October 30th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
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Kmart, Medtronic, and a bunch of specialty medical groups are sponsoring a campaign called “Find the AAAnswers” — the “AAA” standing for abdominal aortic aneurysm.
It’s clever marketing for Kmart’s pharmacy business, since the screenings are being offered throughout the Fall at more than 900 Kmart pharmacies. And it’s not bad business for the specialty medical groups, either, as Larry Husten wrote on his Cardiobrief blog:
…the expenses of the program and the coalition are entirely underwritten by Medtronic, which sells abdominal stent grafts used to repair AAAs, and the members of the coalition include organizations like the Peripheral Vascular Surgical Society, the Society for Vascular Surgery, and the Society for Vascular Ultrasound, whose members may derive a significant portion of their income from performing AAA repairs and screening.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
August 30th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed
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There are many stories journalists could report on about conflicts of interest and questions about evidence in the treatment of low back pain, perhaps especially with spinal fusion. We talked about many of these with journalists from the American Society of News Editors in a workshop at the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making in Boston in May.
John Fauber of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel hammers one of these issues, looking at how Medtronic’s Infuse product “went from revolutionary advance to public health alert.”
Here’s his story on MedPageToday: “Spinal Fusion Device: A Bone of Contention for FDA.”
His entire series entitled “Side Effects: Money, Medicine and Patients” is indexed on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel website. The image below is from the Journal-Sentinel’s online story:
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
August 20th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News
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Medtronic MiniMed has recently released a new educational game for kids and young adults that takes them through an educational tour to learn how to deal with foods when you have diabetes.
A rep for the company tells Medgadget:
Called Carb Counting with Lenny, it’s offered for free download on the Apple iTunes App Store for the iPhone, iTouch and iPad. It’s great for parents (and even adults with diabetes have enjoyed it too), as the app features a guide presenting nutritious food choices with associated serving sizes and carbohydrate values. The other key components of the app are fun, interactive games that help reinforce carb counting skills and keep children engaged. And just in case you are not fully familiar with Lenny the Lion, he is a global ambassador for children’s diabetes education.
What’s more, there’s a contest with prizes for those who can beat Lenny at the app’s carb counting games.
Link: Carb Counting with Lenny!
Contest Rules….
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
May 26th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Research
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“…I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” — Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire
Years ago when I began my medical training, I recall enrolling patients for clinical research. In cardiology, there were a myriad of questions that needed to be answered, especially in the area of defining which medications were best to limit the damage caused by a heart attack.
Patients routinely participated in large, multi-center prospective randomized trials to answer these questions. It was routine for them not to charged for participating in the trial — the drug(s) and additional testing would be funded by the company whose drug was being studied. Patients enrolled willingly, eager to help advance science and perhaps, in some small way, their fellow man. It never dawned on me in those early days why hospitals and research centers were so eager to promote research. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
