Current Prescription-News News Results

Countries face "hidden problem" of prescription drug misuse.

BMJ. 2010; 340: c1109
Zarocostas J

FDA weighs limits for online ads.

JAMA. 2010 Jan 27; 303(4): 311-3
Kuehn BM

Indonesian doctors are told to prescribe generics to reduce health costs.

BMJ. 2010; 340: c349
Bland B

Manufacturers argue against mandatory training for opioid prescribers.

Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2010 Jan 15; 67(2): 96
Traynor K

Health department consults on automatic substitution of generics.

BMJ. 2010; 340: c135
Mayor S

Drug discount out. House measure could save $1 billion if put back in.

Mod Healthc. 2009 Nov 9; 39(45): 8-9
Rhea S

Managing your pain, minus addiction.

US News World Rep. 2009 Dec; 146(11): 60, 62-3
Payne JW

[Andalucia is the first community to allow nurses to prescribe health products and medications]

Rev Enferm. 2009 Oct; 32(10): 72-3

Sexual Dysfunction in an Internet Sample of U.S. Men Who Have Sex with Men.

J Sex Med. 2009 Dec 1;
Hirshfield S, Chiasson MA, Wagmiller Jr RL, Remien RH, Humberstone M, Scheinmann R, Grov C

ABSTRACT Introduction. Relatively little is known about sexual dysfunction (SD) in men who have sex with men (MSM). Aim. In order to better understand SD symptoms in MSM, we assessed self-reported SD symptoms, individually and by latent class analysis (LCA). Methods. In 2004-2005 an Internet sample of U.S. MSM was recruited from gay-oriented sexual networking, chat and news websites. The analytic sample comprised 7,001 men aged 18 or older who reported lifetime male sex partners and oral or anal sex with a male partner in their most recent encounter within the past year. Main Outcome Measures. Seven questions on SD symptoms that occurred during the past 12 months inquired about low sexual desire, erection problems, inability to achieve an orgasm, performance anxiety, premature ejaculation, pain during sex, and sex not being pleasurable. Results. Self-reported symptoms of SD were high. Overall, 79% of men reported one or more SD symptoms in the past year, with low sexual desire, erection problems, and performance anxiety being the most prevalent. Four distinct underlying patterns of sexual functioning were identified by LCA: no/low SD, erection problems/performance anxiety, low desire/pleasure, and high SD/sexual pain. High SD/sexual pain was distinguished from the other patterns by club drug use and use of prescription and non-prescription erectile dysfunction medication before sex in the past year. Additionally, men associated with the high SD/sexual pain group were younger, single, more likely to have poor mental and physical health, and more likely to have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in the past year compared to men in the no/low SD group. Conclusions. LCA enabled us to identify underlying patterns of sexual functioning among this sample of MSM recruited online. Future research should investigate these distinct subgroups with SD symptoms in order to develop tailored treatments and counseling for SD. Hirshfield S, Chiasson MA, Wagmiller RL, Remien RH, Humberstone M, Scheinmann R, and Grov C. Sexual dysfunction in an internet sample of U.S. men who have sex with men. J Sex Med **;**:**-**.

First set-up meeting for Antibiotic Resistance and Prescribing in European Children (ARPEC).

Euro Surveill. 2009; 14(45):
Henderson KL, Muller-Pebody B, Johnson AP, Goossens H, Sharland M,

Breaking the news or fueling the epidemic? Temporal association between news media report volume and opioid-related mortality.

PLoS One. 2009; 4(11): e7758
Dasgupta N, Mandl KD, Brownstein JS

BACKGROUND: Historical studies of news media have suggested an association between reporting and increased drug abuse. Period effects for substance use have been documented for different classes of legal and illicit substances, with the suspicion that media publicity may have played major roles in their emergence. Previous analyses have drawn primarily from qualitative evidence; the temporal relationship between media reporting volume and adverse health consequences has not been quantified nationally. We set out to explore whether we could find a quantitative relationship between media reports about prescription opioid abuse and overdose mortality associated with these drugs. We assessed whether increases in news media reports occurred before or after increases in overdose deaths. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our ecological study compared a monthly time series of unintentional poisoning deaths involving short-acting prescription opioid substances, from 1999 to 2005 using multiple cause-of-death data published by the National Center for Health Statistics, to monthly counts of English-language news articles mentioning generic and branded names of prescription opioids obtained from Google News Archives from 1999 to 2005. We estimated the association between media volume and mortality rates by time-lagged regression analyses. There were 24,272 articles and 30,916 deaths involving prescription opioids during the seven-year study period. Nationally, the number of articles mentioning prescription opioids increased dramatically starting in early 2001, following prominent coverage about the nonmedical use of OxyContin. We found a significant association between news reports and deaths, with media reporting preceding fatal opioid poisonings by two to six months and explaining 88% (p<0.0001, df 78) of the variation in mortality. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: While availability, structural, and individual predispositions are key factors influencing substance use, news reporting may enhance the popularity of psychoactive substances. Albeit ecological in nature, our finding suggests the need for further evaluation of the influence of news media on health. Reporting on prescription opioids conforms to historical patterns of news reporting on other psychoactive substances.

Privacy concerns raised over "secondary use" of health records.

CMAJ. 2009 Dec 8; 181(12): E287
Silversides A

[Impressive erythema, burning and vesicles in light exposed skin area. Sunburn or phototoxic reaction?]

MMW Fortschr Med. 2009 Sep 10; 151(37): 12-4
Klein F

E-prescribing in the optometric practice.

Optometry. 2008 Nov; 79(11): 692-701
McVeigh FL

E-prescribing offers optometrists and other health care providers important opportunities to prevent medical errors and adverse reactions, facilitate smooth claims filing, and encourage proper patient compliance with care regimens. However, as with any new technology, practitioners first need to implement it, learn how to use it, and become accustomed to it. The AOA-HITTC is continuing to develop materials on e-prescribing in optometric practices. AOA members should watch the electronic and print versions of the AOA News as well as the AOA Web site for details. The eHealth Initiative's list of the top tips for successful e-prescribing (see Box 5) can provide some valuable hints. Health care providers should also be aware that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration presently prohibits the e-prescribing of controlled substances (see Box 6). For those who wish an even more detailed discussion, the eHealth Initiative offers The Guide to E-Prescribing for Physician Practices. However, it will ultimately be up to each practice to make sure practitioners, staff, and patients realized the full range of benefits e-prescribing can offer. "For the practice to have the optimum experience with e-prescribing, it is important that leadership is committed to realizing its benefits and working through issues rather than giving up when they hit a bump in the road; the entire practice is involved in planning and selection and chooses software and hardware solutions that have robust functionality and support the practice workflow; the practice communicates with pharmacies, patients, and the vendor about e-prescribing; an individual is assigned to manage prescription renewal and provide assistance to all users of the system to help them get comfortable; and training and support is adequate," the eHealth Initiative reports emphasizes.

Regulatory colleges to set painkiller guidelines.

CMAJ. 2009 Oct 13; 181(8): 464-5
Silversides A

Ontario takes aim at painkiller abuse.

CMAJ. 2009 Oct 13; 181(8): E141-2
Silversides A

Opioid prescribing challenges doctors.

CMAJ. 2009 Oct 13; 181(8): E143-4
Silversides A

Fiscally challenged drug-donation program helps needy Wyoming residents.

Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2009 Oct 1; 66(19): 1688, 1690
Traynor K

[Scope of the contract for drug therapy. Rebate contracts also for original drugs]

MMW Fortschr Med. 2009 Jul 23; 151(30-33): 80

Search engines continue to advertise rogue online pharmacies.

BMJ. 2009; 339: b3457
Siva N