Archive: June 2011

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post about the Supreme Court ruling that manufacturers of generic drugs have no duty to warn consumers of harmful side effects, here are excerpts from an editorial in the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper laments the fact that these manufacturers are being let off the hook, and says they have […]

The Washington Post reported, “Makers of generic drugs cannot be sued for not warning patients of the drugs’ dangerous side effects, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, even though brand-name manufacturers can be found liable.” The Post continued, “A five-member majority of the court recognized that it ‘makes little sense’ to bar suits against generic drug-makers […]

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has voted to give rental companies more time to buy cribs that meet new safety standards. The commission voted Friday to extend the deadline for short-term rental companies to buy the new cribs from today, June 28, 2011, to Dec. 28, 2012. That’s the same deadline for child-care facilities and […]

The AP reported, “The Obama administration says most Americans will soon have the right to appeal to a third party referee when their health insurer denies a claim for a medical service.” The regulations “released Wednesday carry out provisions of President Barack Obama’s health care law. Insurers generally give customers a couple of chances to […]

Dear Photograph is a wonderful site that’s a little hard to describe. People take old photographs back to the location where they were originally shot, hold them up to match the current surroundings, and take a new photograph that includes the old one. There’s a short caption for each. Some are fascinating. Check it out.

The Boston Globe ran an interesting article last week detailing how expensive restaurants have banded together to fight for repeal or amendment of a 2008 Massachusetts law banning pharmaceutical companies from giving gifts of $50 or more to doctors. The restaurants say this ban is hurting their business, because the pharmaceutical companies frequently bought expensive […]

The AP reports, “Federal health regulators are warning doctors and patients that Pfizer’s anti-smoking drug Chantix [varenicline] may slightly increase the risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.” On Thursday, the FDA “said…a study of 700-heart disease patients taking Chantix showed a small uptick in heart problems among those taking the smoking-cessation drug versus […]

The Wall Street Journal “Health Blog” reported that over half (52%) of malpractice payments made by US physicians involved adverse events related to outpatient care in 2009, according to an analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In an interview, lead study author Dr. Tara Bishop, of Weill Cornell Medical College. told […]

But it’s OK. Texas Governor Rick Perry vetoed a bill passed by the House and Senate that would have banned texting while driving in Texas. I assume writing blog posts is no worse than texting. Governor Perry said the ban would be a misguided government effort to “micromanage” the behavior of adult drivers. The cynical […]

Five minutes of totally cool stunts. Do NOT try at home!