Current medical news and unique business news for anyone who cares about the healthcare industry.
More kids on the autism spectrum? One in every 36 children has an autism spectrum disorder, according to a new study in South Korea. That figure had been around 1 in 110 children. The reason for the jump: many of the children reviewed in the study were “mainstream” children who hadn’t acted out or were otherwise outside special education classes where autism researchers had focused their work.
Many of these un-diagnosed children on the autism spectrum could be higher functioning but simply display poor social skills.
What will be interesting to see play out is how this study – and the necessary follow up reports – will change the demands on schools, which often don’t have the funding for autism treatment. Many of the innovations around autism have focused on streamlining autism education. Will there soon be a demand for better autism detection systems?
Nominate the dumbest drug name. Why take a poll on which drug name is the worst (and best)?
A good drug name is supposed to check lots of boxes. It should be easy for doctors to spell accurately when they scribble it down on a prescription pad. It should be memorable. It should be used in every country around the world without triggering some cultural confusion or sensitivity. It ought to be consistent with the science or clinical application that distinguished the product through years of development, yet the brand name shouldn’t be so geeky that it’s obtuse for patients. Ideally, you’d want it to trigger some relevant connection to your product.
Tufts nurses: The bottom line. There won’t be a nursing strike at Tufts Medical Center. Here’s how the two sides addressed patient ratios: a single nurse will have no more than five patient assignments on the day and evening shifts, no more than six on the night shift, and two in intensive care units except under unusual circumstances.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Pfizer layoffs in Ireland. Pfizer had said it would layoff 275 at its plant in Ireland. But that number looks to be closer to 400. (hat tip Pharmagossip)
Healthcare reform: Shifting but not solving. The central problem with US healthcare reform legislation alternatives: “Simply, Ryan just shifts the future burden of uncontrolled Medicare health care costs from the federal government to the senior. That will solve a big part of our federal deficit problem but hardly help people.” Shift-and-not-solve could apply to most healthcare reform approaches.
No HIPAA for doctors. More state associations and legislatures are providing patients broader access to physician disciplinary records. “You worry about putting them in statute – that they won’t provide greater transparency necessarily but will drive up the cost of these proceedings, which we think could be potentially problematic,” Tim Layton, director of legal affairs for the Washington State Medical Association, tells American Medical News.
