Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Medical Journal Calls for a New Drug Watchdog
New York Times story - "The United States needs a better system to detect harmful effects of drugs already on the market, and it should be independent of the Food and Drug Administration and the drug industry, medical researchers and journal editors said yesterday. Arguing that it was unreasonable to expect the same agency that approves drugs to 'also be committed to actively seek evidence to prove itself wrong,' the editors of The Journal of the American Medical Association recommended that the nation consider establishing an "independent drug safety board" to track the safety of drugs and medical devices after they were approved and in widespread use..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

State Tactics Aim to Reduce Drug Spending
Feature story in the New York Times - "Alarmed at soaring pharmaceutical costs, states are trying a wide range of new tactics to curb spending on prescription drugs for Medicaid recipients, public employees, prisoners and other residents, bringing them into lobbying combat with the drug industry. A dozen states have joined purchasing pools in an attempt to use market power to reduce costs. Dozens more are requiring Medicaid recipients to use generic or lower-priced drugs from preferred lists..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

HHS Awards $12.5 Million to Support Statewide Family Network and Consumer Network Grants
PR Newswire press release at Yahoo - "Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the award of 19 grants totaling $3.9 million over three years for statewide consumer network grants that facilitate involvement by consumers of mental health services in the development of mental health programs, and 43 grants totaling $8.5 million over three years for statewide family network grants that involve families in mental health policies and programs affecting their children. Both the statewide consumer and statewide family network programs are designed to support state level organizations in the development of policies, programs and quality assurance activities involving mental health services."  
  

Panel hopes to push reform in Michigan mental health system
Detroit Free Press story - "A former state mental health director says he wouldn't want a member of his own family to enter a state institution if they needed help today. 'We used to be considered a leader," C. Patrick Babcock says of the state mental health system's national reputation. "Now we are considered to be the bottom of the barrel.' Babcock, who ran the state Department of Mental Health under Democratic Gov. James Blanchard in the 1980s, is among those trying to change that." See also, at the same source, Findings of the Michigan Mental Health Commission.