February 12th, 2009 Roberts & Roberts
Motor vehicle crash injury rates in Missouri decreased among pediatric patients following enactment of the state’s booster seat law, according to a new study conducted by researchers at a St. John’s Mercy Health Care Level I Trauma Center in Springfield, MO.
The four-year study looked at pediatric trauma patients admitted to St. John’s Trauma Center as a result of motor vehicle crashes two years prior to and after enactment of the law, which went into effect Aug. 28, 2006. It requires children between the ages of 4 and 7 to ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they weigh 80 pounds or are 4’9″ tall.
According to a Jan. 22 press release, findings show:
A 23 percent decrease in the number of pediatric patients admitted as a result of motor vehicle crashes in the two years after the law went into effect. The greatest decrease was among children 4-7 years old.
Trauma cases increased for 8- to 15-year-olds or children who were not riding in a booster seat.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 12th, 2009 Roberts & Roberts
An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted 14 to 12 to recommend the withdrawal of Darvon or Darvocet, a prescription drug that has been used to treat pain for more than 50 years because it has been linked to addiction. The drug is also known by its generic name propoxyphene.
The drug made by Eli Lilly and marketed by Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals and Qualitest/Vintage Pharmaceuticals, was approved in 1957. It was banned in the U.K. in 2005.
The thing is that consumer groups argued that the drug and its derivatives do not offer strong pain relief and thereby pose risks of overdose and potential suicide. Drug makers said it is safe and effective when used as directed. According to the FDA, the drug has been associated with more than 2,000 accidental deaths, is addictive and not safe.
FDA says it found 1,452 deaths associated with propoxyphene from 1957 through September 2008, but some of those reports listed more than one drug. Two of the generics makers selling the propoxyphene products (Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals and Qualitest/Vintage Pharmaceuticals) say they’re safe and effective when used as directed, and they pointed out that more than 600 million scripts for the drugs have been dispensed over the past 50 years.
Dr Sidney Wolfe, a drug safety expert, who had wanted the ban in 1970, lashed out against the drug. He stated that “With a drug that has almost no evidence of benefit, any risk is unacceptable. Hopefully the FDA will follow the vote of its advisers.”
(origninal story can be located at www.efluxmedia.com)
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 6th, 2009 Roberts & Roberts
AUSTIN, TX – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has reached an agreement with Aetna Life Insurance Co. that resolves that state’s investigation into the insurer’s failure to pay college students’ out-of-network claims. Under the settlement, an estimated $114,000 will be available to compensate more than 1,200 claims that have been inadequately compensated since 1998.
The agreement stems from a state investigation into Aetna’s handling of its college-sponsored student healthcare plans in Texas. The state discovered that Aetna and its affiliate, Chickering Claims Administrators Inc., did not update certain expense-related data, which was used to determine the cost of out-of-network healthcare. As a result, when insured students visited out-of-network physicians or healthcare facilities, Aetna inadequately covered its portion of cost.
Aetna agreed to compensate students or their physicians for underpaid claims that stem from its outdated reimbursement rates. The total value of the settlement, an estimated $114,000, includes penalties and interest. Aetna will contact all affected students or healthcare providers in Texas to inform them about the process for obtaining refunds.
The Aetna health plans in this settlement applied to students enrolled at Rice University, Texas Christian University, Baylor School of Medicine and the University of Dallas.
(Original story can be located on KLTV.com)
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
