- Transatlantic divide: how U.S. pays three times more for drugs (reuters.com)Transatlantic drug price divide graphic (pdf.reuters.com)
U.S. prices for the world's 20 top-selling medicines are…three times higher than in Britain… Researchers…also found U.S. prices were consistently higher than in other European markets…The United States, which leaves pricing to market competition, has higher drug prices than other countries where governments directly or indirectly control medicine costs…That makes it by far the most profitable market for pharmaceutical companies, leading to complaints that Americans are effectively subsidizing health systems elsewhere…Manufacturers say decent returns are needed to reward high-risk research…also point to higher U.S. survival rates for diseases such as cancer and the availability of industry-backed access schemes for poorer citizens…Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America says international comparisons are misleading because list prices do not take into account discounts available as a result of "aggressive negotiation" by U.S. insurers.
- Reducing LDL with PCSK9 Inhibitors — The Clinical Benefit of Lipid Drugs (nejm.org)
…Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration…met to consider marketing applications for the new molecular entities alirocumab (Praluent) and evolocumab (Repatha)on the basis of their ability to lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels…These first-in-class medications are fully humanized monoclonal antibodies that inactivate proprotein convertase subtilisin–kexin type 9…consequent lowering of LDL cholesterol levels…has led to optimism regarding the potential — but as yet unproven — cardiovascular benefits…LDL cholesterol reduction as the surrogate measure of clinical benefit. No efficacy data on cardiovascular outcomes were provided…Establishing evidence of improved cardiovascular outcomes is key to evaluating medications from any new drug class intended to reduce such risk….definitive evidence of reduced cardiovascular event rates is essential…to provide such evidence should elucidate the medications' true clinical benefits and possible risks.
- First liquid aspirin’ maker seeks licensing deal (in-pharmatechnologist.com)
Innovate Pharmaceuticals has launched…shelf-stable liquid aspirin, and says it is on the look-out for a licensing partner for the "$500m" market…. Innovate worked with chemicals company Croda for five years on engineering excipients to make what it calls a "truly liquid" aspirin. The pharma firm claims its product allows faster and more complete absorption than other delivery routes, "resulting in potentially drastic reductions in gastric side effects."
- Beating parasites wins three scientists Nobel prize for medicine (reuters.com)
Three scientists…whose discoveries led to the development of potent new drugs against parasitic diseases…won the Nobel Prize for Medicine…Irish-born William Campbell and Japan's Satoshi Omura won half of the prize for discovering avermectin,…used to treat..river blindness and lymphatic filariasis...China's Tu Youyou was awarded the other half of the prize for discovering artemisinin, a drug that has slashed malaria deaths…She is China's first Nobel laureate in medicine.
- The Quest for a Vaccine Against a Killer Bug (bloomberg.com)A New York Giants player is in danger of having his foot amputated (news.yahoo.com)
Pfizer is targeting a deadly bacterium that thrives in hospitals…Staphylococcus aureus can strike healthy, young people with no known risk factors, survive a barrage of antibiotics, and sometimes be fatal…One antibiotic-resistant strain frequently found in hospitals (MRSA) is responsible for about 75,000 serious infections and 10,000 deaths…a year…The pharmaceutical giant has spent more than 15 years working on a vaccine…and is in the midst of testing it on patients…Staph is a very difficult organism to make a vaccine against...Pfizer’s researchers are trying a multipronged approach. Two of the vaccine’s components go after a capsule that cloaks the bacterium and prevents the immune system from recognizing it. Another deprives the organism of manganese…A fourth targets the mechanism staph uses to lodge itself in the body…
- 5 tips for fighting cybercrime (healthcareitnews.com)
If you want to know how well a health system is protecting against cybercrime, you would have better luck talking to the criminals…IT executives…in the healthcare industry – aren't doing a good job keeping the enterprise up to date on cyber threats, and that those looking to steal and make a profit from health information are much more informed… five tips for fighting cybercrime:
- Network segmentation: Make sure only those who need to see sensitive information have access privileges
- Dedicated incident response team: Set up a chain of command in the event of a breach, with roles clearly defined. In short, expect a breach, and plan accordingly
- Teach with breaches: Show staff what happens when a breach occurs, reviewing how other breaches have occurred and how they could have been avoided, so they're dealing with concrete examples rather than invented scenarios
- Drill your breach response: Practice often, so staff instinctively know what to do if/when something happens
- Include partners: With reports indicating as many as one-third of all healthcare data breaches are caused by vendors, it's wise to invite them and all others to the party
- ICD-10 update from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (healthcareitnews.com)
ICD-10 go live date came and went...with many organizations reporting small, if any, hiccups. One of those...was Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center…with CIO John Halamka,.. reporting on his team's first few days…other than a few small refinements, the impact has been unnoticeable…financial system is able to process both ICD-9 and ICD-10 to support patients who were admitted on 9/30 and discharged on 10/1…scorecard listed only five minor issues...which our local teams…were able to…quickly close…thanks to all involved in this extremely smooth go live…Our next steps will be monitoring the coding of the initial inpatient cases and payer submissions along with watching reimbursements over the next 60 days.
- Emerging role: ambulance pharmacists improving medication safety on the frontline (shpa.org.au)Ambulance pharmacist - why haven't we thought of this role earlier? J. of Pharmacy Practice & Research 2015; 45: 318-21 (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
Pharmacists are beginning to be employed by ambulance services around Australia to improve medicines use and patient safety. In an article published in the September 2015 issue of the Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, South Australian ambulance pharmacist Dr Peter Hayball describes the importance of his role…Paramedics give medicines to patients in approximately half of all ambulances cases. Often these are high-risk medicines. South Australian Ambulance Service recognised a real need for pharmacists' clinical skills in this environment and advocated for the role,..
- Meds to Beds Program Provides More Opportunities for Patient Counseling (pharmacytimes.com)
Mail, pizza, now medicine: Some health care systems are allowing patients to get their discharge medication delivered while they are still in the hospital… main focus was on patient education and medication counseling…the program allows for more quality time with patients to make sure their medications are safe and effective for them…"When we deliver medications to patients’ bedsides immediately prior to discharge, patients seem more willing to listen and learn about their medications than when they are at a retail pharmacy in the community,"
- GAO: 5 barriers to interoperability (healthcareitnews.com)
Government Accountability Office details five barriers to interoperability, while at the same time raising criticism by a former ONC official, who calls the GAO report "incomplete."..GAO delved into interoperability at the request of Congressional leaders who asked the watchdog to report on the status of efforts by entities other than the federal government to develop infrastructure that could lead to nationwide interoperability of health information…most of these initiatives remain works in progress…GAO identified five stubborn barriers to interoperability..
- Insufficiencies in health data standards
- Variation in state privacy rules
- Difficulty in accurately matching all the right records to the right patient
- The costs involved in achieving the goals
- The need for governance and trust among entities to facilitate sharing health information