HRSA Awards USD 22 Million in New Health Center Grants

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Aug 10,2008

The Health Resources and Services Administration today announced more than $22 million in new health center grants to help people in need — many with no health insurance — obtain access to the comprehensive primary and preventive health care services that health centers provide.

“Everyone deserves quality health care,” said HRSA Administrator Elizabeth Duke. “These awards will provide access to primary care, as well as pharmacy, preventive dental, mental health, prenatal care, and substance abuse services in communities that do not currently enjoy access to health center care.”

The New Access Point grants will establish 42 new health center sites in 23 states, providing an estimated 160,000 Americans with health center services. The grants were awarded to health care organizations in areas where more primary medical care is needed. HRSA grants typically account for about 20 percent of a health center’s total revenue. Medicare, Medicaid and other federal grants total about 45 percent of revenue; remaining operating funds come from state and local grants and foundations and from patient payments.

Health centers funded by HRSA represent more than 7,000 service delivery sites, including community health centers, migrant health centers, health care for the homeless centers and public housing primary care centers.

The grant awards are listed on-line at: http://newsroom.hrsa.gov/releases/2008/newaccesspoint.htm

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.

Source: Health Resources and Services Administration


Best Practice Database Supports Bio-Pharma Product Launch

Bio-Pharma executives are increasingly finding value in the research products and services offered by Best Practices, LLC and in particular in use of the on-demand benchmark repository known as the Best Practice Database. Although documents from the database may be accessed and downloaded individually, many commercial and operations leaders have come to find outstanding value in membership to the database which not only provides full access to all content as needed, but also includes services such as new research alerts, invitations to participate in topical new studies and ongoing advisory services to address research needs.

A series of six case study analogs recently published to the database review various aspects of product launch, providing unique perspectives for understanding the strategies and tactics utilized by top bio-pharma companies to address commercial issues surrounding their products. One study, “Requip Case Study: Life Cycle Management — Reinvigorating a Mature Brand,” reviews the strategy and tactics utilized by GlaxoSmithKline for the Parkinson’s indicated product, Requip/Adartrel, to manage the life and commercial success of the brand through re-branding for treatment of Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS).

For a complimentary summary from this case study, found in the Best Practice Database, “Requip Case Study: Life Cycle Management — Reinvigorating a Mature Brand,” click on the following link: http://www3.best-in-class.com/dr329.htm .

Key topic areas in the research include:

  • Coordinated Marketing Efforts
  • Patient Advocacy
  • Disease Awareness
  • Condition Branding
  • Market Preparation
  • Disease State Critical Success Factors
  • Managing Disease Perception
  • Educating the Market on New Mechanism of Action
  • Direct to Consumer (DTC) Communications

Metrics included in this report are:

  • Lifecycle Timeline
  • Brand Revenues
  • Disease Area Support Contributions

Source: Best Practices, LLC


Americans Made Over 1 Billion Hospital and Doctor Visits in 2006

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Aug 7,2008

Patients in the United States made an estimated 1.1 billion visits to physician offices and hospital outpatient and emergency departments in 2006, an average of four visits per person per year, according to new health care statistics released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The data come from various components of CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics National Health Care Survey and are featured in a series of new National Health Statistics Reports. Some of the findings include:

  • The number of visits to physician offices and hospital outpatient and emergency departments increased by 26 percent from 1996 to 2006, faster than the growth of the U.S. population, which rose by 11 percent. The rise in visits can be linked to both the aging of the population, as older people have higher visit rates than younger people in general.
  • In 2006, seven out of 10 visits had at least one medication provided, prescribed, or continued, for a total of 2.6 billion medications overall. Analgesics (pain relievers) were the most common, accounting for 13.6 percent of all drugs prescribed, and were most often used during primary care and emergency department visits.
  • The emergency department served as the route of admission to hospital inpatient services for roughly 50 percent of non-obstetric hospital patients in 2006, up from 36 percent in 1996.
  • Patients with Medicaid use the emergency department more frequently than patients with private insurance — 82 per 100 persons for Medicaid vs. 21 per 100 for private insurance.
  • Most emergency department visits occurred after business hours (defined as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays), when 63 percent of adults and 73 percent of children younger than age 15 arrived.
  • The overall average waiting time to see a physician in the Emergency Department was nearly 56 minutes.
  • Over the past 36 years, the percent of hospital inpatients who were 65 years of age and older grew from 20 percent in 1970 to 38 percent in 2006. Over the same time period, the percent of inpatients who were 75 years of age and older grew from 9 percent to over 24 percent.
  • The rate of knee replacement for those aged 65 years old and over increased 46 percent between 2000 and 2006, and the rate doubled among those aged 45-64 years during the same time period.
  • The rate of coronary atherosclerosis (clogged heart arteries) more than doubled during the 1990s but since 2002 declined for all age groups, particularly for those 65 years and over.
  • Between 1996 and 2006, the percentage of visits to hospital outpatient departments made by adults 18 years and over with chronic diabetes increased by 43 percent and visits with chronic high blood pressure increased by 51 percent.

The new series of health care reports can be accessed at www.cdc.gov/nchs.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


U.S. Preventive Medicine Supports Testing Older Men for Prostate Cancer

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Aug 7,2008

U.S. Preventive Medicine, the leader in disease prevention, said today that routine screening and testing of men age 75 and older for prostate cancer can still be appropriate and that doing so can help older men live a longer and healthy life.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force this week recommended that doctors stop routine prostate cancer screening of men older than 75, citing evidence that the benefits of treatment based on routine screening of this age group are small to none and that there is more evidence of harm than benefit.

“While there can be reduced use of prostate screening in the oldest men, due to the often slow growth of prostate cancer, that does not mean it is inappropriate to test for prostate cancer, especially in otherwise healthy older men who are vigorous and appear to be in good health,” said Dr. Boyd Lyles, Chief Medical Officer at U.S. Preventive Medicine and a leading authority on preventive medicine. “Without question, the healthier a person is at that age the more benefit can be gained by continuing to be active with detection and prevention efforts.”

Dr. Lyles points out that there are various treatment options for prostate cancer, including watchful waiting, with periodic PSA testing, to several types of radiation and surgery.

“I am a strong supporter of periodic PSA and digital exam testing, along with a discussion of all treatment options with the older patient if cancer is found, so that an informed decision about treatment options can be made,” said Dr. Lyles.

Source: U.S. Preventive Medicine


Today’s decision by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve the reclassification of azithromycin for the treatment of chlamydia infection will mean convenient and effective care for patients, said the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB). Azithromycin, currently licensed as a prescription-only medicine, is expected to be available for sale from pharmacies without a prescription later this year.

Azithromycin is the first oral antibiotic to be approved for reclassification. It will be available for people 16 years and over if they have tested positive for the infection through an approved standard test and have no symptoms. It will also be available for their sexual partners.

Howard Duff, RPSGB’s Director for England, said: “Pharmacists already play an important role in the provision of sexual health services, and have done so for many years. Reclassifying azithromycin will expand on existing services and improve access to chlamydia screening and treatment for patients.

“Chlamydia infection rates are increasing, particularly in those under 25 years of age. The development of appropriate sexual health services for this group should result in higher rates of detection of sexually transmitted infections and improved awareness of the importance of practising safe sex.”

  • The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain is the professional and regulatory body for pharmacists in England, Scotland and Wales. It also regulates pharmacy technicians on a voluntary basis, which is expected to become statutory under anticipated legislation. The primary objectives of the Society are to lead, regulate, develop and represent the profession of pharmacy. The Society leads and supports the development of the profession within the context of the public benefit. This includes the advancement of science, practice, education and knowledge in pharmacy. In addition, it promotes the profession’s policies and views to a range of external stakeholders in a number of different forums. Following the publication in 2007 of the Government White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety – The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century, the Society is working towards the demerger of its regulatory and professional roles. This will see the establishment of a new General Pharmaceutical Council and a new professional body for pharmacy in 2010.
  • Pharmacists are among the most accessible healthcare professionals. Research has shown that the vast majority of the public has easy access to pharmacies: 99% of the population can reach a community pharmacy by car, by walking or by public transport within 20 minutes.

Source: Royal Pharmaceutical Society of GB


Remuda Programs for Eating Disorders (http://www.remudaranch.com/), the nation’s leading eating disorder treatment center, reports that more than 50 percent of its patients have experienced trauma in their lives. The trauma is usually sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

“Forty-nine percent of our patients have experienced childhood sexual abuse,” said Amy Spahr, clinical director at Remuda Programs for Eating Disorders. “This is about 20 percent higher than in the general population. Additionally, in the last five years, 11 percent of adolescent and 20 percent of adult patients were diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).”

Research has shown that childhood sexual abuse increases binge-eating, purging, restricting calories, body shame and body dissatisfaction. Eating disorders become a way of helping victims cope with shame. They feel they may need to modify their body in ways that reduce shame or distress. For example, a woman suffering from trauma and an eating disorder may wish to reduce her breast size in order to appear less feminine and therefore, less appealing to men because of her past sexual abuse.

“At Remuda, we teach patients skills that assist them in achieving recovery from their eating disorder while taking significant steps to work through trauma issues,” adds Spahr.

Many times, patients use trauma as an explanation for their continued need to rely on eating disorder behaviors. The center’s treatment model aims to teach sufficient skills so the patient trauma issues are no longer so intense. Once in recovery from the eating disorder, they can return as needed to more in-depth trauma work without significant risk of an eating disorder relapse.

“Trauma recovery work, combined with eating disorder recovery, can be challenging and complicated,” adds Spahr. “A patient who has been victimized may often have difficulty building trust and acceptance. An essential element that is necessary in assisting the patient in the trauma work is providing an environment of support and acceptance.”

Source: Remuda Ranch Programs for Eating and Anxiety Disorders


Study shows breast reduction can improve physical, social and emotional quality of life

Findings from a study published in the July/August 2008 issue of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal show a marked improvement in quality of life for patients who underwent breast reduction surgery, indicating that benefits of the procedure go beyond the mere aesthetic result.

One hundred patients with breast hypertrophy were chosen to participate in the study, and randomly allocated into two groups. One group was selected to undergo breast reduction, while the other was put on a waiting list and served as a control group. At the beginning of the study, all patients were interviewed to collect demographic information, as well as to measure their self-esteem and functional capacity. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Rolland-Morris (widely used self-esteem measures) were used for these quality of life measurements. Pain intensity was also measured using a visual analog scale. These measurements were evaluated again six months after the surgery.

After surgery, a decrease in the score on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale indicated a marked improvement in self-esteem in these patients versus those in the control group. Functional capacity had also improved in this group of patients, who also reported a significant decrease in intensity of pain in the lower back. It is reasonable to conclude that these improvements were brought about by the breast reduction surgery.

“Patients seek out breast reduction surgery for many reasons, not the least of which is to ease pain and discomfort associated with having larger breasts,” said Miguel Sabino Neto, MD, Ph.D., a plastic surgeon in Sao Paolo, Brazil and lead author of the study. “However, there is also an emotional discomfort as well, including low self-esteem, social and sexual embarrassment, and frustration with difficulties in performing daily routines. It was our goal to determine quantitatively whether these emotional issues improved, as well as the physical.”

According to statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), 153,087 breast reduction procedures were performed on women in 2007.

“This study further demonstrates that the connection between the aesthetic results of plastic surgery and the emotional, social and physical quality of life of our patients cannot be underestimated,” said Alan H. Gold, MD, President of ASAPS. “These findings will go a long way towards helping us to evaluate and better understand the implications of the impact of plastic surgery on patients’ lives, and serve as an example of our commitment to evidence based medicine and outcome studies in aesthetic surgery.”

Source: American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery


Lilly Reaffirms Purchase Offer for SGX Pharmaceuticals

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Aug 4,2008

Company Reiterates $3.00 per Share Proposal is Best and Final Offer

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) today reaffirmed that its $3.00 per share purchase offer for SGX Pharmaceutical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGXP) represents its best and final offer for the San Diego-based biotechnology company. On July 8, 2008, the two companies announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement, whereby Lilly will acquire all of the outstanding shares of SGX common stock at a price of $3.00 per share, for a total purchase price of approximately $64.0 million.

In support of the transaction, Lilly refers SGX stockholders to the definitive proxy statement that SGX filed on July 21, 2008. That definitive proxy statement includes the reasons why the board of directors of SGX voted unanimously to approve the merger agreement and to recommend that its stockholders approve the transaction. The background to the merger section of the definitive proxy statement describes the process SGX undertook to explore strategic alternatives and solicit indications of interest. As a result of these reasons, certain SGX stockholders (including certain executive officers, directors and a significant outside shareholder) who beneficially own in the aggregate, approximately 26 percent of the outstanding shares of SGX common stock, entered into a voting agreement with Lilly to vote in favor of the merger.

“We believe that the $3.00 per share purchase price represents full and fair value, and provides a very attractive premium for SGX stockholders,” commented Gino Santini, Lilly senior vice president of corporate strategy and business development. “Lilly will not increase its offer price, and we are confirming that the $3.00 per share price for SGX is our best and final offer.” Santini noted that the $3.00 per share price represents a sizable premium versus SGX’s recent stock price performance, including a 119 percent premium to the stock’s closing price immediately prior to the announcement on July 8, 2008, and a 108 percent premium over the SGX average closing price for the one month prior to the announcement. “Lilly and SGX fully intend to take this proposal to a stockholder vote at the $3.00 per share offer price,” Santini concluded.

Source: Eli Lilly and Company


Sponsorship Agreement Promotes International Medical Education, Helps Break Down Language Barrier

Russian-speaking medical professionals around the world have a potent new ally to help them integrate into the English-speaking mainstream of global medical research.

Dr. Peter M. Leitner, President of MaxWell USA, LLC, and Dr. Marina Filshtinsky, President of Boston-based International Medical Information Technologies, Inc. (IMIT) and editor-in-chief of MedMir.com, announced today a sponsorship deal between their two organizations.

MaxWell USA will provide the first significant outside funding received by IMIT since its 2005 inception. As a result, IMIT will be in a stronger position to supply timely, comprehensive, and free translations of leading medical journal articles to Russian-speaking medical professionals around the world.

By partnering, MaxWell and IMIT will contribute more effectively to improving the quality of healthcare offered by Russian-speaking medical providers to their patients wherever they may be.

Source: MaxWell Biocorporation, LLC


World Vision calls for action to protect, care for children impacted by HIV and AIDS

Mexico City event a chance to spur help for millions of orphans and vulnerable children

A leading humanitarian agency has today warned that the world’s biggest conference on HIV and AIDS will miss the mark unless attendees come away making firm commitments to end mother-to-child transmission of the disease, increase access to pediatric treatment and extend care for affected children.

World Vision, a Christian relief and development organization with HIV and AIDS programs in more than 60 countries, says participants in the XVII International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Mexico City should put children at the focus of their discussions. Fifteen million children have been orphaned by the pandemic, and thousands are infected each week while treatment and care lag that of adults.

“This is a top forum for hearing important new scientific research and for productive, structured dialogue on the major challenges facing the global response to AIDS,” said Martha Newsome, director of World Vision’s HIV and AIDS Hope Initiative. “However, as is often the case with global conferences like this one, the needs of children are too low on the agenda.

“Almost 1,200 children a day under the age of 15 are newly infected with HIV – around 90 percent of those from mother-to-child transmission, which is preventable. Organizers expect 22,000 people to attend this conference, from field workers to government ministers. Imagine if each of those made reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV their personal goal?

“As a global community we should be ashamed that 9 out of every 10 HIV positive children get the virus from their mothers during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding, a particular tragedy because mother-child transmission can be safely stopped. Prevention services can reduce transmission risk to less than 2%, but only about 1 in 10 HIV-positive pregnant women who need ARVs get them. There’s no acceptable reason to not put an end to mother-to-child transmission.”

ARVs, or anti-retroviral drugs, are the medications needed by HIV-positive people to delay the onset of AIDS and significantly prolong life.

Specifically, World Vision is calling for health and government leaders to:

  • Prevent mother-to-child transmission by fully scaling up programs and  being accountable for meeting goals
  • Ensure pediatric treatment and infant testing
  • Earmark 12% of AIDS funding for children affected by HIV and AIDS

The IAC’s slogan this year is “Universal Access Now,” emphasizing the need for continued urgency in the worldwide response to HIV/AIDS, and for action on the part of all stakeholders.

“Without addressing the needs of children impacted by HIV and AIDS, and of those infected by mother-child transmission specifically, the IAC will sadly prove to be just another expensive talking shop to the millions who need action now,” Newsome said.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org.

World Vision’s AIDS programmes are in 60+ nations, many in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 90% of the world’s HIV-infected children live. Partnering with local communities and faith leaders, it works to educate about the disease, to eradicate stigma, encourage voluntary testing, train thousands of home visitors and provide care and assistance to thousands of chronically ill men, women and children.

Source: World Vision U.S.


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