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Health app certification program halted
Pamela Lewis Dolan Medical & Allied HealthcareJust days after the first class of certified mobile apps was announced by an organization that promised to take the guesswork out of app recommendations for physicians, the certification program was halted after it was found to be significantly flawed.
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Acid suppression, B-12 and the supplement dilemma
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalKaiser Permanente researchers recently published the results of a study in JAMA that points strongly toward a connection between long-term acid suppression and vitamin B12 deficiency. If true, this is undoubtedly a discovery that should not go unnoticed by pharmacists.
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Medical device plastic material innovations to watch
Don Rosato ManufacturingThe medical device universe encompasses a particularly imposing spectrum of constant technological innovation, including hundreds of different technologies and thousands of types of products. This affords high performance specialty plastics material suppliers unique opportunities in medical device market development.
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Reactions mixed to announced meaningful use changes
Pamela Lewis Dolan Healthcare AdministrationA new proposed timeline for the meaningful use incentive program for electronic health record use was announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. The change came with mixed reaction from many healthcare member organizations advocating for more flexibility in the incentive program. It was also met with some initial confusion over what the revised timeline means.
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Why HealthCare.gov should have been a mobile app
Alex Bratton Healthcare AdministrationOf all the problems with the HealthCare.gov site, perhaps the most baffling is why it was created as a website in the first place. The main target of the HealthCare.gov website is young, healthy millennials, those aged 18 to 29 years old. Since millennials don't run up big healthcare bills, their monthly premiums will subsidize the insurance benefits of nearly 4.3 million older and less healthy Americans.
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Clock is ticking: New acetaminophen combo limitations coming soon
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalBeginning next month, manufacturers of combination prescription products containing acetaminophen are expected to limit their APAP content to no more than 325 mg per dose. The significance of this is that many narcotic combination products currently being dispensed will soon no longer be compliant with these guidelines. The guidelines do not impact any OTC acetaminophen products or combinations.
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Cannabidiol: Medical miracle or shameful street drug?
Maria Frisch PharmaceuticalOn Aug. 11, CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, led the premier of a one-hour documentary on medical marijuana. This event reignited many discussions on the topic of medical marijuana and shed some light on the changing politics surrounding this drug. Riding on the coat tails of this story is the recent announcement that GW Pharmaceuticals received U.S. Food and Drug Administration orphan drug designation for Epidiolex, a drug that touts cannabidiol as its active ingredient.
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Novel oral anticoagulants for thromboembolic disease
Dr. Afsaneh Motamed-Khorasani PharmaceuticalVitamin K antagonists are commonly used for the treatment of thromboembolic disease. However, the slow onset of action for these medications limits their use. Therefore, a bridging therapy with the use of low molecular weight heparin is advantageous for the treatment.
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Better connectivity needed to improve prescription drug monitoring programs
Pamela Lewis Dolan Medical & Allied HealthcareAmong the most powerful tools healthcare providers have to combat the growing prescription drug abuse problem are prescription drug monitoring databases. Even though physicians and PAs in most states have access to a drug monitoring database, few actually use them. Efforts are underway to change that.
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Will we all be on statins soon?
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalThe sky is falling. The statins are coming. At least that's what some folks are saying. According to some interpretations of the latest recommendations issued by the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association, we'll all be on statins before you know it. These new guidelines were released Nov. 12 and are already drawing sharp criticism.
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