Author: Peter

..In the midst of rapid expansion of medical knowledge...too few actually understand medical information well enough to improve their health…. US adults scored below the international average for literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments… too many patients still have difficulty...such as taking the right medicine at the right time, properly self-managing diabetes, or correctly following hospital discharge instructions...

Drew Armstrong reports on the rising cost of drugs. He speaks on "Bloomberg Markets." (video)

Contrary to popular belief, many people are coming to Las Vegas for their specialized health care needs. Camille de Leon, 26, and her husband, Rodney Yu, 23, turned to the oncologists and surgeons….when son Anthony, 6, was diagnosed with clear cell sarcoma….he was transferred to Sunrise Hospital, where his kidney was removed…. settled in for an extended stay at the Ronald McDonald House… prolonged chemotherapy treatment at the Cure 4 the Kids Foundation infusion center….

This report updates the 2014 recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices regarding the use of seasonal influenza vaccines. Updated information for the 2015–16 season includes

• antigenic composition of U.S. seasonal influenza vaccines;
• information on influenza vaccine products expected to be available for the 2015–16 season;
• an updated algorithm for determining the appropriate number of doses for children aged 6 months through 8 years; and
• recommendations for the use of live attenuated influenza vaccine and inactivated influenza vaccine when either is available,…

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services…released its latest forecasts for national health expenditures...2014, prescription drug spending growth was higher than the growth in total U.S. healthcare spending...the next 10 years,..drug spending is projected to closely track overall healthcare spending. By 2024,.. will spend about $560 billion annually on outpatient prescription drugs...the perceptions that drugs prices are "too high," outpatient prescription drugs will only account for about one of every 10 U.S. healthcare dollars....

Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc is the talk of the town…the company released promising secondary endpoint results from the Phase 2 trial of a new drug targeting interstitial cystitis, a painful bladder condition…"The encouraging effect…observed on the primary endpoint of reduction in pain…underscore the potential of AQX-1125 as a once daily, oral therapy for this debilitating disease,"...

Department of Veterans Affairs awarded a $12.1 million contract….to build a long-awaited new health care clinic for veterans in Pahrump…Sen. Dean Heller,… who sits on the Senate's veterans committee, said the new clinic "brings much-needed health care access to local veterans."

Experts from the CVS Health Research Institute,.. are calling for a reconsideration of treatment guidelines for high cholesterol as PCSK9 inhibitors hit the market…"As PCSK9 inhibitors become available, the current cholesterol management guidelines do not provide clarity as to how these expensive new medications could fit in the treatment paradigm, potentially resulting in some scenarios where a prescriber could consider a PCSK9 inhibitor for a low-risk patient,"

House to FDA: who's in charge clinical trial manufacturing? US politicians have given the NIH and FDA until Friday to answer questions about oversight at a contaminated National Institutes of Health clinical trial manufacturing site…what are the FDA’s obligations for inspecting non-commercial drug production?...

Dr Bonadonna,…heads a partnership between GSK and Save the Children which aims to save the lives of one million children…Instead of simply donating money, the drug company is donating the expertise of its employees to create cheap and simple solutions to deadly third world problems…"It’s a philosophy that goes beyond volunteering and fundraising, it uses the skills of the company and its employees,"....