Current medical news and unique business news for anyone who cares about the healthcare industry.
FDA looks into hip replacements: More than 20 medical device makers — including Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Stryker (SYK) and Zimmer (ZMH) — are targets of an FDA probe that’s examining whether hip replacements lead to excessive amounts of metal in patients’ blood. The FDA instructed producers of “metal-on-metal” hip implants to conduct studies of patients who received the devices to determine whether the implants are shedding high levels of metallic debris.
iPhone diagnosis: Researchers from the University of Calgary have shown that doctors can make a stroke diagnosis using an iPhone application just as accurately (and faster) than they can on a traditional computer.
Vermont docs hate single-payer? Faced the possibility of single-payer healthcare in the state, 28 percent of doctors in Vermont say they’ll quit practicing, according to a dubious poll. Call their bluff and see how many actually follow through once they realize it won’t be so easy to find another job that pays them well over six figures.
Phase 2 challenges: The Centre for Medicines Research analyzed the results of 16 companies which collectively controlled 60 percent of the global drug R&D budget and found that the 28 percent success rate they enjoyed in Phase 2 clinical trials from 2006 to 2007 dropped to an alarming 18 percent in 2008 and 2009.
Too much PCI: An invasive heart procedure called percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI, offers few proven benefits over drug therapy and puts patients at risk of side effects, yet patients are often rushed into the procedure before receiving the drugs, new research shows.
Photo from flickr user chrstphre
