he called the opening of the DMC Pharmacy "a historic moment."
The store, just off Route 50 in one of Northern Virginia's busiest corridors, refuses to dispense birth control on the grounds that it destroys a developing life and that the hormones in birth-control pills are dangerous to a woman's health. Catholic doctrine forbids the use of artificial birth control. ...more
Millions of Flu Vaccines May Go Unused
From ABC News:
Flu shot regulations in states restricting pharmacies from freely administering flu shots may keep many people from getting immunized and leave millions of vaccines unused, many health care professionals say.
As the CDC looks to expand the scope of immunizations to the largest number of people yet, states that require citizens to get a prescription to receive the flu vaccine by pharmacists are finding it difficult to accommodate the increasing numbers who are recommended for vaccinations.
The policy will turn many people away from getting a flu shot, said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University.
"Over the past decade, pharmacists have shown that they are very important partners in providing influenza vaccinations to the population," Schaffner said. "Having a physician's prescription is a barrier to more effective delivery of immunizations." ...more
Flu shot regulations in states restricting pharmacies from freely administering flu shots may keep many people from getting immunized and leave millions of vaccines unused, many health care professionals say.
As the CDC looks to expand the scope of immunizations to the largest number of people yet, states that require citizens to get a prescription to receive the flu vaccine by pharmacists are finding it difficult to accommodate the increasing numbers who are recommended for vaccinations.
The policy will turn many people away from getting a flu shot, said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University.
"Over the past decade, pharmacists have shown that they are very important partners in providing influenza vaccinations to the population," Schaffner said. "Having a physician's prescription is a barrier to more effective delivery of immunizations." ...more
National Pharmacy Association Insurance Covers Pharmacists For Flu Vaccinations, UK
From Medical News Today:
NPA Insurance has confirmed that individual pharmacists who have taken out the £99 NPA Insurance policy or pharmacy owners who are NPA members, providing a flu vaccination service, are indemnified.
Glyn Walduck, Head of NPA Insurance said: "It has been highlighted to us that some insurance providers are charging an additional premium for pharmacists wishing to carry out flu vaccinations. NPA Insurance would like to confirm that NPA members are covered by their NPA Insurance policy to provide a flu vaccination service. That cover also extends to any pharmacist who is employed or engaged (locum) by a member to provide the service so long as the pharmacist has been trained and approved. Locum pharmacists who have the £99 NPA Insurance policy will also be covered." ...more
NPA Insurance has confirmed that individual pharmacists who have taken out the £99 NPA Insurance policy or pharmacy owners who are NPA members, providing a flu vaccination service, are indemnified.
Glyn Walduck, Head of NPA Insurance said: "It has been highlighted to us that some insurance providers are charging an additional premium for pharmacists wishing to carry out flu vaccinations. NPA Insurance would like to confirm that NPA members are covered by their NPA Insurance policy to provide a flu vaccination service. That cover also extends to any pharmacist who is employed or engaged (locum) by a member to provide the service so long as the pharmacist has been trained and approved. Locum pharmacists who have the £99 NPA Insurance policy will also be covered." ...more
Unused drugs costing NHS millions
From BBC News:
As much as £1 worth of every £20 spent on prescription drugs is never used by patients, according to the NHS.
A Scottish GP has called for a recycling scheme to stop hundreds of millions of pounds worth of unused drugs going to waste.
Some unused drugs are returned to pharmacists and incinerated, others are just binned by patients.
Dr James Douglas wants unopened medicines to be offered to patients who need them for free.
Drugs are often thrown away because clinicians over-prescribe or because patients fail to take their medicines. ...more
As much as £1 worth of every £20 spent on prescription drugs is never used by patients, according to the NHS.
A Scottish GP has called for a recycling scheme to stop hundreds of millions of pounds worth of unused drugs going to waste.
Some unused drugs are returned to pharmacists and incinerated, others are just binned by patients.
Dr James Douglas wants unopened medicines to be offered to patients who need them for free.
Drugs are often thrown away because clinicians over-prescribe or because patients fail to take their medicines. ...more
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Group lobbies to change N.D pharmacy law
I didn't realize that these types of ownership restrictions still existed anywhere in the States. I wish the pharmacists luck, but they are fighting a battle that was lost a long time ago in most jurisdictions.
From the Grand Forks (ND) Herald:
Spencer Clairmont cringed when he saw a television ad a few weeks ago featuring people saying they were surprised that they could buy cheaper prescription drugs in Minnesota or other states than North Dakota.
The ad says a 45-year-old North Dakota law that requires drug stores to be majority-owned by pharmacists is keeping drug prices artificially high. If the state Legislature would overturn the law, it argues, residents would see cheaper prices because stores such as Wal-Mart, Target or grocery stores such as Hugo’s would be allowed to sell prescriptions.
The advertising campaign, which touts Wal-Mart’s $4 prescriptions, is the work of a group called North Dakotans for Affordable Health Care, funded mostly by Wal-Mart and Walgreen’s.
“Their advertisement saying they’re the cheapest doesn’t square with reality,” said the 56-year-old Clairmont. He and his wife, Bev, both pharmacists, own Walhalla Prescription Store in this Pembina County town of about 1,000, 100 miles north of Grand Forks. ...more
Half of U.S. doctors often prescribe placebos
From MSNBC:
About half of American doctors in a new survey say they regularly give patients placebo treatments — usually drugs or vitamins that won't really help their condition.
And many of these doctors are not honest with their patients about what they are doing, the survey found.
That contradicts advice from the American Medical Association, which recommends doctors use treatments with the full knowledge of their patients.
"It's a disturbing finding," said Franklin G. Miller, director of the research ethics program at the U.S. National Institutes Health and one of the study authors. "There is an element of deception here which is contrary to the principle of informed consent."
The study was being published online in Friday's issue of BMJ, formerly the British Medical Journal.
Placebos as defined in the survey went beyond the typical sugar pill commonly used in medical studies. A placebo was any treatment that wouldn't necessarily help the patient. ...more
About half of American doctors in a new survey say they regularly give patients placebo treatments — usually drugs or vitamins that won't really help their condition.
And many of these doctors are not honest with their patients about what they are doing, the survey found.
That contradicts advice from the American Medical Association, which recommends doctors use treatments with the full knowledge of their patients.
"It's a disturbing finding," said Franklin G. Miller, director of the research ethics program at the U.S. National Institutes Health and one of the study authors. "There is an element of deception here which is contrary to the principle of informed consent."
The study was being published online in Friday's issue of BMJ, formerly the British Medical Journal.
Placebos as defined in the survey went beyond the typical sugar pill commonly used in medical studies. A placebo was any treatment that wouldn't necessarily help the patient. ...more
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
New Remedies to Treat Blood Clots Are Near
From the Wall Street Journal:
Several big drug makers are in a neck-and-neck race to introduce new drugs for treating blood clots, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes, killing as many as a million people a year.
The prize is a chance at a piece of the blood-clot treatment market, which analysts estimate could be worth as much as €15 billion, or about $20 billion, by 2016.
[Treat Blood Clots]
Drugs currently used to prevent blood clots, also known as thrombosis, are effective and sell well but have problems. One popular treatment is difficult to dose and introduces risks when taken with other medicines and some foods. Another is an injectable, making long-term therapy difficult.
Five pharmaceutical companies are working on new treatments for blood clots. Three drugs -- developed by Bayer AG in partnerships with Johnson & Johnson, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, and Pfizer Inc. in partnership with Bristol Myers-Squibb Co. -- are now in the late phases of clinical testing.
The new drugs are taken by mouth, which makes them easier to use, their dosing is less troublesome, and they need no laboratory monitoring. They are also potentially more effective than existing treatments. The drug developed by Bayer and J&J has shown superior efficacy compared with standard therapy in a recent study. ...more
Several big drug makers are in a neck-and-neck race to introduce new drugs for treating blood clots, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes, killing as many as a million people a year.
The prize is a chance at a piece of the blood-clot treatment market, which analysts estimate could be worth as much as €15 billion, or about $20 billion, by 2016.
[Treat Blood Clots]
Drugs currently used to prevent blood clots, also known as thrombosis, are effective and sell well but have problems. One popular treatment is difficult to dose and introduces risks when taken with other medicines and some foods. Another is an injectable, making long-term therapy difficult.
Five pharmaceutical companies are working on new treatments for blood clots. Three drugs -- developed by Bayer AG in partnerships with Johnson & Johnson, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, and Pfizer Inc. in partnership with Bristol Myers-Squibb Co. -- are now in the late phases of clinical testing.
The new drugs are taken by mouth, which makes them easier to use, their dosing is less troublesome, and they need no laboratory monitoring. They are also potentially more effective than existing treatments. The drug developed by Bayer and J&J has shown superior efficacy compared with standard therapy in a recent study. ...more
Secret, double life of a Walgreens druggist
This is a fascinating tale of a pharmacist-turned-lawyer who exposed a major corporation's fraudulent practices.
From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Neil Thompson arrived at Walgreens eight years ago with a pharmacist's calm demeanor, a disarming smile and an impeccable résumé that dated back to his boyhood at the family drugstore in south Minneapolis.
What Walgreens didn't know was that its new part-time employee had an ulterior motive: to expose the way pharmacies sometimes broke the law to make money. Thompson was so determined to stop the cheating that at age 45, he became a lawyer.
Starting in 2005, Thompson worked as a government-sanctioned undercover investigator, poring through records in the back offices of Walgreens stores. Little by little, he and a co-employee developed a case that Walgreens was overcharging Medicaid by millions.
Late last month, the secret lawsuit that Thompson and pharmacist Dan Bieurance filed against Walgreens became public. The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the pharmacy giant would pay $9.9 million to settle the case. The company said it had changed its procedures to end the overbilling. For turning in their employer, Thompson and Bieurance stand to gain $483,000 each. ...more
Inside an affiliate spam program for pharmaceuticals
I thought this was an interesting bit of insight into the world of internet pharmacy affiliates.
From ZDNet.com:
Bargaining with your health doesn’t just mean you’re heading for a shorter life expectancy, but also, increases the chances that you will either get scammed in the process, or have to pay more in the long-term while dealing with the health issues arising from using expired pharmaceutical with unverifiable origins, you bargained for at the first place.
Just like vendors of rogue security software and system utilities software contributing to the increase of cybercrime activities due to the high payout rates enticing the affiliate network’s participants to spam, engage in blackhat SEO and SQL inject sites to redirect the visitors to the scam domains, pharmaceutical affiliate programs do exactly the same by allowing spamming, blackhat SEO, botnet traffic through redirects, and due to high amounts of money they make - directly advertise the scam sites on the major search engines.
Affiliate Pharmaceutical ProgramOut of the close to a hundred (100) unique pharmaceutical spam affiliate programs currently operating, let’s find out what is driving the increasing levels of pharmaceutical spam by taking an inside peek at such a program operating since 2003, whose advertisements speak for themselves in terms of revenues - “Around 50 Americans (85% of their sales) purchase pharmaceuticals from their affiliates on an hourly basis“. ...more
Monday, October 20, 2008
Plan B is coming out from behind the counter
From the Edmonton Sun:
The emergency contraceptive drug known as Plan B could be coming out from behind the pharmacy counter.
The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities wants to change the way the drug is sold, allowing it to be freely available on drug store shelves instead of behind the pharmacy counter.
Currently, women who want to buy the drug have to ask pharmacy staff, a condition critics have contended may discourage some from using it to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
The change would see Plan B stocked on shelves near the dispensary, so purchasers could easily ask for advice on its use if they need it. ...more
The emergency contraceptive drug known as Plan B could be coming out from behind the pharmacy counter.
The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities wants to change the way the drug is sold, allowing it to be freely available on drug store shelves instead of behind the pharmacy counter.
Currently, women who want to buy the drug have to ask pharmacy staff, a condition critics have contended may discourage some from using it to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
The change would see Plan B stocked on shelves near the dispensary, so purchasers could easily ask for advice on its use if they need it. ...more
High fracture risk seen in heart failure patients
From the CBC News:
People with heart failure have an elevated risk for bone fractures, particularly a broken hip, and doctors should be on the lookout in these patients for signs of osteoporosis, Canadian researchers said Monday.
Among 16,294 patients with heart disease in Alberta, those treated for heart failure were four times as likely to have a fracture in the next year as those with other types of heart disease, the researchers report in the journal Circulation.
The heart failure patients were six times as likely as the others to sustain a hip fracture, the researchers added.
It was the first study to indicate heart failure patients are at greater risk for bone-weakening osteoporosis, said Dr. Justin Ezekowitz, director of the Heart Function Clinic at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, who helped lead the research.
"This intersection is important because orthopedic fracture, especially hip fracture, is very debilitating. On top of a very debilitating disease such as heart failure, this is a very big problem," Ezekowitz said in a telephone interview. ...more
People with heart failure have an elevated risk for bone fractures, particularly a broken hip, and doctors should be on the lookout in these patients for signs of osteoporosis, Canadian researchers said Monday.
Among 16,294 patients with heart disease in Alberta, those treated for heart failure were four times as likely to have a fracture in the next year as those with other types of heart disease, the researchers report in the journal Circulation.
The heart failure patients were six times as likely as the others to sustain a hip fracture, the researchers added.
It was the first study to indicate heart failure patients are at greater risk for bone-weakening osteoporosis, said Dr. Justin Ezekowitz, director of the Heart Function Clinic at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, who helped lead the research.
"This intersection is important because orthopedic fracture, especially hip fracture, is very debilitating. On top of a very debilitating disease such as heart failure, this is a very big problem," Ezekowitz said in a telephone interview. ...more
Sunday, October 19, 2008
New treatment works
From the Vancouver Province:
A legal painkiller called Dilaudid is more effective in treating serious heroin addiction than methadone therapy, according to a groundbreaking Canadian study.
The North American Opiate Medication Initiative, also known as NAOMI, examined the effectiveness of prescription heroin on hard-core addicts in Vancouver and Montreal, who have repeatedly failed treatment in the past.
Over a 12- to 15-month period beginning March 2007, 115 addicts in the study were prescribed medical-grade heroin, while 25 addicts were given hydromorphone or Dilaudid in a double-blind study. A control group of 111 addicts received oral methadone.
The results, released Friday, showed improved physical and psychological health, a decrease in illicit heroin use and a drop in criminal activities among all participants.
The retention rate for addicts receiving heroin or Dilaudid was 88 per cent. All but one of the addicts receiving Dilaudid were not able to distinguish it from heroin. ...more
A legal painkiller called Dilaudid is more effective in treating serious heroin addiction than methadone therapy, according to a groundbreaking Canadian study.
The North American Opiate Medication Initiative, also known as NAOMI, examined the effectiveness of prescription heroin on hard-core addicts in Vancouver and Montreal, who have repeatedly failed treatment in the past.
Over a 12- to 15-month period beginning March 2007, 115 addicts in the study were prescribed medical-grade heroin, while 25 addicts were given hydromorphone or Dilaudid in a double-blind study. A control group of 111 addicts received oral methadone.
The results, released Friday, showed improved physical and psychological health, a decrease in illicit heroin use and a drop in criminal activities among all participants.
The retention rate for addicts receiving heroin or Dilaudid was 88 per cent. All but one of the addicts receiving Dilaudid were not able to distinguish it from heroin. ...more
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