Archive for April, 2009
Next Entries »Drugmakers raised prices in first quarter.
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009On the front of its Marketplace section, the Wall Street Journal (4/15, B1, Martinez, Johnson) reports that, “even as government and private insurers are struggling to rein in healthcare costs,” some hospitals and drugmakers “have been pushing through hefty price increases aimed at bolstering earnings.” First quarter data indicate that “drugmakers increased prices on drugs [...]
Canadians Use More Prescription Drugs than Ever Before
Monday, April 13th, 2009A report released by a drug-tracking firm reveals that prescription drug use among Canadians was higher in 2008 than in any previous year. The report, released on March 26 by IMS Health, a worldwide pharmaceutical-tracking company, assesses pharmaceutical use by tracking the number of prescriptions dispensed by pharmacists annually.
IMS estimates that Canadians spent $21.4 billion [...]
2008 Sees Significant Rise in Prescription Abandonment and Uptake of Generics
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009New Data Show U.S. Rx Abandonment Rate Up 34 Percent Since 2006; Generics Led Brands By a Billion Prescriptions in 2008
Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry, today released its annual analysis of the U.S. pharmaceutical [...]
Seniors falling into ‘doughnut hole,’ research says
Monday, April 6th, 2009The so-called “doughnut hole” is real for many seniors who enroll in Medicare Part D coverage, leaving them struggling to pay for prescription drugs at the end of the year, a new report indicates.
For others who enrolled after being uninsured, use of prescription medications increased from 3% to 37% and out-of-pocket spending dropped between 37% [...]
DOES PSA TESTING FOR PROSTATE CANCER SAVE LIVES?
Sunday, April 5th, 2009Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in men. Approximately 190,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, and nearly 30,000 American men die of this form of cancer each year, making prostate cancer the second most common cause of cancer death in men (lung cancer, a [...]
Recession Hits Social Security Increases
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009Source: Associated Press
The recession is projected to wipe out annual cost-of-living increases for 50 million Social Security beneficiaries for the next three years, something that hasn’t happened since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975.
The Congressional Budget Office says in its latest budget estimates that inflation will dip so low that Social Security recipients will not [...]
Research suggests adding Plavix to aspirin may reduce heart risks in atrial fibrillation patients.
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009The Wall Street Journal (4/1, D5, Loftus) reports that “adding the anticlotting drug Plavix [clopidogrel] to aspirin in people with” atrial fibrillation “modestly reduced the combined risk of strokes and related disease versus aspirin alone,” according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology conference and published online in the New England Journal [...]
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