Martin Shkreli and Pharmacocapitalism’s Inconvenient Truth
By SAURABH JHA, MD
I don’t subscribe to conspiracy theories. I never believed a second shot was fired. Nor do I believe that Bill Clinton was stalked on the grassy knoll. So I won’t speculate that Martin Shkreli’s arrest for alleged securities fraud that happened years ago is related to his raising Daraprim’s price by 5500 %.
Just because something isn’t suspicious doesn’t mean that it isn’t odd.
Shkreli is a perfect poster child for rapacious pharmacocapitalism – so perfect that it’s odd. He openly admits “I have a sworn duty to my shareholders to maximize profit.” Shkreli’s admission is odd not f...
Source: The Health Care Blog - December 22, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Simon Nath Tags: THCB Saurabh Jha Source Type: blogs
Healthcare Update Satellite — 06-23-2014
The right to carry a concealed weapon only exists if your doctor says so. Many states are requiring that physicians certify whether patients are competent to carry a concealed weapon. Some states require mandatory reporting of those deemed not competent to carry a concealed weapon. Of course, the natural extension of such laws is that if the doctors make an inappropriate determination, then the doctors can be held liable if the certifiee does something inappropriate with the weapon.
This New England Journal of Medicine article shows that many doctors aren’t comfortable making that determination.
Then again, I’v...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - June 24, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Healthcare Update Source Type: blogs
50 Cent Origami Microscope for Third-World Diagnostics
No, Curtis James Jackson III didn’t decide to invest in science and sponsor a microscope. It’s an actual microscope that costs around $0.50 USD to produce ($1 for higher magnification), and can be assembled in under 10 minutes. The Foldscope, developed by the Prakash Lab at Stanford University, provides over 2,000X magnification with submicron resolution, weighs 8.8 grams, fits in a pocket, is battery-powered for up to 50 hours on a single button cell, and is rugged enough to withstand being dropped from three stories or being stomped on by a mad scientist’s boot.
Once assembled, the Foldscope is operated...
Source: Medgadget - March 11, 2014 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Ben Ouyang Tags: Diagnostics Genetics Pathology Public Health Source Type: blogs
How Drug Companies Keep Medicine Out of Reach - The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/05/how-drug-companies-keep-medicine-out-of-reach/275853/?ReutersFor almost a decade, the United States has been standing in the way of an idea that could lead to cures for some of the world's most devastating illnesses. The class of maladies is known as neglected diseases, and they almost exclusively affect those in the developing world. The same idea, if realized, might also be used in more affluent nations to goad the pharmaceutical industry into producing critical innovations that the free market has yet to produce - things like new antibiotics, which are likely to be used ...
Source: PharmaGossip - May 15, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
FDA: Enhancing Benefit-Risk Assessment in Regulatory Decision Making
Last summer, Congress enacted the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA), which included the fifth authorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA V). Title I of FDASIA reauthorizes the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), which provides FDA with the necessary user fee resources to maintain an efficient review process for human drug and biologic products. The reauthorization of PDUFA includes performance goals and procedures that represent FDA’s commitments during FY 2013-2017. These commitments are referred to in section 101 of FDASIA.
Section X of these commitments relates ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 25, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
USMLE Questions – Characteristic Disease Findings
The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is designed to emphasize knowledge of clinical scenarios and clinical pearls, even on Step I. Listed below are some commonly encountered disease findings and characteristics.
Feature
Disease
45, X chromosome
Turner’s syndrome
5-HIAA increased in urine
Carcinoid syndrome
Aganglionic rectum
Hirschsrpung’s disease
Apple-core sign on barium enema
Colon cancer
Arched back (opisthotonos)
Tetanus
Argyll-Robertson pupil
Syphilis
Ash leaf on forehead
Tuberous sclerosis
Auer rods
Acute myelogenous leukemia
Austin Flint murmur
Aortic regurgitation...
Source: Inside Surgery - January 18, 2013 Category: Surgeons Authors: Editor Tags: Surgpedia USMLE diseases findings VMA water hammer pulse Source Type: blogs
