Sunday, June 30, 2002

GPOs, GAO and NYT The General Accounting Office (GAO) did a pilot study of Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO's) to see if consumers benefitted--sometimes they did not. Group purchasing among hospitals can lead to efficiences that benefit the consumer. But without regulation and oversight, the consumer can be harmed by market domination and restraint of competition. Here is the GAO report, an abstract of the New York Times coverage, and Premier's response (Premier is a GPO). The GAO report is worth reading. It reviews the history of GPOs and their special exemptions in a regulated market. The NYT has gone on to raise questions about Premier's excess spending and potential conflicts of interest. 3:48:43 PM

Activated Protein C (drotrecogin) Also await mortality data from use of activated protein C (drotrecogin) in sepsis. Will broader use loosen criteria of sepsis diagnosis? Could alter the balance of risk/benefit. 3:45:29 PM

Nesiritide Do patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) live longer after nesiritide? Waiting for data. JAMA article showed some physiologic parameters improved compared to nitroglycerin. Dr. Mickelson has found an article claiming reduced mortality in nesiritide versus dobutamine, after six months. More to come on this. 3:40:40 PM

© Copyright 2002 Carl Gandola.