Popular Articles

New Drug That Could Dramatically Speed Up The Elimination Of River Blindness Across Africa Begins Clinical Trial
A clinical trial is being launched in three African countries of a drug that could eliminate onchocerciasis, or river blindness, one of the leading infectious causes of blindness across Africa. The drug, moxidectin, is being investigated for its potential to kill or sterilize the adult worms of Onchocerca volvulus, which cause onchocerciasis.
generic viagra
Your Ex-Factor: Overcome Heartbreak And Build A Better Life After Divorce Or Break-up - New Book
Over two-thirds of American families are "blended," which means they are made up of remarried adults and often stepchildren. Although it"s good news that many divorced people remarry, the bad news is that too many of them carry the animosities and negative behavior patterns of their former heartbreaks into their new situation.
Zubni implantati
News of the day
SCOTUS Ruling Reversing Decision From Sotomayor's Court Not Expected To Affect Nomination
The Supreme Court"s 5-4 reversal of a decision endorsed by a three-judge appellate panel that included Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is attracting criticism from the judge"s conservative opponents but is not expected to have a significant effect on delaying her confirmation, the Washington Post reports. The appellate panel in 2008 upheld New Haven, Conn."s decision to discard a promotion test for firefighters after no blacks and only two Hispanics qualified for advancement after taking the test (Markon/Kane, Washington Post, 6/30). The panel"s ruling affirmed a lower court"s decision that the city had a right to discard the test based on a segment of civil rights law involving actions that have a "disparate impact" on minorities. A group of white and Hispanic firefighters who would have received promotions under the test sued, alleging reverse discrimination. Democrats and legal analysts said that Sotomayor was following legal precedent in the 2008 ruling and that it was the Supreme Court, which has the ability to exercise more discretion, that chose to make law by reversing the decision (Friedman, CongressDaily, 6/29). The Supreme Court typically reverses about 75% of the cases it reviews, according to legal experts. The court previously has reversed four of Sotomayor"s rulings and upheld three of her decisions, the Post reports. Tom Goldstein, a lawyer and founder of the SCOTUSblog Web site, said, "I don"t think it will persuade anybody who is inclined one way or another to change their views about Sotomayor" (Washington Post, 6/30). Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, "The main charge against Sotomayor is that she will be an activist judge, but this decision clearly shows that she won"t." He said that the results of the case "won"t change things a wit," adding that "in fact, it bolsters (the claim) that she is mainstream" (CongressDaily, 6/29). Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the New Haven case "sharpens our focus on [Sotomayor"s] troubling speeches and writings" that "indicate ... that personal experiences and political views should influence a judge"s decisions." He added that the issue "will clearly be the subject of questioning" at Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing, which is scheduled to begin on Monday (Phillips, "The Caucus," New York Times, 6/29).
Sexual Health

Comparison Is Key To Lower Costs, Better Outcomes From Medications

Patients can expect significant savings and better outcomes from their prescription medications when health care professionals use comparative effectiveness research, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama includes more than $1 billion over the next two years for comparative effectiveness research, a practice that evaluates different options for treating a medical condition among a certain group of patients. "Despite having the highest per capita health care expenditures in the world, the United States does not always perform well on measures of health compared with other countries," said Glen Schumock, associate professor and director of the UIC Center for Pharmacoeconomic Research. "With prescription drugs accounting for more than 10 percent -- $227.5 billion -- of the total amount Americans spent on health care in 2007, we need to know more about how drugs compare to one another in terms of effectiveness, safety, and value for money." The analysis is published in the online version of American Journal of Health-Systems Pharmacy and is co-authored by A. Simon Pickard, UIC associate professor of pharmacy practice. Comparative effectiveness is a relatively new concept, and it contains two important components, Schumock said. It provides information to help clinicians choose among alternative treatments, and it examines outcomes in actual practice. Randomized control trials have long been the most widely accepted method to study the efficacy of innovative medical care interventions, and they are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market a new drug, Schumock said. However, such trials have drawbacks. A traditional randomized control trial does not show how the drug works, Schumock said, "and it usually compares a new drug with a placebo or an inferior treatment option rather than the drug or drugs that might be legitimate therapeutic alternatives." The patient populations are also narrowly selected, and are usually healthier than the patients who will eventually use the drug, he said. Comparative effectiveness studies matches up comparable medications based on current choices available to health care professionals. The patients are those who actually use the drug once it is marketed. The outcomes, Schumock said, are more relevant to decisionmaking at the clinical or policy level. Comparative effectiveness research may reduce spending on pharmaceuticals and lower overall health care costs, said Pickard. According to the Congressional Budget Office, direct spending by the federal government -- mostly for Medicare and Medicaid -- would be reduced by $100 million from 2008-2012 and $1.3 billion from 2008-2017. Those figures could be much higher, as they were developed before the recent large investment in comparative effectiveness research, Pickard said. "With the shared goal of improving decisionmaking at every level of the health care system, pharmacy and other professions can use comparative effectiveness research as an opportunity to be more efficient and more accountable," Pickard said. University of Illinois at Chicago


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):