Category: Columns
FDA to investigate caffeine-laced products
Caffeine is being added to jelly beans, marshmallows, sunflower seeds and other snacks for its stimulant effect. An instant oatmeal on the market boasts that one serving has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. One brand of gum is like having four cups of coffee in your pocket.
FDA launches new consumer outreach website
This week the FDA launches its Patient Network website through which the agency says it seeks to engage patients and consumers as partners, and encourage them to share ideas and concerns about the medical product development process.
Health law at 3: Remains unpopular – Viewpoint
Since passage, polls have consistently shown at least 50 percent of voters disapprove of the law. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll revealed that only 41 percent of respondents actually understood the law while 57 percent did not.
Health law at 3: Coverage, cost, quality improvements – Viewpoint
In its 3-year history, the Affordable Care Act has made big strides in expanding coverage, reducing costs for patients, and improving safety and quality of care. While plenty of work remains, it’s exciting to see how far we’ve come.
FDA wants your opinion on dairy-product labels
If you’re a lover of chocolate milk, but want to watch your weight, you might reach for the carton labeled “reduced calorie.” But dairy manufacturers would rather that the carton simply say “chocolate milk.”
FDA approves migraine patch
The “transdermal” system delivers the migraine drug sumatriptan through the skin from a patch that can be wrapped around a patient’s upper arm or thigh.
Group appointments with doctors: When three isn’t a crowd
A growing number of doctors have begun holding group appointments — seeing up to a dozen patients with similar medical concerns all at once. Advocates say such visits allow doctors to treat more patients, spend more time with them, increase appointment availability and improve health outcomes.
Know the active ingredients in your child’s meds – FDA
If your child is taking more than one medication at the same time, there could be dangerous health consequences if those medicines have the same active ingredient, warns the US Food and Drug Administration.
6 Tip-offs to rip-offs: Don’t fall for health fraud scams
Bogus product! Danger! Health fraud alert! — You’ll never see these warnings on health products, but that’s what you ought to be thinking when you see claims like “miracle cure,” “revolutionary scientific breakthrough,” or “alternative to drugs or surgery.”
FDA Updates Safety Recommendations for Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants
If you develop new or worsening problems, such as pain, swelling, numbness, noise (popping, grinding, clicking or squeaking of your hip) or a change in your ability to walk, contact your orthopedic surgeon right away. If you experience changes in your general health, including new or worsening symptoms outside your hip, let your doctor or other health care professional know you have a metal-on-metal hip implant.
5 things to know about breast implants
Researching breast implants can be overwhelming and confusing. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has online tools available to help women sort through the information and provides questions to consider before making the decision.
New coverage may spur younger women to use long-acting contraceptives
The health law specifies that birth control is a covered service in many plans ending the burden of a high up-front cost for IUDs and hormonal implants.
Despite challenges, community health centers win high satisfaction rates
Low-income Americans are more likely to be satisfied with the care they receive at community health centers, called federally qualified health centers, than at mainstream health care providers.
Observation units can improve care but may be costly for patients
Patients who are kept in the hospital observation units to monitor their condition may not be formally admitted. When this happens they often have to pick up a bigger share of the cost.
Accidental poisonings leading cause of deaths at home
“The increases in poisoning, largely due to prescription pain medication, have been most dramatic over the past decade, signaling a need to rethink how pain medications are prescribed and used,”
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