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May 2006
Progress on AIDS is focus of assembly
Progress on AIDS is focus of assembly
Five years after the United Nations’ historic first general assembly
on AIDS, the world has seen a huge increase in money and attention
going to the 25-year-old epidemic, as well as evidence that the
disease has stabilized in many areas and is retreating in more than
a few. The number of people getting AIDS drug treatment in needy
countries has risen more than fivefold in five years, and the number
of sites providing it has jumped tenfold in just the past year. At
least a quarter-million people are alive today who would not be
without the money, effort and expertise expended just since 2003,
according to U.N. estimates released Tuesday. Thousands of AIDS
activists, diplomats, health ministers and heads of state are
gathering Wednesday to tackle the more difficult task of extending
the recent gains. They also will have to face the reality that the
world did not come close to putting 3 million low-income AIDS
patients on treatment by the end of 2005, the “3 by 5” target
proclaimed in 2003, and that far fewer than half the people who need
antiretroviral drugs immediately are getting them. Nevertheless,
today “the context is completely different” from the first general
assembly session in August 2001, Peter Piot, the Belgian physician
who directs UNAIDS, said. “In 2001 we were at the height of despair.
Today we have more than just proof of concept; we are beginning to
see results.” That success now presents the world's wealthy
countries with a serious responsibility: The lives of perhaps 1
million people on AIDS therapy in low- and middle-income countries
are now directly dependent on foreign aid. How to sustain that
therapy without interruptions of even days or weeks, while not
turning the United States and Europe into the health insurers of
millions of people in the developing world, is expected to be the
chief issue at the U.N. meeting. Over the next three days, delegates
will try to come up with a blueprint for reaching the new goal of
providing “universal access” to AIDS care and prevention by 2010.
UNAIDS estimates about $8.3 billion was spent last year in
treatment, prevention and care of orphans in low- and middle-income
countries. That meets the $7 billion to $10 billion target set five
years ago. Although the number of people getting AIDS drugs
increased from 240,000 in 2001 to about 1.4 million last year, of
people worldwide whose disease has advanced to the point of needing
the drugs, only one in five gets them. By next year, $18 billion
will be needed to pay for drug treatment, but only $10 billion will
be available, according to U.N. estimates, and the gap will continue
to grow. (The Washington Post)
What preventive health
measures would save the most lives for the least money? The top rank goes to
taking aspirin daily to prevent heart attacks and strokes in men over 40 and
women over 50, according to a study reported on the Web site of an alliance of
health insurers, state health departments, academics, and trade groups.
Immunizing children and discouraging people from smoking follow closely behind,
the Washington-based Partnership for Prevention found. Former Surgeon General
David Satcher led the effort, which entailed a review of more than 8,000
preventive-medicine studies. The rankings are intended as a checklist for
patients, doctors and insurers. Below are the top 20 preventive measures in rank
order. Preventive measures that are ignored by more than half of those who'd
benefit from them are indicated by asterisks. 1.) *Daily aspirin to prevent
heart attacks and stroke in men over 40 and women over 50. 2.) Childhood
immunizations for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, mumps, rubella,
polio, hepatitis B, etc. 3.) *Tobacco-use screening and brief counseling by
doctors. 4.) *Routine colorectal-cancer screening for adults 50 and older by any
recognized method. 5.) Hypertension screening via routine blood-pressure tests
and medication if necessary. 6.) Annual flu shots for adults 50 and older. 7.)
*Immunization of adults 65 and older against bacteria that cause pneumonia and
related diseases. 8.) *Screening and brief counseling of problem drinkers by
their physicians. 9.) *Vision screening for adults 65 and older. 10.) Cervical
cancer screening for sexually active women and women over 21. 11.) Cholesterol
screening for men 35 and older and women 45 and older. 12.) Routine
breast-cancer screening for women 50 and older and discussion with women ages 40
to 49 to set an age to begin screening. 13.) *Routine chlamydia screening for
sexually active women under 25. 14.) Calcium-supplement counseling for
adolescent girls and women; 15.) Vision screening for children under 5. 16.)
Routine counsel for women of childbearing age on the use of folic acid
supplements to prevent birth defects. 17.) Obesity screening for adults and
high-intensity diet and exercise counseling for the obese. 18.) Depression
screening for adults. 19.) Hearing-impairment screening for adults 65 and over.
20.) Promotion of child-safety measures such as car seats, pool fences, bicycle
helmets, poison control, and curbs on scalding-water burns. Analysts quantified
the health gains in terms of longer life and better quality of life for each
preventive measure. They also compared the cost-effectiveness of each preventive
intervention. They combined the two rankings into one score that measures
bang-for-the-buck for the top preventive-care options. Of the 10 preventive
measures that promise the greatest gains, six are ignored by more than half of
Americans who'd benefit from them, according to the study in the July issue of
the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
www.prevent.org/content/view/46/96/. (Boston Globe)
Consumer-directed health plans; Small but growing
enrollment fueled by rising cost of health care coverage
Insurance carriers, employers, and individuals are showing increasing interest in consumer-directed health plans (CDHP). CDHPs typically combine a high-deductible health plan with a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) or health savings account (HSA). HRAs and HSAs are tax-advantaged accounts used to pay enrollees’ health care expenses, and unused balances may accrue for future use, potentially giving enrollees an incentive to purchase health care more prudently. The plans also provide decision-support tools to help enrollees become more actively involved in making health care purchasing decisions. The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review the prevalence of CDHPs, how the associated accounts are funded and used, and the factors that may contribute to the growth or limit the appeal of these plans. Enrollment in CDHPs accounts for a small but growing share of the 177 million Americans with private health insurance coverage. From January 2005 to January 2006, the number of enrollees and dependents covered by a CDHP, either an HRA-based plan or an HSA-eligible plan, increased from about 3 million to between about 5 and 6 million. An increasing number of health insurance carriers and employers began offering CDHPs during 2005. Most employers made a contribution to their employees’ health accounts, and the share of account funds spent by enrollees varied. Industry representatives indicated that while most HSA account holders withdrew a portion of their account funds in 2005, some account holders used other, out-of-pocket funds, rather than their HSAs, to pay for medical care. According to industry officials and experts, the primary factor responsible for the growth of CDHPs is the rising cost of health care coverage. Prompting the growth of enrollment among individuals is the desire to lower premiums and accumulate tax-advantaged savings, according to the officials. Experts noted that employers would be more likely to offer a CDHP if the plans demonstrate the ability to restrain rising costs, and employees would be more likely to enroll in a CDHP if employers offered more comprehensive CDHP benefits coupled with education about the plans. www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-514.
APIC/JCR/Joint Commission Infection Prevention
and Control Conference to focus on managing MRSA
The rapid spread of drug-resistant bacteria known as methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus or MRSA is the focus of a three-day discussion to examine best practices to combat this growing problem. “Managing MRSA: A Call to Action” is the theme of the August 14-16 conference where experts from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), Joint Commission Resources (JCR), and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations will meet with infection prevention and control leaders and other health care professionals to study this critical issue. The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge in Cambridge, MA. More than 70 percent of the bacteria that causes infections for two million hospitalized Americans each year are resistant to at least one of the drugs most commonly used to treat them, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “This conference will specifically address the challenges of MRSA,” said Karen H. Timmons, chief executive officer, JCR. “This is significant because currently there is no clear single solution to combat MRSA. We need to identify and disseminate best practices to fight this problem. The conference will provide a forum for health care professionals to make strides in doing just that,” she continued. In addition to infections in hospitals, MRSA is now occurring with increasing frequency in the community. Estimates of the prevalence of MRSA vary significantly from country to country, as do prevention efforts and methods of control. Topics of discussion at the conference will include newer, faster screening methods to identify colonized or infected patients, together with contact-isolation, enhanced methods for hand hygiene, treatment options, personal protective equipment, antimicrobial prophylaxis and active surveillance cultures. The conference will provide information on state legislatures that are beginning to consider mandatory active surveillance. Participants will also examine which prevention and control strategies are realistic, practical and cost effective. Prior to July 14, the registration fee is $475 for APIC members and $575 for nonmembers. After July 14, the cost of the conference is $550 for APIC members and $650 for nonmembers. If you have questions, contact Shawn Boynes, APIC’s director of Education, phone 202-454-2640, e-mail sboynes@apic.org. Or contact Pamela Steinbach, JCR’s interim executive director of Education, phone 630-792-5405, e-mail psteinbach@jcaho.org.
Parata Systems announced yesterday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of McKesson Corporation’s Automated Prescription Systems (APS) business unit. Under the agreement, the McKesson APS product line will come under the Parata banner, creating an integrated portfolio of automation solutions; from low-volume, semi-automated systems, to mid-volume workflow and robotics solutions, and high-volume processing. The goal of the alliance is to enhance the retail pharmacy market’s access to the most advanced technologies for enhancing the safety and accuracy of the prescription process. The two companies also will enter into a long-term strategic alliance under which McKesson will become a sales lead resource for Parata in the United States and exclusive third-party distributor in Canada and Mexico. The transaction, is expected to close in mid-to-late June. McKesson’s High-Volume Solutions division, automated prescription fulfillment systems for the central fill, mail service and specialty pharmacy industries, will obtain exclusive rights to all of Parata’s products to serve this rapidly growing segment of the market.
Novation signs 17 medical-surgical distribution agreements
offering five-year price protection
Hospitals across the country are feeling the financial impact of increased
distribution costs due to the rising costs of petroleum, labor and spikes in the
prices of raw materials. However, Novation, the health care contracting services
company for VHA Inc. and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), has
signed 17 new medical-surgical distribution agreements that will ensure that VHA
and UHC members will not experience higher supply distribution costs for the
next five years. VHA and UHC members purchase approximately $4.5 billion in
medical-surgical products through Novation annually. The new Novation
medical-surgical distribution agreements, which take effect Sept. 1, 2006 and
run through August 31, 2011, are with the following companies: American Medical
Depot; Buffalo Hospital Supply; Cardinal Health; Claflin Company;
Hardin’s-SYSCO; Kreisers Inc.; McKesson Medical-Surgical; Medline Industries;
Midland Hospital Supply; Midland Medical Supply; Midwest Medical Supply; N.S.
Low & Co.; Owens & Minor; Professional Hospital Supply; Seneca Medical; Shared
Services Systems; and The Burrows Company. The essential ingredient to the new
agreements is Novation’s one-cost plus approach, which separates the cost of
products from the cost of service and provides members with a single, fixed
percentage that represents all costs for distribution services. The percentage
charge for distribution services varies by distributor and is based on volume,
and members must select one primary distributor and a secondary distributor.
This accurate and easy-to-understand formula applies to both contracted and
non-contracted products, enabling members to forecast medical and surgical
supply costs with greater certainty. Approximately 60 percent of all
medical-surgical products are delivered to hospitals through a distributor. The
rest are sent directly from manufacturers. By working with a single distributor,
hospitals are able to build reliable distribution schedules and maintain more
efficient supply handling practices.
Canon U.S.A. awarded national contract for its
digital radiography solutions by Consorta
Canon U.S.A Inc. announced that its Medical Systems Division has been awarded a contract from Consorta Inc., to make Canon digital radiography (DR) solutions available to Consorta member facilities nationwide. As part of the Agreement, Consorta will offer the Canon CXDI-31 and CXDI-50G portable DR flat panel sensors and CXDI-40EG general DR flat panel sensor for digital upgrades to members' existing AMX-4 and Rad Room analog systems.
6 more bird flu cases in Indonesia
6 more bird flu cases in Indonesia
Six
more human cases of the H5N1 strain of avian flu have occurred in Indonesia, the
World Health Organization has said. Three of the cases were fatal. That means 48
of the 224 human cases confirmed worldwide by the organization have occurred in
Indonesia. Thirty-six of the Indonesian cases have proven fatal. Only Vietnam,
with 93 cases, 42 of them fatal, has tallied more. Four of the infected people
had been exposed to chickens or pigeon feces. Investigators are still looking
into how the other two contracted the virus. WHO spokesman Dick Thompson told
CNN it was highly unlikely that human-to-human transmission was responsible for
any of the six cases, given that all but two they were separated by great
distances. And those two, a brother and sister who have since died, both got
sick on the same day, making it unlikely one could have infected the other,
Thompson said. The six new cases are not related to a cluster of at least seven
cases, all of them blood relatives, reported last week in Kubu Sembelang
village, Karo District, of North Sumatra, Thompson said. WHO has said the virus
in that cluster may have been spread by human-to-human contact. The overwhelming
majority of human cases to date have been linked to exposure to poultry. Seven
of eight family members died in the outbreak. The first case was not confirmed
to be H5N1 since the body was buried without tissue samples being taken.
Researchers are working on the hypothesis that the family members involved in
the cluster were genetically more susceptible to H5N1, since spouses did not get
sick, Thompson said. (CNN)
Romania finds new suspect bird flu case
Romania found a suspected case of bird flu in a house on the outskirts of
Bucharest on Tuesday, as authorities struggled to contain a new wave of the
deadly disease which has hit poultry across the country. More than a hundred
outbreaks have been found in the last three weeks, some in Bucharest and many
around a poultry farm about 100 miles north of the capital which had sold live
chickens without health certificates. Romania was the first country to detect
the virus in birds in Europe last year but it had contained the first wave of
the disease earlier this year. Romania has not reported any cases of bird flu in
people. (Reuters)
Earthquake survivors need medical care,
safe water, vaccination
The
World Health Organization is sending emergency equipment, and will help to
support vaccination campaigns and set up a disease surveillance system following
the devastating earthquake on the island of Java, Indonesia on Saturday. Rescue
teams are still finding people who need medical help. The latest available
figures show that an estimated 5,000 people died and several thousand were
injured, including some 1,500 very seriously injured patients who need urgent
medical evacuation and care. About 200,000 people are displaced from their
homes. Bantul District, south of Yogyakarta and with a population of about
790,000, is reported to be the worst hit with the majority of houses destroyed.
At least one of the six hospitals in the District has been destroyed and other
hospitals in the area are overcrowded. WHO has several staff working with the
Ministry of Health (MOH) in the affected area. Additional national and
international staff are on stand-by in Jakarta. WHO has sent vehicles loaded
with medicines and communications equipment into the area, including with
emergency health kits containing drugs and medical supplies for 50,000 people
for three months, along with surgical kits to support 600 operations. WHO will
also help to set up a disease surveillance system in order to detect and control
outbreaks of communicable diseases, including diarrhoeal disease. Such a system
was instrumental in finding and controlling disease in Aceh following the
tsunami. WHO will also help to organize vaccination campaigns against measles,
which can be a major killer and spreads rapidly in crowded areas. Rather than
sending people to help with rescue and recovery, the Indonesian government has
requested more medicines and supplies. The MoH is mobilizing its medical and
health teams and is deploying more than 200 doctors and nurses to the affected
areas, to assist the injured and also to relieve the health staff who have been
working around the clock since the start of this disaster. Clean water, safe
sanitation and waste removal will rapidly be needed, particularly for people who
have been displaced, in order to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases.
WHO seeks data on avian flu treatment
Three years after the human H5N1 flu virus outbreak began, the World Health Organization lacks a comprehensive database of treatment and patient care. Of the 218 confirmed cases of human H5N1 infections since 2003, 124 have died. But the WHO's treatment information comprises only a handful of academic studies based on fewer than a third of all patients. “There is a paucity of this information at the WHO which we are working to correct,” said Maria Cheng, a spokeswoman for the WHO. “The information that we have is probably best described as fragmentary.” Greater details, on which drugs have been used, how long after the onset of symptoms and to what effect, would provide valuable extra information for doctors assessing how best to treat cases in future. The WHO is drafting a questionnaire to gather more information from frontline health workers, but still needs approval from the officials and countries concerned. Cheng said a study funded by the US National Institutes of Health would begin this autumn in just three of the 10 countries affected by bird flu, and could take two years to complete. The WHO, which has received extra finance in recent months amid rising concern about a human pandemic, says that, even though its network of staff incorporates most of the affected countries, its efforts to gather information have been hampered by factors such as a lack of funds. In revised treatment guidelines issued this month, which drew principally on three academic studies covering about 70 H5N1 patients and earlier research focused on milder seasonal flu, the WHO made a “strong recommendation” for the use of Tamiflu and a “weak recommendation” for Relenza. But little is known about the effectiveness of either drug in severe cases of human flu or of the H5N1 virus, about which experts are most concerned. “It would certainly be worthwhile to try to get hold of all the data. But it is not easy to approach hospitals for access to clinical notes, gain permission and hope they contain sufficient information,” said Menno de Jong from the hospital for tropical diseases in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company that manufactures Tamiflu, refers to just two academic papers, covering fewer than 20 treatment successes in Thailand and Vietnam, and to a conference presentation on 10 further cases in Turkey. (Financial Times)
Boston reports first measles outbreak in 7 years
Boston health officials worked on Thursday to contain the city's first outbreak
of measles in seven years after four people in a downtown office tower were
diagnosed with the highly infectious disease. The Boston Public Health
Commission opened a second emergency health clinic at the 60-story John Hancock
Tower after it became known that hundreds of workers may be at risk of
developing measles. Measles was long considered a normal childhood disease, but
the virus can cause severe complications in otherwise healthy children and
adults, including sometimes fatal encephalitis, pneumonia and diarrhea. The four
who were diagnosed with the disease all worked at Investors Bank & Trust, a
financial services firm. Three of the workers caught the disease from a contract
worker who recently traveled from India. An initial emergency clinic was set up
on May 11 after the first case emerged. Only 37 measles cases were reported in
the United States in 2004, an all-time low, according to the most recent data.
But a few cases are still imported from countries with lower vaccination rates
and the disease occurs domestically as well, health officials say. John Auerbach,
Boston Public Health Commission's executive director, said hundreds of workers
at Investors Bank & Trust had received vaccinations to prevent an outbreak.
While measles is very rare, Auerbach said, “there are still pockets of the
population that aren't immunized.” A month ago U.S. Public health officials
expressed concern about an outbreak of mumps in the Midwest and said some people
may have been infected on airline flights. John Riley, head of marketing and
communications at Investors Bank & Trust, a firm with 1,500 employees in Boston,
said all four workers had recovered. Most developed countries routinely
vaccinate children against measles but the virus still killed 500,000 people,
mostly children, around the world in 2003, according to the World Health
Organization. (Reuters)
Diagnostix announces new AccuPrice reporting
capabilities and training webcasts
Diagnostix, an Amerinet subsidiary, announces a new audit summary report for the AccuPrice price auditing tool for pharmacy purchases. The new report is available in Microsoft Excel format, allowing health care providers to perform in-depth data analysis. It is also customizable. Health care providers can choose which exceptions they would like to track, favorable price variances, unfavorable price variances, items not on file and/or inactive items. In addition, AccuPrice analysts will add comments indicating the cause of the exceptions. Diagnostix customers can preview the new report functionality at one of two training Webcasts. The next program is scheduled for June 8 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. To register for a Webcast, e-mail accupricefeedback@vectorsystems.com.
Amerinet announces its agreement with Continuant Inc. for telecom maintenance services effective through April 30, 2008. Continuant offers 24/7 technical support, on-site critical spares, live response to alarms and streamlined service.
Amerinet announces its agreement with Nilfisk-Advance Inc. for floor maintenance equipment. Effective through December 31, 2008, this contract includes a complete line of commercial and industrial floor maintenance equipment.
Amerinet announces its agreement with Stryker Medical for stretchers. Effective through March 31, 2009, this contract includes emergency, trauma, transport and procedure stretchers as well as stools and chairs.
Containing TB’s rising threat to hospital patients and staff
Mintie Technologies’ new
IcoRoom Portable Anteroom System will help hospitals protect their patients and
staff members against the spread of airborne TB bacteria from infected patients
as well as other airborne infectious diseases, said the company. The IcoRoom
innovation comes at a time when the Centers for Disease Control report that
cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis are on the rise. The IcoRoom System
consists of a lightweight, collapsible anteroom and a high-volume,
high-efficiency HEPA filtration negative air machine. IcoRoom is designed to
replicate permanent negative pressure anterooms, which the CDC has identified as
effective in containing airborne infectious droplet nuclei (AIDN) such as TB.
Clinically-tested and proven to deliver the same benefits, the IcoRoom is priced
at $7,500, a fraction of the cost of constructing a permanent anteroom, and
provides hospitals the flexibility to isolate multiple surgical and procedure
rooms with each System. “We developed IcoRoom as a result of insights we gained
working with the infection control professional community,” said Doug Erickson,
a healthcare regulatory compliance consultant to Mintie Technologies. “At both
the professional association and individual hospital level, we learned that the
HEPA-filtered portable anteroom had the potential to be an everyday solution for
rapid-response isolation needs, particularly for isolating TB patients.” TB
cases are most prevalent in states with high urban density such as California,
New York, and Texas, and the CDC recently reported a 20% increase in cases of
antibiotic-resistant strains of the bacteria. This increase has renewed interest
in TB containment methods. “Patients with these highly-resistant strains of M.
tuberculosis need to be treated surgically; their emergence is a potent reminder
that TB remains a formidable threat,” Erickson said. “IcoRoom offers hospitals a
rapid-response, clinically-effective, and low-cost solution for protecting their
patient population and personnel without treatment disruptions or costly
construction modifications.” Clinical testing in operating room environments,
where maintaining directional airflow is critically important, also demonstrated
that portable anterooms are superior to in-room air scrubbers in isolating AIDN.
“Since IcoRoom functions completely outside the operating room or procedure
room,” Erickson added, “it eliminates introducing dirty equipment into the OR
and cuts down on space intrusion, ventilation disruption, and noise introduced
by portable air scrubbers.” The IcoRoom portable anteroom is made with a
durable, flame-rated polyfabric envelope and high-strength, collapsible frame.
Paired with the HEPA filtration negative air machine, IcoRoom complies with the
latest CDC protocols for containing M. tuberculosis AIDN. Setting up the IcoRoom
takes less than thirty minutes, and take-down is fast and easy, with a simple
push-button frame collapse. IcoRoom’s portability and ease of installation also
make it valuable for creating temporary airborne infection isolation rooms.
IcoRoom will be introduced at the annual Association for Professionals in
Infection Control and Epidemiology conference in Tampa, FL beginning June 11,
2006.
http://onrampcomm.com/
press_room_home.php.
Arthritis Drug Approved for Expanded Use
Federal regulators on Friday approved wider use of Johnson & Johnson's drug
Remicade but also said that a new warning was being added about reports of an
often-fatal lymphoma in a small number of users. The company won permission to
market the prescription drug for treating children with active Crohn's disease,
a chronic bowel inflammation that can be debilitating. Remicade is already sold
for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions. Dr. Steven Galson,
director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, part of the Food and
Drug Administration, said, "Remicade is not a cure, but it provides a
much-needed option for reducing the symptoms and inducing and maintaining
disease remission in children who have no other safe and effective therapy." The
agency cleared Remicade for children who have moderate to severe Crohn's disease
symptoms despite treatment with older therapies. Safety and effectiveness were
not studied in children younger than 6, the F.D.A. noted. The agency said it had
received reports of rare cases of an aggressive and often fatal lymphoma in
adolescents and young adults treated with Remicade. The agency said it was
working with the manufacturer to add the information to the drug's prescribing
instructions. A spokesman for the Johnson & Johnson unit Centocor, Michael
Parks, said the company was aware of six reports of lymphoma in Crohn's disease
patients who took Remicade for varying lengths of time. It is unclear whether
Remicade contributed to the lymphoma, Mr. Parks added. The patients were also
treated with other drugs to suppress the immune system. Remicade, known
generically as infliximab, is in a group of drugs that suppress tumor necrosis
factor-alpha, a protein involved in inflammation. Other drugs in the class
include Enbrel from Amgen and Humira from Abbott Laboratories. All carry
warnings about the possibility of malignancies or serious infections. (Reuters)
The Supply Chain Consortium, known as the premier source for supply chain benchmarking and best practices knowledge, has grown to more than 90 companies in the retail, consumer goods and related industries and has their sights set on 200 companies for 2006. Now members have an even greater competitive advantage: online search and query tools that yield relevant results immediately. Consortium subscribers can access all data points online and find answers to questions that match their specific areas of interest using targeted queries and keywords. For example, if you want to know the percentage of companies with sales of more than $1 billion that outsource their private fleet operations to a third-party logistics provider, you would be able to retrieve that information with a few key strokes and then further qualify your request. “The search and query capabilities really put the power of the database in the hands of the members, and therefore allow organizations to go far beyond benchmarking to truly achieve supply chain cost reductions and customer service improvements,” says Jim Tompkins, President of Tompkins Associates and co-leader of the consortium. These exciting new Internet-based tools allow you to click on any question in the online interview and get an immediate analysis of participant responses. “This includes averages, highs, lows, percentage breakdowns, satisfaction ratings, vendor selections, quartile distributions and importance rankings,” notes John Traendly, Tompkins Associates Principal and consortium co-leader. This year’s consortium Advisory Boards are led by top supply chain executives from Polo Ralph Lauren, Campbell Soup, Molson Coors, Whirlpool, Coca-Cola, Hallmark, Best Buy, J.C. Penney, Target and Rite Aid. The Supply Chain Consortium sponsors a comprehensive repository of more than 7,600 benchmarks complemented by search capabilities, online analysis tools, topic forums, and education and peer networking for executives and practitioners. For 2006, the Consortium will consist of 9,000-plus benchmarks. Topics this year include: Air and Parcel Freight; Dedicated Fleets; Demand Planning, Forecasting and Allocation; Distribution Center Operations; Domestic and International Inbound Order Management; Ocean Transportation; Order Fulfillment-Internet/Catalog; Supply Chain Network Design; Supply Chain Technology; Supply, Distribution and Transportation Planning; and ruck Transportation. Companies representing over a trillion dollars in combined annual sales have benefited from consortium membership. Individual company data remains strictly confidential and interview results are only available to members. Participating in the Supply Chain Consortium is the best way possible to measure performance and determine exact areas to focus on for improvement. For more information, call 800-789-1257, ext. 55461.
IBM to help track spread of bird flu
IBM is announcing a new cooperative effort with health authorities to stem the
spread of bird flu and other infectious diseases using technology it developed
partly at its Almaden Research Center in San Jose. As part of the effort, IBM
said it will donate software designed to enable health authorities to share
data, track the geographic spread of diseases and predict how the bird flu virus
might mutate into a form that is deadlier to people. Giving health experts in
different countries the ability to share computer and other data would be a
major achievement, said David Spellmeyer, an IBM researcher in San Jose who is
involved in the project. He said he doesn't know of any health agency in the
world that can share all of its records with other agencies. Participants in the
so-called Global Pandemic Initiative include the World Health Organization, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and businesses and universities, IBM
said. Dr. Richard Waldhorn, an analyst at Pittsburgh University's Center for
Biosecurity, who also is participating in the effort, agreed health authorities
could use IBM's help. “One of the big problems we face in preparation for an
epidemic is institutional awareness,” he said. “How can you communicate with
people in the field so you can collate this information together and get some
picture of what's going on? The World Health Organization is really a terrific
organization, but they are way overburdened.” One of the software components IBM
will donate, dubbed the Interoperable Health Information Infrastructure, was
developed at the Almaden Research Center in conjunction with IBM scientists
elsewhere. It is designed to help hospitals, laboratories and public health
agencies share data. Another software contribution, also developed largely at
Almaden, is the Spatiotemporal Epidemiological Modeler, or STEM, which can
create computer models of how a disease spreads geographically. Although both
products already are on the market, IBM's Spellmeyer said the company's
researchers in San Jose and elsewhere will update the software with new data as
bird flu or other infectious diseases evolve. IBM scientists in New York also
are working with the La Jolla-based Scripps Research Institute to create
computer technology that can predict how bird flu might mutate and become more
lethal to people. IBM officials said those predictions could help in the
development of effective bird-flu vaccines. (San Jose Mercury News)
HHS approves historic Medicaid Reform Plans in Idaho
Medicaid beneficiaries in Idaho will be among the first in the nation to have benefits designed to meet their needs based on age and health status -- changes allowed by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced Thursday.
Prior to enactment of the DRA states could not target benefits to one certain group of enrollees. The DRA, signed into law February 8, granted states new options for designing their Medicaid programs -- the first major revision to the program since its inception. Under the plan approved today, Idaho will offer three benefit packages aimed at meeting the health care needs of different groups -- children, people with disabilities and beneficiaries who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. All of these packages are voluntary. Any enrollee who chooses one of the new plans can "opt out" at any time and return to standard Medicaid. The Benchmark Basic plan will serve healthy children and adults and will cover most of the traditional Medicaid benefits, except long-term care, organ transplants and intensive mental health treatment. The Enhanced Benchmark plan will serve individuals with more complex health care needs, such as the elderly and disabled. The Enhanced plan will cover all the traditional Medicaid benefits, including long-term or institutional care. The Coordinated Benchmark plan, will include all the benefits of the state's traditional Medicaid program and will serve Medicaid enrollees who are also eligible for the Medicare program-the so-called "dual eligibles." This group will be required to enroll in the Medicare outpatient coverage plan, or Part B, as well as the new prescription drug benefit, Medicare Part D. All three of the new packages will feature some new benefits, including preventive and nutrition services and "preventive health assistance" to help the obese, smokers and others adopt healthier health habits.
Idaho will also institute a program allowing the working disabled to purchase Medicaid's basic benefits package. The state's Medicaid reform will also include simplified eligibility for children in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and the elimination of an assets test for some children. Today's approval will also allow the state to award grants under SCHIP for schools to offer preventive health services to low- income children.
Caffeine therapy gives premature infants a breathing boost
Caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity reduced the need for continuous positive airway pressure and mechanical ventilation, as well as the likelihood of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. These are the secondary, short-term findings from the Caffeine for Apnea of Prematurity Trial Group, a large, international, randomized, placebo-controlled trial that will eventually provide data on the long-term efficacy and safety of methylxanthine therapy in very-low-birth-weight infants. The early outcomes were reported because of their clinical relevance, said Barbara Schmidt, M.D., at McMaster University, and colleagues, in the May 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The caffeine study's long-term primary outcomes will report composite outcomes, including death, cerebral palsy, cognitive delay, deafness, and blindness, they said. The report included 2,006 infants with birth weights of 500 g to 1,250 g, considered by clinicians to be eligible for methylxanthines to prevent or treat apnea of to facilitate extubation during the first 10 days of life. All infants were followed to their first discharge home, while long-term follow-up is still under way. Of 963 infants assigned to caffeine and who were alive at a postmenstrual age of 36 weeks, 350 (36%) received supplemental oxygen. This compared with 447 (47%) of 954 infants given placebo therapy. Positive airway pressure was discontinued one week earlier in the caffeine-treated infants compared with infants in the placebo group. The researchers speculated that an increase in bronchopulmonary dysplasia, the need for supplementary oxygen at a postmenstrual age of 36 weeks, among the placebo infants was caused mainly by their longer exposure to positive airway pressure. Caffeine appeared to reduce the frequency of patent ductus arteriosus, judged by the clinical staff to require closure with drug or surgical therapy. This finding, Dr. Schmidt said, was unexpected and should be interpreted cautiously. The reduced incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia is important as it is a major risk factor for neurosensory impairment in early childhood, the researchers concluded. However, they added, information about the therapy's short-term benefits is insufficient, and the long-term follow-up is needed before recommending the standard use of caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity. MedPage Today, ABC News, Forbes Primary source: New England Journal of Medicine
Bird flu fears ignite debate on scientists' sharing of data
As fears of an influenza pandemic grow, a struggle has emerged between experts who believe the latest genetic data on the H5N1 bird flu virus should be made public immediately and others who fear that such a policy would alienate the countries collecting virus samples and the scientists analyzing them. The issue may come to a head this week at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, the governing body of the World Health Organization. Health ministers from more than 190 countries will consider a resolution that would require them to provide flu data and virus samples to the scientific community "in a timely manner." If adopted, that probably would end the current system whereby flu researchers decide when and how quickly crucial genetic data on the virus are made available to other scientists. WHO supports the change. But before it is adopted, developing countries where the H5N1 virus is circulating would need to be assured that their scientists would share credit for discoveries and that their citizens would have access to its fruits -- particularly a vaccine. Without guarantees, scientists and clinicians may be unwilling to hand over virus samples or collect them in the first place, Margaret Chan, WHO's director of pandemic influenza planning, said recently. Critics of the current system say the possibility of global catastrophe trumps any concern about hurt feelings or career advancement.
"Science just moves more rapidly when you share the data openly," said Steven L. Salzberg, a computer scientist at the University of Maryland and a leader of the Influenza Genome Sequencing Project at the National Institutes of Health. He said the chief fear is that one researcher will expropriate another's hard-earned data before the first can produce a scientific paper.
But the resistance to sharing data may wane as the specter of a pandemic grows.
This week, an international team of epidemiologists is investigating an H5N1 outbreak that has killed six members of a family in a remote Indonesian village. "The government has been extremely cooperative . . . unlike some previous examples where we have had a little more difficulty in getting specimens to the proper laboratories," Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said yesterday from Geneva, where she is attending the World Health Assembly. A laboratory in Jakarta has been doing "gold-standard diagnostics" in the outbreak, she said. Although this cluster of cases appears to have the longest chain of transmission seen to date -- chicken to human to human to human -- preliminary analysis of the virus's genes has revealed no new mutations or evolutionary changes. The RNA letters that make up the virus's genes are at the center of the dispute. To a great degree, these "gene sequences" determine a microbe's behavior. Fewer than a dozen changes in flu's eight genes may be enough to give a strain pandemic potential . An essential step in charting the spread of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the past two years has been the analysis of gene sequences by a small number of labs in the United States, Europe and Asia. Today, sequences from most newly collected samples of H5N1 are first deposited in the Influenza Sequence Database at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Access requires a password and is limited to about 15 research groups, mostly government and academic labs in WHO's global flu surveillance network. Although everyone in this fraternity can use the data, the researchers who provide them get to publish the first scientific paper. The people who collected the virus or isolated it from a patient are usually listed as coauthors. Only after the paper appears is the gene sequence deposited in GenBank, a public database. The details of the arrangement are murky, including the size of the Los Alamos repository and who ultimately controls access. Questions put to its manager, Catherine A. Macken, were answered with one sentence: "My policy . . . is to not reveal details about privately held data." The alternative is to deposit sequences in GenBank as soon they come off the sequencing machine. Run by the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, GenBank is the world's largest collection of gene sequences (along with its European and Japanese counterparts, with which it shares data). About 2 million people around the world consult it each day. As of late last week, GenBank held 4,734 gene sequences from H5N1 influenza. The issue gained public attention in February when Ilaria Capua, a 40-year-old virologist at the Tri-Veneto Region Experimental Animal Health Care Institute in Italy, sequenced the first H5N1 sample from Africa, isolated from a chicken farm in northern Nigeria. Someone at WHO invited her to contribute it to the Los Alamos data, but she declined and instead filed it in GenBank. Most of the H5N1 samples his lab analyzes are provided by Asian scientists. Occasionally, they are given secretly if they come from a place where the virus has not been publicly reported. These collaborators have part ownership in the data, and Webster and others say they ask permission before loading the sequences into either the Los Alamos or GenBank databases. (Washington Post)
Ansell’s newest educational module explores methods to
prevent the spread of infection during a pandemic event
Ansell Healthcare recently published a new self-study educational module for
healthcare professionals entitled Optimizing Barrier Protection During a
Pandemic Event Caused by Influenza A. The self-study module, which is
available at no charge, has been developed for use by professionals who are
responsible for or involved in establishing institutional policy and procedure,
educating healthcare personnel, maintaining regulatory compliance (OSHA, ADA,
CDC), and overall employee health and infection control services. The
information contained in the self-study module could prove to be invaluable to
anyone on the front lines of a potential avian flu pandemic including law
enforcement officers, emergency response personnel, customs agents, USDA
inspectors, military personnel, agriculture workers, and food handlers. Key
areas explored in the module include: The history of pandemic events pertaining
to influenza A; the pathophysiology of influenza A disease; influenza A
infection control measures; influenza as a bioterroristic weapon; how influenza
A can mutate to become a new virus strain; who is at risk in a pandemic
situation; “Global Strategic Plan” for a pandemic event; and optimizing glove
performance during a pandemic event. The educational module is accredited by the
Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), an accredited approver by
the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Commission on Accreditation,
for 2.4 contact hours. This module is for the sole purpose of educating and
informing nurses of pertinent issues and is not an endorsement for any product.
Additionally, this continuing nursing education activity has been approved by
the Association of Surgical Technologists, Inc. (AST) for 2 CE’s in the AST
Category 1 for continuing education in surgical technology. Approval refers to
recognition of educational activities only and does not imply endorsement of any
product or company displayed in any form during the educational activity.
Optimizing Barrier Protection During a Pandemic Event Caused by Influenza A
can be found at
www.ansellhealthcare.com under the Americas/United States link in the
AnsellCares section. AnsellCares is a program guided and supported by a
Scientific Advisory Network, which includes leading scientists, physicians,
educators, and researchers from around the world. The goal of the program is to
create education and awareness campaigns among healthcare professionals,
industry experts, and those at risk of infection, in the identification and
prevention of occupational diseases and infection transmission. For more
information about this module, other Ansell educational programs, or technical
questions regarding the suitability or performance of specific gloves, please
contact Ansell Healthcare Educational Services at 1-800-952-9916 ext. 7277, or
visit Ansell’s online educational services at
www.ansellhealthcare.com
MedAssets has been awarded the Ochsner Medical Center's Spirit of Leadership Award
MedAssets announced wednesday that it was awarded the Ochsner Medical Center's Spirit of Leadership Award for its efforts in aiding the hospital during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The award was presented by Ochsner's Dr. Patrick J. Quinlan, chief executive officer, and Warner L. Thomas, president and chief operating officer, at the Second Annual Spirit of Leadership Program held on Saturday, May 13 in New Orleans. "The Ochsner Spirit of Leadership Award program honors leaders, physicians and departments providing outstanding service to patients and the community," stated Dr. Patrick Quinlan, chief executive officer, Ochsner Health System. "In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, MedAssets assisted Ochsner in re-establishing communications outside of New Orleans, coordinating the delivery of supplies, and obtaining much needed fuel to continue operations. On behalf of our patients, employees and community, Ochsner expresses its sincere gratitude and is pleased to recognize their efforts." Accepting the Spirit of Leadership award for MedAssets were John Bardis, chairman, president and chief executive officer; Rand Ballard, chief operating officer, and Mark Miriani, senior vice president of Contracting and Member Services. "Ochsner Medical Center and its entire staff should be nationally recognized for the courage and determination displayed during a very trying time," stated John Bardis, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, MedAssets, Inc. "So many companies rallied around Ochsner during Hurricane Katrina, and we should all feel proud to be part of an industry that supports one another in such significant ways." "Ochsner showed the nation their willingness to help others in emergency situations by assisting hospitals on the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Ivan in 2004," stated Rand Ballard, chief operating officer, MedAssets, Inc. "The core team at MedAssets who coordinated relief efforts, as well as our employees, vendors and friends who offered their time, money and well wishes to Ochsner were motivated by the heroic efforts of Ochsner staff in caring for others in times of crisis."
New GI solutions showcased at DDW
Olympus showcased a broad range of products and services that enhance observation, efficiency and functionality in gastroenterology. These products and services were presented at Digestive Disease Week, Los Angeles Convention Center, May 20-25. Key offerings include new EndoTherapy accessories for Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio- Pancreatography (ERCP) and hemostasis procedures; a novel dual channel video management system; the world's first endoscope platform featuring high-definition and Narrow Band Imaging(TM) technologies; the world's first 360-degree electronic radial scanning gastrovideoscope for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS); a web-based clinical information management system; GI facility consulting services; customized financial solutions; and Olympus service and repair.Olympus EndoTherapy unveiled three new devices:The MaxPass(TM) single-use biliary dilation system, an addition to the V-System(TM), which delivers improved procedural efficiency through effective dilation and rapid balloon deflation. The SolarProbe, which works with most bipolar generators, enhances Olympus' market-leading hemostasis product offering.
IMPROVING FLEXIBILITY OF
MEDICAL VIDEO MANAGEMENT: n-Stream(TM) SystemOlympus' new n-Stream Dual Channel
Video Management System is ideally suited to the demands of surgical and
clinical workflow.
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY OF PATIENT CARE: EndoWorks(R) Clinical Information
Management SystemEndoWorks is a web-based information management solution that
spans all stages of patient care to increase facility productivity while
reducing costs for healthcare facilities. The latest release of this product,
EndoWorks 7.3, provides a more comprehensive array of services. Focal service
areas include EndoPlanner(R), a five-year strategic planning tool for new GI
facility development; EndoEfficiencies(TM), a patient flow simulation and
predictive outcomes analysis service; as well as GI Benchmarking, EASC Valuation
Services and Web-Based Practice Enhancements.
DEVELOPING COST-EFFECTIVE, BALANCE SHEET-SENSITIVE GI FINANCIAL
SOLUTIONS:including a Cost Per Procedure(R) (CPP) and Turnkey Project Financing
programs. Lastly, Olympus Service and Repair, as a part of its vendor service
portal, unveiled a newly released repair and service tool which allows customers
to electronically submit service orders and track instruments in
real-time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Free of charge to all Olympus
customers, the service portal also assists them with access to repair history
and offers a sales equipment log.
Obesity raises overall risk of breast cancer: study
Integrated Healthcare Association receives
grant
to improve adoption and use of new medical devices
Obesity raises overall risk of breast cancer:
study
Women who gain weight as adults face a higher lifetime risk of all
types of breast cancer, researchers reported on Monday. The study
adds to a large body of evidence showing that weight and breast
cancer can be closely linked. A study of more than 44,000 women
found that the more weight a woman gained, the greater her risk for
all types, stages, and grades of breast cancer. Compared to women
who gained 20 pounds (10 kg) or less during adulthood, women who
gained more than 60 pounds (27 kg) were almost twice as likely to
have ductal type breast tumors and more than 1.5 times more likely
to have lobular type cancers, Heather Spencer Feigelson of the
American Cancer Society and colleagues found. The risk of breast
cancer that had spread tripled for women who gained more than 60
pounds (27 kg), they reported in Monday's issue of the journal
Cancer. Breast cancer risk is linked to increased levels of the
hormone estrogen and fat tissue produces estrogen, adding to the
risk. “These data further illustrate the relationship between adult
weight gain and breast cancer, and the importance of maintaining a
healthy body weight throughout adulthood,” the researchers wrote. A
study published earlier this month found that women who take
estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy for 20 years or longer to
treat symptoms of menopause have a higher risk of developing breast
cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death
among U.S. women, after lung cancer. More than 200,000 people are
diagnosed and another roughly 40,000 die from it each year,
according to the American Cancer Society. Globally more than 1.2
million men and women develop breast cancer every year. (Reuters)
Quest Diagnostics to acquire Focus
Diagnostics Inc.
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, a provider of diagnostic testing,
information and services, has agreed to acquire Focus Diagnostics
Inc., an infectious disease testing provider, in a cash transaction
valued at approximately $185 million. Focus Diagnostics is privately
held and based in Herndon, VA. The acquisition will add annual
revenues of approximately $65 million. Focus Diagnostics is a
portfolio company of private equity firms DLJ Merchant Banking and
The Sprout Group. Excluded from the transaction is Focus Bio-Inova,
Focus Diagnostics' pharmaceutical testing operation. The
transaction, which is expected to be completed during the third
quarter of 2006, is subject to regulatory review and other customary
closing conditions. Focus Diagnostics offers its reference testing
services to large academic medical centers, hospitals and commercial
laboratories. The company has also established a reputation for
being first to introduce new assays to the market, including
diagnostic tests for Lyme disease, West Nile Virus and SARS. In
addition, Focus develops and markets diagnostic products.
Study: Certain arthritis drugs hike cancer risk
Rheumatoid arthritis patients taking Humira or Remicade face triple the risk of developing several kinds of cancer and double the risk of getting serious infections, a study led by the Mayo Clinic found. The analysis builds on previous reports about the risks associated with Abbott Laboratories’ Humira and Centocor's Remicade. But the earlier research focused mostly on one kind of cancer, lymphoma, and infections such as tuberculosis and pneumonia. The new study found an apparent link to other cancers, too, including skin, gastrointestinal, breast and lung tumors. It also quantifies the risks and says high doses appear to be the riskiest. While the drugs' packaging information mentions some of the risks, the manufacturers said the new study does not prove that the medication is at fault, and they said the research was flawed. Study co-author Dr. Eric Matteson, a Mayo Clinic rheumatologist, stressed that the overall chances of developing cancer while using these drugs is still small. The researchers also noted that the medications’ benefits include improving flexibility and range of movement, easing pain and increasing life expectancy, which arthritis can shorten. In addition, the researchers noted that the risks for individual patients probably vary widely. Older, sicker people who have taken the drugs for several years probably face the highest risks, they said. Still, the researchers said patients should be made aware of the dangers and told to seek medical help if they develop fevers, coughs or other symptoms of infection. They should also be sure to undergo the cancer screenings recommended for the general public, the researchers said. Their study appears in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Matteson is working with Centocor in developing a new drug that works similarly, and he and co-author Dr. Tim Bongartz have been paid consultants to Abbott for unrelated work, but neither company funded the study. The Mayo Foundation sponsored the research. Rheumatoid arthritis affects more than 2 million Americans, and involves a malfunctioning immune system that attacks joints throughout the body, causing pain, deformities and disability. Dr. John Klippel, president of the Arthritis Foundation, said the study will probably not change doctors' minds, because scores of patients have benefited from the drugs. Remicade was approved in 1998, Humira in 2002. More than a half-million patients have been treated with the two injectable drugs and a third similar medication, Enbrel, all of which block production of a protein linked with inflammation. Enbrel was not included in the study because it differs at the molecular level, Matteson said. He said he is getting paid by Enbrel marketers Wyeth and Amgen to do a similar analysis on Enbrel alone. Matteson's ties to Centocor and his work on Enbrel were among several omissions and errors included in disclosure statements that accompanied the study in JAMA. He said the omissions were an office mistake. But in an unusual move, journal editors posted a correction Tuesday on JAMA's Web site revealing that they have asked the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine to investigate. The editors cited “the nature and extensiveness of this incorrect and incomplete reporting.” The researchers analyzed data from nine studies comparing Humira or Remicade with placebos and pooled the results. There were 29 cancers in 3,493 patients who received at least one dose of either drug, compared with three cancers in 1,512 patients on placebos. Serious infections occurred in 126 patients on drugs and 26 on placebos. They included pneumonia and cellulitis. An Abbott spokesperson said the analysis “doesn't reflect all the data” on Humira and said the studies were too short to sufficiently monitor cancer incidence. Tom Schaible, Centocor vice president of medical affairs, said most of the analyzed studies used higher-than-recommended Remicade doses. “There's clearly a favorable benefits-risks ratio” with recommended doses, Schaible said. (The Associated Press)
Cardinal Health goes to next phase of RFID pilot
Cardinal Health has announced the next phase of its end-to-end pilot program to test technology to improve the safety and efficiency of the pharmaceutical supply chain in the US, beginning with the tagging of medication with RFID labels carrying unique data to verify authenticity at every stage in the supply chain. Verifying the authenticity of pharmaceuticals along each step of the distribution path adds an additional layer of security to lessen the chance of counterfeit pharmaceuticals entering the supply chain. In addition, the data gathered could improve efficiency as the logistics team at Cardinal Health will be able to analyze the data to identify bottlenecks and read rates, along with other opportunities to improve efficiency. The company is testing RFID at the unit level in a real-time setting, beginning with product labeling and packaging, and as it travels through the distribution centre, through to when the item is received by a customer. According to Renard Jackson, executive vice president of packaging services for Cardinal Health, “The security and operational efficiencies this technology adds to the pharmaceutical supply chain would benefit drug manufacturers, pharmacists and ultimately consumers.” In conducting the end-to-end pilot program, Cardinal Health will use new technology to place RFID tags on the labels of brand-name and generic solid-dose prescription drugs at the company's printed components facility in Moorestown, NJ. After that, the company's facility in Philadelphia will encode the electronic product code (EPC) data at the unit, case and pallet levels during the packaging process. The products will be then shipped to a Cardinal Health distribution centre in Findlay, OH, where the data will be read and authenticated as products are handled under normal operating conditions. Normal operating procedures will be enhanced with RFID hardware and software from Alien Technology Corporation and IBM, along with project management support from VeriSign. From Findlay, the tagged items will be sent to a health-care provider to further test read rates and data flow using the same technology as the distribution centre. Privacy advocates note: the product, as finally dispensed to patients, will not be in the RFID packaging. The company launched the initial phase of the pilot program in February 2006, and expects to complete the test toward the end of 2006. Cardinal Health is also currently working with Pfizer on a separate RFID pilot program to authenticate another product at its Findlay facility.
Integrated Healthcare Association receives grant to improve
adoption and use of new medical devices
The Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA) today announced receipt of a
$675,000 grant from the Blue Shield of California Foundation to launch a pilot
project that will help healthcare providers select medical devices more
efficiently. IHA's two-year demonstration project in Southern California will
focus on improving data collection, enhancing transparency of information,
and establishing quality benchmarks for orthopedic and cardiac medical devices.
"There's a lack of information on the comparative value of most new
and existing medical devices," said Bart Asner, M.D., CEO of Monarch HealthCare,
a prominent Orange County physician organization, and an IHA board member.
"Hospitals and doctors are often in the dark when trying to choose the
most appropriate devices for their patients and make value-based
buying decisions." Building on its successful "Pay for Performance" program --
which helps providers align financial incentives with improvements in the
efficiency and quality of care -- IHA will begin collecting data this fall on
the use of medical devices from hospital systems and physician organizations.
The project will identify ways that providers and health insurers can
purchase these technologies more efficiently, assure high quality, and provide
useful information about these products for payers and patients. "Ultimately our
goal is achieving superior quality, safety, and efficiency in the adoption and
use of these devices," said Tom Williams, executive director of IHA. "The
project will build on IHA's successful collaboration among hospitals, physician
organizations, and health insurance plans." Memorial HealthCare Medical
Centers, representing six hospitals, and Monarch HealthCare IPA, representing
1900 physicians, have already agreed to participate, and several health plans
have expressed interest in joining the project. "The IHA project is important
because more information and better incentives are needed to help providers
make evidence-based decisions," said Lisa Payne Simon, director of the Blue
Shield of California Foundation's health and technology program (www.blueshieldcafoundation.org).
Widely used medical devices such as hip replacements and cardiac stents
can be not only life-saving, but also expensive. "Collaboration will drive this
program's success," said Barry Arbuckle, Ph.D., president and CEO of
MemorialCare Medical Centers and an IHA board member. "IHA's project aims to
improve quality and control spiraling health care costs by gathering the
information needed to help providers more efficiently select the right products
for the right patients," he said. "When hospitals and doctors cooperate,
consumers are the winners."
(www.iha.org)
WHO announces new standards for registration of all human medical research
The World
Health Organization (WHO) is urging research institutions and companies to
register all medical studies that test treatments on human beings, including the
earliest studies, whether they involve patients or healthy volunteers. As part
of the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, a major initiative aimed
at standardizing the way information on medical studies is made available to the
public through a process called registration, WHO is also recommending that 20
key details be disclosed at the time studies are begun. The initiative seeks to
respond to growing public demands for transparency regarding all studies
applying interventions to human participants, known as clinical trials. Before
making the recommendations, the Registry Platform initiative consulted with all
concerned stakeholders, including representatives from the pharmaceutical,
biotechnology and device industries, patient and consumer groups, governments,
medical journal editors, ethics committees, and academia over a period of nearly
two years. Although registration is voluntary, there is a groundswell of
policies aimed at spurring registration of all clinical trials. “Our aim is to
make clinical research transparent and enhance public trust in science, but we
are engaged in a fair and open process with all stakeholders. We look forward to
continued dialogue about trial registration and results reporting as we move
forward with the Registry Platform,” said Dr. Ida Sim, Associate Director for
Medical Informatics at the University of California, San Francisco and
coordinator of the Registry Platform initiative. The planned Registry Platform
will not be a register itself, but rather will provide a set of standards for
all registers. It has not only standardized what must be reported to register a
trial but is creating a global trial identification system that will confer a
unique reference number on every qualified trial. Currently, there are several
hundred registers of clinical trials around the world but little coordination
among them. The Registry Platform seeks to bring participating registers
together in a global network to provide a single point of access to the
information stored in them. Later this year, the WHO Registry Platform will
launch a web-based search portal where scientists, patients, doctors and anyone
else who is interested can search among participating registers for clinical
trials taking place or completed throughout the world.
GAO: Observations on the evacuation of vulnerable populations
due to hurricanes
and other disasters
Hurricane Katrina struck near the Louisiana-Mississippi border and became one of
the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, affecting a large geographic area
and necessitating the evacuation of people from parts of the area, including
vulnerable populations, such as hospital patients, nursing home residents and
transportation-disadvantaged populations who were not in such facilities. The
disaster highlighted the challenges involved in evacuating vulnerable
populations due to hurricanes. The United States Government Accountability
Office (GAO) was asked to discuss efforts to plan and prepare for the needs of
seniors in the event of a national emergency. GAO describes its ongoing work on
evacuation in the event of emergencies, such as hurricanes, and provides
preliminary observations on (1) challenges faced by hospital and nursing home
administrators that are related to hurricane evacuations; (2) the federal
program that supports the evacuation of patients needing hospital care and
nursing home residents; and (3) challenges states and localities face in
preparing for and carrying out the evacuation of transportation-disadvantaged
populations and efforts to address evacuation needs. Hospital and nursing home
administrators face challenges related to evacuations caused by hurricanes,
including deciding whether to evacuate and obtaining transportation. Although
state and local governments can order evacuations, health care facilities can be
exempt from these orders. Facility administrators are generally responsible for
deciding whether to evacuate, and if they decide not to evacuate, they face the
challenge of ensuring that their facilities have sufficient resources to provide
care until assistance
arrives. If they evacuate, contractors providing transportation for hospitals
and nursing homes could be unlikely to provide facilities with enough vehicles
during a major disaster such as a hurricane because local demand for
transportation would likely exceed supply. Nursing home administrators told GAO
they face unique challenges during evacuations. For example, they must locate
receiving facilities that can accommodate residents who may need a place to live
for a long period of time. The National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), a
partnership of four federal departments, is the primary federal program that
supports the evacuation of patients in need of hospital care during disasters
such as hurricanes, but the program was not designed nor is currently configured
to move nursing home residents. NDMS supplements state and local emergency
response capabilities with federal resources and services and helped evacuate
about 2,900 people during recent hurricanes, including Hurricane Katrina.
Although NDMS supported evacuation efforts during Hurricane Katrina that
included nursing home residents, according to program officials it is not
designed to evacuate this population. Officials explained that the program does
not have agreements with nursing homes that could receive evacuated nursing home
residents. In preparing for and carrying out the evacuation of
transportation-disadvantaged populations, such as the elderly or persons with
disabilities, during a disaster, states and localities face challenges in
identifying these populations, determining their needs, and providing for and
coordinating their transportation. The elderly are likely to be represented
among the transportation disadvantaged because they are more likely, compared
with the general population, to have a disability, have a low income, or choose
not to drive. GAO has observed mixed efforts at the state and local levels to
address the evacuation needs of the transportation disadvantaged. Some emergency
management officials told GAO they did not yet have a good understanding of the
size, location, and composition of the transportation disadvantaged in their
community. However, GAO also observed efforts in some locations to address the
evacuation needs of the transportation disadvantaged by encouraging citizens to
voluntarily register with their local emergency management agency, integrating
social service providers into emergency planning, and other measures. GAO will
continue to examine the extent to which the transportation disadvantaged are
addressed in state and local evacuation efforts as part of its ongoing work.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-790T.
WHO Update on cholera in Angola
As of 16 May 2006, Angola has reported a total of 35,775 cases and 1,298 deaths
(case fatality rate (CFR) 4%). In the last 24 hours, 546 new cases including 31
deaths have been reported. Eleven out of 18 provinces are affected; of all
cases, 51% have occurred in Luanda and 21% in Benguela province. The CFR, broken
down by province, ranges between 1 and 30%. A daily incidence of around 600
cases is still being reported. The Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO and other
partners continue to develop field activities to control the outbreak: daily
coordination meetings; house to house visits for following up of contacts;
disinfestations; collection of specimen for bacteriological laboratory
examination; distribution of safe drinking water and chlorine; dissemination of
preventive measures through the local media and distribution of health education
materials by social mobilization groups. WHO has sent six international experts
to reinforce the national team in providing support for coordination, water and
sanitation, logistics and epidemiological surveillance.
Infection reducing coating technology among top prize
winners in MIT $100K
Entrepreneurship Competition
A coating technology targeting the billion dollar medical catheter market
secured $30,000 start-up money during the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition
awards ceremony held Thursday at MIT. The multi-faceted business plan
competition remains an economic barometer on what new ideas are being funded by
venture capitalists. Business Venture Robert P. Goldberg Grand Prize Winner:
SteriCoat Inc. has developed a coating technology targeting the billion dollar
medical catheter market, which significantly reduces the incident of catheter
associated infections by preventing the formation of bacterial “biofilms” and
killing bacterial invaders. SeriCoat's application technology allows coating of
devices of virtually any size, shape or material. Its initial target market is
central venous catheters (CVC), which access the patient's bloodstream directly.
For providers, it minimizes expenses associated with treating catheter related
bloodstream infections, which cost $10K-50K per infection. Also, OneWorld
Medical Devices is introducing The Vaccine Pac to help reduce the 4.3 million
vaccine-preventable deaths each year, which occur primarily in developing
countries and during natural disasters or epidemics. The Vaccine Pac is a
portable, self-contained, and strict temperature-controlled transport and
storage unit that counter the large vaccine wastage problem that often results
from improper temperature control. The technology and design was implemented by
a team from the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department and has been filed for
both U.S. and Foreign PCT patents. The Program for Appropriate Technologies in
Health (PATH) is slated to promote the Vaccine Pac to United Nations agencies,
NGOs, and aid organizations.
http://www.mit100K.org.
Mentor executes definitive agreement for sale of urology businesss to Coloplast
W.H.O. chief dies after surgery
Dr. Lee Jong Wook, director general of the World Health
Organization, died in Geneva this morning after undergoing emergency
brain surgery for a blood clot on Saturday, the organization said in
a statement. He was 61 and had led the health organization since
2003. Dr. Anderes Nordstrom, currently its assistant director
general for general management, will become the organization's
temporary leader, the statement said. The weeklong meeting, called
the World Health Assembly, gathers representatives of the 192 member
countries of the W. H. O. to approve plans and make other critical
decisions about policies and work. Steps to prepare for and respond
to any influenza pandemic will be a main topic of the meeting. Dr.
Lee, 61, a South Korean, fell ill at a luncheon on Saturday in
Geneva at the beginning of a weeklong meeting called the World
Health Assembly. He complained of a severe headache and later
vomited, an official who was present said. Paramedics took him to
the Cantonal Hospital in Geneva. Surgeons found that he had a blood
clot on the brain known as a subdural hematoma and removed it. Such
clots often follow injuries to the head like those from a fall. But
the W.H.O. said Dr. Lee had been in good health and was not known to
have had any such injury. The clot also could have resulted from a
bleeding artery in his brain. The meeting gathers representatives of
the 192 member countries of the W. H. O. to approve plans and make
other critical decisions about policies and work. Steps to prepare
for and respond to any influenza pandemic will be a main topic of
the meeting. (The New York Times)
Study finds high rate of recalls of heart devicesused in emergencies
As the use of life-saving emergency