You Have Rights Blog
More Regulation Of Heparin is Needed to Avoid Deaths, Injuries
Friday, September 26, 2008
The commonly used blood-thinning drug heparin has caused dozens of deaths and serious injuries in recent years. Many of the injuries were preventable if hospitals had taken steps to prevent mistakes in administering heparin and other blood thinners, according to a national hospital accreditation agency. The Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, is urging hospitals to adopt stricter standards for the use of anticoagulants like heparin. The commission issued a safety alert to hospitals on September 24, 2008. By taking time to double-check their…
Researchers Find Less Than Half of FDA Clinical Trial Results Are Published
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Researchers have found that less than half of clinical supporting trials for newly FDA-approved prescription drugs were published in medical journals after the drugs were cleared for sale in the United States. The results of the research, which also found that encouraging drug test results were more likely to be published than negative or inconclusive findings, sends a troubling message to drug users and doctors. If the results of supporting trials on newly approved drugs are not published in medical journals after the drugs have been in use for several years, patients and their doctors have no way of knowing…
Wyeth Concedes that Levine Case is not suitable to rule on broad preemption
Thursday, September 18, 2008
In a stunning legal turn of events, attorneys representing pharmaceutical maker Wyeth in a lawsuit brought by a Vermont woman who lost an arm after being given a Wyeth nausea drug have apparently thrown in the towel on the argument that makers of all FDA-approved drugs should be shielded from state personal-injury claims. Legal scholars, plaintiff's attorneys, and injured parties across the country have been closely watching developments in the United States Supreme Court case between Wyeth and Diana Levine. Many had been bracing for a landmark legal ruling that would have far-reaching effects on the rights of all patients…
Debate Rages On About Plastic Chemical Bisphenol A: Is It Toxic or Safe?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The bad news about the controversial plastic chemical bisphenol A just keeps coming. Results from the first-ever study of the chemical conducted exclusively on humans instead of lab rats found a link between the chemical and an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Critics of bisphenol A -also called BPA and commonly used to make baby bottle, refillable water bottles, and other hard plastics shatterproof -- claim the time has come for the government to ban BPA. For years, there has been talk of a link between BPA and reproductive problems in bottle-fed children. But the U.S. Food and…
