FDA Says Heartburn Prescription can kill The Associated Press, January 25, 2000 Washington The popular heartburn drug Propulsid can cause dangerous irregular heartbeats and even sudden death, the government said Monday. The FDAs unusually strong warning comes in the wake of 70 deaths and 200 other reports of irregular heartbeat and other heart rhythm disturbances since Propulsid hit the market in 1993. Pharmacies Shortfill Prescriptions, Feds Charge The Associated Press Tax payers are getting short changed by a common practice in pharmacies: Druggists underfill some prescriptions when they run short on medicines but still bill government insurance programs for the full amount. Authorities say the practice, called shortfilling, costs taxpayers tines of millions of dollars a year. The nations largest drugstore chain, Walgreen C. agreed in September to pay $7.6 million. Eckerd Corp. the drug chain owned by JC Penny settled its suit for $200,000.m ............................................................................................................... Courses Involving Complementary and Alternative Medicine at US Medical Schools Of the 125 medical schools surveyed117 offered courses in Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Herbal Therapies. Journal of the American Medical Association Sept. 2, 1998vol 280. No. 9 (if chiropractic and natural medicine didnt work then why are they teaching it in their medical schools?) .. Where is the Wisdom The Poverty of Medical Evidence The British Medical Journal, March 1992 As quoted by Dr. David Eddy, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Duke University in North Carolina. Dr. Eddy has researched and penetrated the myth of scientific health care during the past 20 years. As a cardiothoracic surgeon in Stanford, California Eddy became seriously concerned at the lack of evidence to support the effectiveness of what he and his colleagues were doing. Dr. Eddy is one of the most respected advisors to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) , the U.S. Federal agency established in December of 1989 to assist in the development and maintenance of national health practice guide lines. Dr. Eddys findings: 1. Only about 15% of medical interventions are supported by valid scientific evidence. 2. Many treatments have never been assessed at all. 3. Only 1% of articles in medical journals are scientifically sound. Seattle Post Intelligencer Vitamin Cartel The best thing about the Justice Department's unmasking of the criminal cartel run by the world's leading makers of vitamins is that the huge fines they'll pay are just the beginning. Their punishment also will include the opportunity to answer in court to class-action suits by consumers and corporate customers who were fleeced by this outrageous scheme to fix prices and divvy up territory. Milk, bread, pasta, orange juice, cereal, butter and a host of other household food staples contained the over price vitamin supplements. Vitamins sold in pill form also were part of the conspiracy to defraud the public. Hoffmann-LaRoche Ltd., a Swiss pharmaceutical firm, agreed to pay $500 million in fines, the largest ever imposed by the Justice Department. BASF A.G. of Germany will pay $225 Million. A number of smaller companies participating in the conspiracy are still being investigated. "The vitamin cartel was as bad as they get," said one Justice Department official. Still, the agency settled for less than it was entitled to. It could have socked Hoffmann-LaRoche $1.3 billion for its share of the profiteering on $53 billion worth of vitamins.. Perhaps in showing restraint, the Justice Department was just saving some of these corporations, ill-gotten money to be awarded to the rest of us victimized vitamin consumers. Statement by Sidney M. Wolfe M.D. Public Citizen's Health Research Group Concerning Warner-Lambert Criminal Conviction and Poor Manufacturing Practices Although the company has pleaded guilty to criminal charges for withholding important information about sloppy manufacturing practices from the FDA and FDA has indicated that the problem seems to have been solved, an alarming number of recalls of their prescription drugs continues to occur. In the first 11 months of 1995 alone, there were 20 recalls of Warner-Lambert products including 8 recalls for Dilantin and 3 recalls of Nitrostat. Since 1990, there have been a total of 64 recalls of Warner-Lambert products as listed in FDA recall reports. |
| ...................................................................................................... Physicians and the Pharmaceutical Industry : Is a Gift Ever Just a Gift? The Journal of the American Medical Association, Jan. 19, 2000Vol. 283, No. 3 373 Controversy exists over the fact that physicians have regular contact with the pharmaceutical industry and its sales representatives, who spend a large sum of money each year promoting to them by way of gifts, free meals, travel subsidies, sponsored teaching, and symposia. There are few issues in Medicine that bring clinicians into heated discussion as rapidly as the interaction between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession. |
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