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FDA Issues Public Health Advisory Regarding Levemir Insulin
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has learned that some stolen vials of the long-acting insulin Levemir made by Novo Nordisk Inc. have reappeared and are being sold in the U.S. market. Three lots or a total of 129,000 vials of this product were stolen in all. These stolen insulin vials may not have been stored and handled properly and may be dangerous for patients to use.

New Survey Highlights Growing Concern About Risk Of Infection In Cancer Patients And Emerging Antibiotic Resistance
Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) announced the results of a national Harris Interactive, Inc. survey indicating that the vast majority of oncologists and infectious disease (ID) specialists are highly concerned about the negative impact infection may have on treatment outcomes in chemotherapy patients, as well as emerging antibiotic resistance. Nearly all oncologists surveyed (92 percent) believe it is important for cancer patients to prevent infections to achieve successful treatment outcomes. Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern among the majority of physicians surveyed, with 96 percent of ID specialists and 79 percent of oncologists reporting an increase in antibiotic-resistant infections in cancer patients over the past five years. Both groups of physicians report methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections as the most commonly observed in chemotherapy patients.
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NEJM Perspective Pieces Examine Physician Involvement In Health Reform, Congressional Progress On Reform

"Achieving Health Care Reform -- How Physicians Can Help," New England Journal of Medicine: In a perspective piece, Elliott Fisher, a professor of medicine and of community and family medicine at Dartmouth Medical School and associate director for Population Health and Policy at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice; Donald Berwick, a professor at the Harvard University School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management and president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement; and Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, call on physicians to "lead the change our country needs" on health reform. They suggest several areas for physicians to become involved, saying that physicians should "first help to create a shared vision that could overcome doctrinal divides" and that they also must "recognize that achieving savings sufficient to cover the cost of expanded coverage need not impose a hardship on patients or providers." Finally, physicians also must help with a health reform deal that "all stakeholders can support," the authors say (Fisher et al., NEJM, 5/21). "Congressional Action on Health Care Reform," NEJM: John Iglehart, national correspondent for NEJM, reviews recent congressional action on health reform. He notes that House lawmakers have pledged to pass a reform measure by July 31, which is similar to a Senate timeline for reform. He discusses provisions that are expected in reform plans being crafted by three House panels and two Senate committees. He also notes that "finding the money to finance reform is the most formidable hurdle facing Democrats," adding, the "GOP will undoubtedly attack [Democrats] for adding untold billions to the mounting federal deficit and leading down a road to socialism" (Iglehart, NEJM, 5/21). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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