Study: Patients Cared For by Female Doctors Fare Better Than Those Treated by Men

A new study, published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) International, reports that Medicare patients over the age of 80 were less likely to die or be readmitted within 30 days if they were treated by a female doctor; estimates based on the findings indicate that as many as 32,000 annual deaths may have been avoided if the provider had been female. While the study does not draw conclusions regarding why this is the case, anecdotally, experts hypothesize that females are generally better communicators and have higher levels of emotional intelligence. These skills play an important role in not only working with patients, but also when working with the nurses who arrange discharge, social work, home care, etc, and the family members who will play a large role in treatment after discharge.

Listen to the NPR podcast on it here.

Chicago Will License Pharma Sales Reps to Fight Opioid Overprescribing

Chicago will enact a new requirement that all pharmaceutical sales reps maintain a license based on their training for ethics, marketing regulations and industry laws; at a cost of $750, the reps will be responsible for applicable fees and annual renewals. The new ordinance also requires paperwork to be filed with the city regarding the reps’ activities and physician contact. The new regulations come after Chicago filed lawsuits against multiple drug manufacturers and their role in the current opioid epidemic. The fees are expected to exceed $1 million for the city, which will then be used to support ongoing education efforts, regulatory costs and expanding treatment availability for addicts. The pharmaceutical industry argues that the new requirements do nothing to curb opioid abuse.

Read a Stat News article on it here.

Should We Use Canada and The WHO's 'Essential Medicines' as Guides for US Drug Pricing?

Revamping our Nation’s approach to drug pricing will be a daunting task and is one that the public is expecting from our next president. Experts suggest a foundation be built from two main sources:

1. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Essential Medicines list: Containing over 445 medicines deemed as essential in satisfying the priority health care needs of a population, the Essential Medicines list could serve as a model for the U.S. in identifying important drugs that should be protected from price surges and available to the entire population.

1. The Canadian approach to drug pricing includes a review of efficacy, quality and safety; the proposed price by the manufacturer; prices of competing medications; and prices set in other countries. Negotiations for drug prices include the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance and a price is determined for all provinces of the country.

Read Stat News' article on it here.

[Podcast] A Powerful Duo Against HIV

Summary: Current treatment for HIV is a lifelong regimen of antiretroviral drugs that place significant economic and clinical stress on the patients being treated. Additionally, if individuals stop taking these drugs, the virus quickly multiplies and rebounds to its original levels. A major component in the weakening of the immune system by the virus occurs through the destruction of immune cells in the gut. The virus targets these cells, forcing the body to work continuously to repair the damage and, subsequently, pulling needed resources from the rest of the immune system. Researchers have developed a therapy to destroy the protein attached to the cells that directs them to the gut and allows the body to mount a system-wide immune response during infection. When used after a course of antiretrovirals, monkeys receiving the new therapy have been able to control the infection without additional treatments for two years. A safety study for use in humans is currently underway.

You can hear the podcast here.

A Cure for a Childhood Cancer - but Will It Last?

Article Summary: CAR-T, an experimental treatment for cancer that supercharges the patient’s immune system by genetically modifying immune cells, has had incredible results at high risks. However, the risks of the treatment include death, though many of them are seen as terminal without the treatment, and a new concern is that the cancer will return. It is unknown if the results of the treatment are permanent or if the cancer will return and, if it does, how quickly this will occur.

You can read MIT Technology Review's article on it here.

Podcast: The Flu, the Shot, the Future

Podcast Summary: The CDC recommends that almost everyone get the flu vaccine. While the inhaled version is currently not recommended, due to ineffectiveness in the past three seasons, the injection method is still only about 63% effective. The probability of contracting the illness might seem high; however, the CDC estimates that the vaccine prevented over seven million flu cases during the 2013/2014 season. For those who contract the illness, questions have arisen regarding the use of Tylenol to reduce fever and how it may impede on the body’s own immune response. While a study in New Zealand indicates that there is no difference in flu duration, concerns regarding the study’s size and compounding factors (including the use of Tamiflu) make the results inconclusive. Further, the effectiveness of Tamiflu is also under fire; an examination of published studies indicating duration and severity reduction revealed improper methodology and consistent bias. Actual review of the data presented to the FDA shows a much lower level of effectiveness than previously thought. As some work to develop effective treatment options, other researchers have identified portions of every flu virus, regardless of seasonal evolution, that remain unchanged. There is hope that if they can develop a vaccine to target these parts of the virus, annual administration with limited effectiveness will no longer be necessary; lifetime immunity similar to that for measles and mumps could be achieved with a single injection.

You can hear the podcast from 2 Docs Talk here.

The Pluses, Minuses of Drugmakers' Discount Cards

While discount cards can assist patients in covering out-of-pocket expenses, their use by drug manufacturers to steer users to more expensive drugs ultimately drives up costs in the healthcare system. Many coupons and discount cards are targeted at expensive brand name medications; while they allow the patient to afford their established copay, the insurer is paying the balances of a significantly more expensive drug than the generic or preferred brand – oftentimes, leading to higher premiums the following years. Further, these discounts are usually limited to a certain number of fills or restricted timeline and cannot be used by patients in federal health plans.

Read Drug Discovery & Development's article on it here.