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Bill Addresses Gestational Diabetes
Two House lawmakers have introduced a bill that would foster prevention activities and research on gestational diabetes. The legislation, backed by Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Michael Burgess (R-Tex.), who is an obstetrician, would create a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research advisory committee and provide funding for community-based education and prevention. The bill also would improve state and federal collection of data on gestational diabetes cases in an effort to develop better prevention methods. Gestational diabetes occurs in 2%-5% of pregnant women, according to federal government statistics. “This bill will improve detection and lead to more effective preventive measures that will reduce clinical costs for the patients as well as the states,” said Rep. Burgess.
Some Clinics Skip Screening
Local public health departments that lack the resources to hire health educators are less likely to conduct diabetes screening or obesity prevention programs, indicating that residents in poor areas lack access to those services, a study shows. However, local health departments in areas with high diabetes prevalence are more likely to offer diabetes screening, the study revealed. Health departments that conducted chronic disease surveillance also offered diabetes screening more frequently, according to the report by researchers at the CDC. Published in the American Journal of Public Health, the study showed that about half of public health clinics offer diabetes screening, half offer obesity prevention, and one-third offer both.
Drug Suspected in 1,354 Deaths
Type 2 diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) accounted for 1,354 patient deaths in 2009, more than any other prescription drug, according to a report from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. However, the institute blamed publicity about the drug's cardiovascular safety risks in part for the large number of fatalities reported to the FDA. “The manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, told us earlier that it believed many of the adverse drug event reports for rosiglitazone were associated with possible lawsuits against the company,” the report said. The institute excluded reports it knew were associated with legal claims but said it couldn't rule out the bad publicity as the reason for increased reporting of cardiovascular events and deaths associated with rosiglitazone in 2009.
FDA to Share Drug-Risk Findings
The Food and Drug Administration said it will post on its Web site summaries of postmarketing safety analyses on recently approved drugs and biologics, including brief discussions of steps being taken to address identified safety issues. The new summaries will cover side effects that might not become apparent until after a medicine becomes available to a large, diverse population, including previously unidentified risks and known adverse events that occur more frequently than expected.
State Expands Medicaid to Adults
Connecticut has added low-income, childless adults to its Medicaid program under the nation's new health care reform law. It's the first state to take advantage of the law's incentives to expand “permanent” coverage to such individuals, which could previously be covered only under Medicaid waivers. Connecticut said it initially will cover childless adults who make up to 56% of the federal poverty level, or $6,650 per year, estimated to be about 45,000 extra people. Health care reform requires states to cover all low-income individuals in Medicaid starting in 2014, but also allows states to get federal funding to enroll them early.
Men Less Likely to Get Care
Men are much less likely than women to seek routine medical care: Just over half of U.S. men see a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant for routine care, compared with nearly three-quarters of women, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Only about 35% of Hispanic men and 43% of black men made routine appointments, compared with 63% of white men, and uninsured people were only about half as likely as those with private insurance to make a routine care appointment, the agency said.
Bill Addresses Gestational Diabetes
Two House lawmakers have introduced a bill that would foster prevention activities and research on gestational diabetes. The legislation, backed by Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Michael Burgess (R-Tex.), who is an obstetrician, would create a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research advisory committee and provide funding for community-based education and prevention. The bill also would improve state and federal collection of data on gestational diabetes cases in an effort to develop better prevention methods. Gestational diabetes occurs in 2%-5% of pregnant women, according to federal government statistics. “This bill will improve detection and lead to more effective preventive measures that will reduce clinical costs for the patients as well as the states,” said Rep. Burgess.
Some Clinics Skip Screening
Local public health departments that lack the resources to hire health educators are less likely to conduct diabetes screening or obesity prevention programs, indicating that residents in poor areas lack access to those services, a study shows. However, local health departments in areas with high diabetes prevalence are more likely to offer diabetes screening, the study revealed. Health departments that conducted chronic disease surveillance also offered diabetes screening more frequently, according to the report by researchers at the CDC. Published in the American Journal of Public Health, the study showed that about half of public health clinics offer diabetes screening, half offer obesity prevention, and one-third offer both.
Drug Suspected in 1,354 Deaths
Type 2 diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) accounted for 1,354 patient deaths in 2009, more than any other prescription drug, according to a report from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. However, the institute blamed publicity about the drug's cardiovascular safety risks in part for the large number of fatalities reported to the FDA. “The manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, told us earlier that it believed many of the adverse drug event reports for rosiglitazone were associated with possible lawsuits against the company,” the report said. The institute excluded reports it knew were associated with legal claims but said it couldn't rule out the bad publicity as the reason for increased reporting of cardiovascular events and deaths associated with rosiglitazone in 2009.
FDA to Share Drug-Risk Findings
The Food and Drug Administration said it will post on its Web site summaries of postmarketing safety analyses on recently approved drugs and biologics, including brief discussions of steps being taken to address identified safety issues. The new summaries will cover side effects that might not become apparent until after a medicine becomes available to a large, diverse population, including previously unidentified risks and known adverse events that occur more frequently than expected.
State Expands Medicaid to Adults
Connecticut has added low-income, childless adults to its Medicaid program under the nation's new health care reform law. It's the first state to take advantage of the law's incentives to expand “permanent” coverage to such individuals, which could previously be covered only under Medicaid waivers. Connecticut said it initially will cover childless adults who make up to 56% of the federal poverty level, or $6,650 per year, estimated to be about 45,000 extra people. Health care reform requires states to cover all low-income individuals in Medicaid starting in 2014, but also allows states to get federal funding to enroll them early.
Men Less Likely to Get Care
Men are much less likely than women to seek routine medical care: Just over half of U.S. men see a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant for routine care, compared with nearly three-quarters of women, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Only about 35% of Hispanic men and 43% of black men made routine appointments, compared with 63% of white men, and uninsured people were only about half as likely as those with private insurance to make a routine care appointment, the agency said.
Bill Addresses Gestational Diabetes
Two House lawmakers have introduced a bill that would foster prevention activities and research on gestational diabetes. The legislation, backed by Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Michael Burgess (R-Tex.), who is an obstetrician, would create a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research advisory committee and provide funding for community-based education and prevention. The bill also would improve state and federal collection of data on gestational diabetes cases in an effort to develop better prevention methods. Gestational diabetes occurs in 2%-5% of pregnant women, according to federal government statistics. “This bill will improve detection and lead to more effective preventive measures that will reduce clinical costs for the patients as well as the states,” said Rep. Burgess.
Some Clinics Skip Screening
Local public health departments that lack the resources to hire health educators are less likely to conduct diabetes screening or obesity prevention programs, indicating that residents in poor areas lack access to those services, a study shows. However, local health departments in areas with high diabetes prevalence are more likely to offer diabetes screening, the study revealed. Health departments that conducted chronic disease surveillance also offered diabetes screening more frequently, according to the report by researchers at the CDC. Published in the American Journal of Public Health, the study showed that about half of public health clinics offer diabetes screening, half offer obesity prevention, and one-third offer both.
Drug Suspected in 1,354 Deaths
Type 2 diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) accounted for 1,354 patient deaths in 2009, more than any other prescription drug, according to a report from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. However, the institute blamed publicity about the drug's cardiovascular safety risks in part for the large number of fatalities reported to the FDA. “The manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, told us earlier that it believed many of the adverse drug event reports for rosiglitazone were associated with possible lawsuits against the company,” the report said. The institute excluded reports it knew were associated with legal claims but said it couldn't rule out the bad publicity as the reason for increased reporting of cardiovascular events and deaths associated with rosiglitazone in 2009.
FDA to Share Drug-Risk Findings
The Food and Drug Administration said it will post on its Web site summaries of postmarketing safety analyses on recently approved drugs and biologics, including brief discussions of steps being taken to address identified safety issues. The new summaries will cover side effects that might not become apparent until after a medicine becomes available to a large, diverse population, including previously unidentified risks and known adverse events that occur more frequently than expected.
State Expands Medicaid to Adults
Connecticut has added low-income, childless adults to its Medicaid program under the nation's new health care reform law. It's the first state to take advantage of the law's incentives to expand “permanent” coverage to such individuals, which could previously be covered only under Medicaid waivers. Connecticut said it initially will cover childless adults who make up to 56% of the federal poverty level, or $6,650 per year, estimated to be about 45,000 extra people. Health care reform requires states to cover all low-income individuals in Medicaid starting in 2014, but also allows states to get federal funding to enroll them early.
Men Less Likely to Get Care
Men are much less likely than women to seek routine medical care: Just over half of U.S. men see a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant for routine care, compared with nearly three-quarters of women, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Only about 35% of Hispanic men and 43% of black men made routine appointments, compared with 63% of white men, and uninsured people were only about half as likely as those with private insurance to make a routine care appointment, the agency said.