Medicine and Marketing

Stories

12 Stories

August 2008
- The Win-Win Economics of Medical Tourism
  
  Economist | Aug 15, 08 2:28 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The spread of “medical tourism”—uninsured and underinsured patients seeking cheap health care in Southeast Asia or Latin America—has fueled fears that developing nations will divert resources from state health systems caring for their own citizens. But, the Economist argues, “if governments make the best of the boom, then medical tourism should improve the health of rich and poor alike.” More »
- New Databases Share Test Results, Prescriptions
  
  Washington Post | Aug 4, 08 1:57 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The prescriptions and medical test results of more than 200 million Americans are being assembled into commercial databases, the Washington Post reports, which then sell health "credit reports" to insurance companies trying to evaluate whether to accept an individual for coverage. The companies not only disclose drug and test information, they provide a "pharmacy risk score," based on people in a particular age group who have taken the same prescriptions. More »
July 2008
- For Skin Doctors, Cosmetics Trumps Medicine
  
  New York Times | Jul 28, 08 9:13 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - These days, dermatologists offer luxurious treatment rooms and personalized services for high-paying cosmetic clients seeking a Botox injection. But for those suffering medical conditions, the experience can be far less personal—increasingly, skin doctors are hiring assistants and nurse practitioners to handle everything from psoriasis to skin cancer. The New York Times looks at how vanity procedures are transforming dermatology and pushing serious skin care aside. More »
- More Kids Take Grown-up Drugs in Obesity Fight
  
  New York Times | Jul 26, 08 12:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Doctors are prescribing drugs to more and more children to treat conditions related to obesity, the New York Times reports. Data released by pharmacy plans show that medication for Type 2 diabetes has seen the biggest increase—151% from 2001 to last year. And this month, a pediatricians group recommended cholesterol-lowering drugs for kids as young as 8. More »
- Parkinson's Drugs Trigger Compulsive Behavior
  
  Chicago Tribune | Jul 14, 08 1:14 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Drugs for Parkinson's disease can be enormously beneficial, relieving patients' tremors and rigid muscles. But some patients are now complaining of an unusual side effect—extreme compulsive behavior. One woman began taking Mirapex to combat symptoms and suddenly found herself with a $200-a-day scratch-off lottery ticket habit, reports the Chicago Tribune . More »
- America: Land of Doggy Doping
  
  New York Times | Jul 10, 08 7:07 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Americans spent $49 billion on their pets last year, with an ever-growing percentage paying for treatment of behavioral issues with tailor-made psychotropics, reports James Vlahos in the New York Times Magazine . Frustrated owners are feeding dogs drugs like Reconcile—beef-flavored Prozac—-for "mental illnesses that eerily resemble human ones," from separation anxiety to compusive disorder. There are even doggy diet pills. More »
June 2008
- Lake Fights Back on Home Childbirth
  
  Associated Press | Jun 18, 08 11:50 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Ricki Lake is firing back at a recent American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists statement that reprimanded her for promoting at-home childbirth, saying that a hospital was the "safest setting" for having a baby. In The Business of Being Born , the former talk-show host documents the delivery of her second son in the bathtub of her Manhattan apartment. More »
May 2008
- Study: Drug Ads Misleading. No, Really.
  
  Time | May 18, 08 12:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Drug ads are multiplying on TV, and manufacturers are starting to advertise medical equipment used in invasive procedures, so now might be a good time to wonder what the spots are telling us. Not as much as they should, Time reports. An independent researcher has found drug companies are using distractions, fast-talking, and tricks gleaned from neuroscience to downplay negative side-effects. More »
May 2007
- OxyContin Maker Pleads Guilty
  
  Associated Press | May 10, 07 12:01 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The company that makes OxyContin pleaded guilty today to misleading the public about the effects of the potent painkiller. Purdue Pharma and three executives will pay $634.5 million in civil and criminal fines. Federal prosecutors accused the firm of "misbranding" the drug, marketing it as a less addictive alternative to traditional pain meds although no evidence supported the claim. More »
- Use of Antipsychotics For Kids Soars
  
  New York Times | May 10, 07 10:23 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Times tackles the growing use of antipsychotic drugs in children, contentious because the drugs are risky and have no approved use for minors. But the trend is also questionable because it coincides with increasing payments to psychiatrists by the companies that market the drugs. In Minnesota, these payments rose sixfold from 2000 to 2005. More »
- Doctors Paid Millions To Use Anemia Drugs
  
  New York Times | May 9, 07 8:34 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Doctors are paid millions of dollars by drug companies to give their patients anemia medicine which regulators now say may be dangerous. Spurred by competiton between several similar drugs, companies reward doctors with rebates, which allow them to make a significant profit, the New York Times reports. More »
April 2007
- Vaccine May Not Prevent Cervical Cancer
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 16, 07 8:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Pharma behemoth Merck is defending what it touted as a miracle cervical-cancer vaccine against charges of ineffectiveness. Merck lobbied states to mandate Gardasil for young girls—Texas and Virginia did—and got a glowing endorsement from the CDC. But new studies show that it works only to prevent sexually-transmitted HPV, a cause of cancerous cervical growths, not the cancer itself. More »