My mom would like his advice.
medicine
Older Drugs Can Be Just As Good And Cheaper
By 6.9.09
Newfangled doesn’t necessarily mean that much better, especially when it comes to taking medicine. Getting prescribed the latest and greatest pill could mean you’re paying more when there’s a perfectly good drug out there that can do the same job, minus the jacked-up new drug patent cost. Vanguard says:
Can't Sleep? Your Best Bet Is Probably Cognitive Behavorial Therapy
By 6.9.09
Chronic insomnia is one of those life-altering problems that seems minor at first, but builds up over time until it’s negatively affecting everything in your life. The New York Times has a new article up about cost effective ways to treat it, including generic Ambien (so you can have generic sleep-sex, we guess). The treatment that seems to show the most promise is cognitive behavioral therapy, or C.B.T. Sessions cost between $100-150 each, but if your insurance won’t help, there’s an online self-guided version of C.B.T. for $25.
"Why Is CVS Automatically Refilling My Prescriptions?"
By 6.1.09
It took three calls from CVS’ automated reminder service for me to realize what was going on: CVS Pharmacy was refilling our prescriptions without our asking for them to be refilled, and then their automated dialer was calling us to notify us that we had a prescription waiting. Nobody in my family requested to have a prescription refilled, yet three times CVS called us to tell us to come and pick up our prescription.
CVS Can't Get Its Billing Straight, Tells Patient He Has To Pay For His Own Kidney Transplant Meds
By 5.27.09
Chris has to take the immunosuppressant drug Prograf because of a kidney transplant, and it costs nearly $300 for a one month supply. Yesterday, he found out that someone at CVS corporate has instructed his local pharmacist to start billing him directly, apparently because his secondary insurer hasn’t been paying for nearly two years.
Will CVS Ever Pull Expired Medicine, Baby Formula From Their Shelves?
By 5.23.09
CVS stores across the nation regularly stock expired medicine, milk, and baby formula, according to a damning union report. This isn’t the first time CVS has been caught stocking dangerous goods. Last year, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo threatened a suit after his office caught the pharmacy selling goods over a year past their expiration dates. CVS claims that, despite investing over $160 million in a “perpetual inventory management” system, it’s nearly impossible to keep expired items off the shelf because they simply have too much stuff.
Treat Back Pain By Poking Patients With Toothpicks
By 5.14.09
The Consumer Reports Health blog brought this to our attention. A study in the latest Archives of Internal Medicine looked at the effectiveness of acupuncture for lower back pain patients.
8 Million Patient Records Stolen From Virginia State Database, Held For Ransom
By 5.5.09
The Washington Post says that a hacker encrypted 8 million patient prescription records from a Virginia state website last week, deleted the backups, and replaced the home page with a ransom note. If the state doesn’t pay $10 million within 7 days, the hacker has threatened to sell the data to the highest bidder.
Costco Fixes Customer's Botched Electronic Prescription
By 5.1.09
If you get your prescriptions filled electronically, always double-check the dosage. Kimberly’s prescription was recently screwed up somewhere between the physician filling out the order online and Costco’s pharmacist receiving it. Luckily for her, the Costco pharmacist was incredibly helpful and fixed the problem for her, so Kimberly didn’t have to waste her copay or deal with the issue on her own. He also explained, however, that the current state of electronic prescriptions is a big mess.
Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Don't Cut Risk Of Dementia After All
By 4.23.09
The latest study of people who take large amounts of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) indicates that, contrary to what earlier studies suggested, they don’t seem to cut the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. In fact, it’s just the opposite: “During the study, 476 people developed dementia, and heavy NSAID users had a 66% higher risk of developing the condition than those with low or no use.”
AIG Keeps Fighting Man Over Wheelchair, Glasses, And False Leg
By 4.18.09
AIG needs its money for its own problems, people, and doesn’t want to have to share with insurance claimants! That’s why they’ve fought every request from John Woodson, a man who lost a leg, an eye, and 70% of the vision in the remaining eye while working as a contractor in Iraq. He told ABC News, “You constantly are worried about who is going to pay these bills, who is going to take care of me? Because you can’t rely on AIG to come through for you. I don’t understand how a company of their size and their magnitude, with government bailouts and money and support, I don’t understand their not taking care of the individuals that were injured.”
Sex Spray To Stave Off Orgasm Might Not Be So Revolutionary After All
By 4.17.09
That topical spray we mentioned last week—the one designed to help premature ejaculators—turns out to just be a mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine. Lidocaine is commonly used by dentists to numb the mouth, and prilocaine is used to numb skin before inserting a needle. But beyond that, Consumer Reports points out that side effects reported by the men and their partners in the study included a “rash on their penis” or “a burning sensation in their vagina.”
New York Times Calls Botox "The Duct Tape Of Medicine"
By 4.13.09
Who knew botulism could be so awesome? Botox is Allergan’s cash cow, earning the pharmaceutical company $1.3 billion last year alone. The funny thing about the toxin—originally developed as a biological weapon—is it works for a lot of “off-label” uses as well (like treating anal fissures and preventing hair loss), and Allergan says that non-cosmetic applications could be an even bigger market because health insurers will help pay for the treatments. Likely upcoming FDA-approved treatments: stroke-induced muscle spasms, chronic migraines, and enlarged prostates.
By 4.8.09
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Do you suffer from premature ejaculations? Waitdon’tanswertha—oh too late. Just know that help may be on the way, with the first topical spray proven in medical studies to delay the magic moment six times longer than without. It’s been approved for use in Great Britain but doesn’t have FDA approval in the US yet—although NBC News says we’ll likely see it here in the next couple of years. Update: Consumer Reports says the spray isn’t really all that after all. [MSNBC] (Photo: wili_hybrid)
Walgreen Health Clinics Now Free For Unemployed
By 4.1.09
Walgreen has announced that if you’re willing to provide proof of unemployment and sign a form that says you lost your health benefits along with your job, you and your uninsured family members can receive free treatment at any of their 300+ in-store health clinics. What’s covered: “respiratory problems, allergies, infections and skin conditions, among other ailments.” What’s not: checkups, vaccinations or other injections, and prescriptions.
Consumer Reports Health Blog Debunks 6 Medical Myths
By 4.1.09
Today’s “April False” post on the Consumer Reports Health Blog looks at six commonly held medical and health misconceptions. The only one I must take issue with is the one about baldness, because I am balding and I am not only a better lover, but probably the best lover. Otherwise, take a look and learn something new.
Some People Think Generics Are Somehow Inferior
By 3.30.09
There are people out there who really think the name-brand slapped on conveys some kind of magical properties to medicine not covered in the active ingredient list, as Janet’s sad story of how she got humiliated by her boss shows:
