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…
FDA Posts List of Potentially Dangerous Prescription Drugs
Monday, September 08, 2008
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has for the first time posted on its website a list of potentially unsafe prescription drugs – a move officials said is designed to help consumers and physicians better keep track of drugs currently being reviewed for complications. Each of the 20 drugs now on the list is being further evaluated by the FDA for a variety of potentially life-threatening safety problems, side effects, and complications. The list, released as part of the agency’s Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS), will be updated four times each year, officials said. The list of potentially dangerous prescription…
