A drug has been developed that is a true miracle of modern pharmacology. I say this because it can reduce deaths for patients with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) as much as a ten-thousand-dollar defibrillator; it is perhaps the most effective drug we have to help treat patients with resistant hypertension.
Striking a humbler tone in the face of physician blowback, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) is promising to ease up on several financial and course work requirements for its revamped maintenance of certification (MOC) program.And more changes are under consideration.
I never got a confirming report from my dinner-meeting colleague on Strattera. Indeed, in the ensuing years, despite a massive marketing campaign directed at both physicians and patients, Lilly failed to get Strattera approved as a first-line ADHD drug by any of the major pediatric or professional child psychiatric organizations. In a head-to-head competition with Concerta, Strattera was found to be only six-tenths as effective as Concerta in ameliorating the symptomatic behaviors of ADHD. It was especially poor in addressing the inattentive behaviors (daydreaming) of the non-hyperactive form of ADHD. (The study was funded by Janssen, maker of Concerta.)
It’s called “inversion” — US corporations reincorporating in countries like Britain, Ireland or the Netherlands to duck US taxes, often by merging with a European entity. The latest corporation to try to please investors with this tax dodge was Illinois-based Walgreen, the US’s largest pharmacy chain.
Silicon Valley is retooling a service that was common almost a century ago: the house call. Several companies have developed smartphone apps that bring doctors to patients, often in less time than it would take to seek treatment elsewhere. With apps like Pager and Medicast, a patient can request a doctor with the push of a button.
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