AdvaMed Statement on the Patent Reform Act of 2008 (S. 3600)

AdvaMed Statement on the Patent Reform Act of 2008 (S. 3600): ". . . Improving and modernizing the patent system is clearly important to all sectors of the U.S. economy and we applaud Sen. Kyl and his staff for their leadership and inclusive approach to developing this legislation."

New heart valve treatments are drawing older patients - TwinCities.com

New heart valve treatments are drawing older patients - TwinCities.com: ". . . doctors and medical devices companies are developing heart valve treatments that could provide options for very elderly patients as well as others who aren't good candidates for open-heart surgery."

Editorial - Whose Best Interest? - Editorial - NYTimes.com

Editorial - Whose Best Interest? - Editorial - NYTimes.com: "Two drug companies have announced that they will publicly disclose some of their payments to doctors starting next year. But the two companies fell short of complete disclosure, and the industry as a whole lags far behind. Legislation to establish a wide-ranging nationwide reporting system is still needed."

Rivals' prescriptions for an ailing system | Philadelphia Inquirer | 09/28/2008

Rivals' prescriptions for an ailing system Philadelphia Inquirer 09/28/2008: "Barack Obama and John McCain present voters with starkly different visions of how to change the nation's troubled health-care system. Obama wants more people to have health insurance. McCain wants to make insurance more affordable. "

Election 2008 -Polls Examine Importance of Health Care as Issue in Presidential Election

Election 2008 -Polls Examine Importance of Health Care as Issue in Presidential Election: "The Wall Street Journal reports that a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds the economy is the 'top issue for large numbers of voters,' with health care, education and the environment 'a distant second' (Meckler, Wall Street Journal, 9/25). The poll, conducted between Sept. 19 and 22, included interviews with 1,157 voters, 1,085 of whom were registered voters."

Drug Label, Maimed Patient and Test for Court - NYTimes.com

Drug Label, Maimed Patient and Test for Court - NYTimes.com: "In November, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether Ms. Levine may keep more than $6 million that a Vermont jury ordered Wyeth, a pharmaceutical company, to pay her for failing to warn her adequately about the risks of one of its drugs. The case, the latest in a brisk parade of similar ones, will help define the contours of a signature project of the Roberts court. In legal jargon, the cases concern “pre-emption,” a doctrine that can bar injured consumers like Ms. Levine from suing in state court when the products that hurt them had met federal standards. The issue is less boring and more consequential than it sounds, and Ms. Levine’s case is shaping up to be the most important business case of the term."

MPR: The presidential candidates' plans for health care

MPR: The presidential candidates' plans for health care: "E. Richard Brown, top advisor to Sen. Barack Obama, and Daniel Kessler, top advisor to Sen. John McCain, discuss the candidates' policy positions on health care."

STLtoday - Insurance giants have own ideas on reform

STLtoday - Insurance giants have own ideas on reform: "If Wall Street ever rights itself, the next president might shift his attention to fixing the nation's health care mess. Until then, the nation's top medical insurance companies will be waiting with their ideas. The industry's trade group has been working on this issue for two years, promoting a plan to cover all Americans, holding roundtable discussions across the country and trying to prepare for whomever moves into the White House in January."

Health care reform must art with a plan to simplify

Health care reform must art with a plan to simplify: "It is heartening that presidential candidates Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama both pledge to reform health care. Their plans differ greatly, but whatever the outcome, change is surely coming"

Benefits Execs Prefer Obama's Health-Care Plan

Benefits Execs Prefer Obama's Health-Care Plan: "A survey shows that benefits officers aren't wild about either candidate's health proposal, but they see Obama's as doing less harm"

Consumer Ads for Medical Devices Subject of Senate Panel - NYTimes.com

Consumer Ads for Medical Devices Subject of Senate Panel - NYTimes.com: "As makers of medical devices like artificial knees and heart stents increasingly pitch their products directly to consumers, some lawmakers, medical groups and others are calling for restrictions on such advertisements, claiming they mislead patients."

Studies Detail Contrasts in Rivals' Health-Care Plans - WSJ.com

Studies Detail Contrasts in Rivals' Health-Care Plans - WSJ.com: "WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain's health-care plan would make only a small dent in the ranks of the uninsured, at best covering about five million more people, two new reports conclude.
Democratic nominee Barack Obama would cover more people -- eventually adding about 34 million, according to one of those reports, by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center."

Sen. Grassley Blasts Psychiatrist for Failure to Disclose Industry Funding-WSJ Health Blog

Sen. Grassley Blasts Psychiatrist for Failure to Disclose Industry Funding-WSJ Health Blog: "Karen Wagner, a child psychiatrist at the University of Texas Medical Branch, is the latest academic psychiatrist to be criticized by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for failing to fully disclose drug industry ties."

Health Care Issue, Not Quite Hot, Remains Strong - NYTimes.com

Health Care Issue, Not Quite Hot, Remains Strong - NYTimes.com: "As energy and the economy consume more of the country’s political discourse, health care is an issue that can seem to vacillate in importance by the day, the place and the audience."

Drugmakers and Academia Should Collaborate More, Scientist Says-WSJ Health Blog

Drugmakers and Academia Should Collaborate More, Scientist Says-WSJ Health Blog: "From the podium at the New York Academy of Sciences, Feldmann made the case for closer collaboration between the drug industry and academia, not exactly a fashionable thing to say these days. Science, he said, is meant to be original and novel, while medicine is conservative and needs to be safe. The melding of the two is necessary for medical progress, but the process for doing so is “ill-defined” and “difficult.”"

Drugmakers and Academia Should Collaborate More, Scientist Says-WSJ Health Blog

Drugmakers and Academia Should Collaborate More, Scientist Says-WSJ Health Blog: "From the podium at the New York Academy of Sciences, Feldmann made the case for closer collaboration between the drug industry and academia, not exactly a fashionable thing to say these days. Science, he said, is meant to be original and novel, while medicine is conservative and needs to be safe. The melding of the two is necessary for medical progress, but the process for doing so is “ill-defined” and “difficult.”"

Pressured, Schools Review Ties to Drug Firms - WSJ.com

Pressured, Schools Review Ties to Drug Firms - WSJ.com: "Some major universities are reviewing the way they handle funding from drug companies in the wake of criticism from Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is pressing the federal agency that controls government health-research money to get tougher on universities that don't disclose ties to the industry."

TheHill.com - New poll shows McCain, Obama splitting swing states

TheHill.com - New poll shows McCain, Obama splitting swing states: "Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are engaged in tight, hotly contested battles in four of the major swing states, according to a new poll from CNN and Opinion Research Strategies."

TheHill.com - McCain, Palin draw big crowd, earmark questions

TheHill.com - McCain, Palin draw big crowd, earmark questions: "There was no lipstick involved, but the pit bull made a return to the national scene Wednesday."

Congress likely to delay health care overhaul - Forbes.com

Congress likely to delay health care overhaul - Forbes.com: "As Congress returns from summer recess, lawmakers are expected to continue needling pharmaceutical makers and health insurers with investigations, while holding off on major health care reform until next year."

Facing Veto, Democrats Drop Plan for Vote on Child Bill - NYTimes.com

Facing Veto, Democrats Drop Plan for Vote on Child Bill - NYTimes.com: "Congressional Democrats have scrapped plans for another vote on expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, thus sparing Republicans from a politically difficult vote just weeks before elections this fall."

FDA to List Drugs Being Investigated - washingtonpost.com

FDA to List Drugs Being Investigated - washingtonpost.com: "The Food and Drug Administration will begin posting every three months a list of drugs whose safety is under investigation because of complaints brought to the agency's attention by drug companies, physicians and patients."

Editorial - The Massachusetts Way - Editorial - NYTimes.com

Editorial - The Massachusetts Way - Editorial - NYTimes.com: "The pioneering Massachusetts program to provide health insurance for all citizens looks more and more successful with each passing month. The pioneering Massachusetts program to provide health insurance for all citizens looks more and more successful with each passing month."

Drug Ads: Big Waste Of Money? - washingtonpost.com

Drug Ads: Big Waste Of Money? - washingtonpost.com: "Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising has only a modest effect on the sale of drugs, according to research released online yesterday by BMJ, a British medical journal."

Judge Cuts Penalty Award Against Boston Scientific - WSJ.com

Judge Cuts Penalty Award Against Boston Scientific - WSJ.com: "Boston Scientific Corp. said a federal judge found two patents held by rival Medtronic Inc. to be unenforceable and slashed the damages Boston Scientific must pay in a patent-infringement case involving devices to remove blockages in coronary arteries."

Heart Surgery Bests Stents, Study Shows - WSJ.com

Heart Surgery Bests Stents, Study Shows - WSJ.com: "A study aimed at boosting the scientific case for coronary stents in the sickest heart patients failed, finding bypass surgery to be a better choice in complicated cases."