Discover the Science of Health
Fueled by new cancer therapeutics, last year the annual new molecular and biological entity approval count from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) saw its highest year since 1997. One-third of the novel products approved by the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) are used to treat cancers of the blood, breast, colon, prostate, skin and thyroid.
President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in to law in March 2010 after a year of intense national debate. On Thursday last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld law, ruling that the individual mandate, which requires U.S. citizens and legal residents to have qualifying health coverage or pay a penalty, is constitutional as a tax. The ruling will have a far-reaching impact on healthcare providers, especially for those who work with underserved populations.
Almost half of all Americans take at least one prescription drug [1]. Over 20% of the population takes three or more prescription drugs a month [1]. Not taking a medication — or taking too much or too little — can actually make many conditions worse. Drug interactions can also make a drug ineffective or cause serious adverse reactions.
How much do you know about the medicines you’re taking?
What is your prescription drug IQ?
Health Highlights is an occasionally recurring series focused on particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.
Shrink Rap – a blog by psychiatrists for psychiatrists – hosts a hot Summer Solstice edition of Grand Rounds.
Dr. Shock briefly reviews the problem with generic drugs looking different from brand-name medications.
Social media is making its way into clinical trials. Sally Church shares an MD Anderson Cancer Center video that describes the new trials they have open for a rare form of lymphoma, Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma (PTCL).
Mayo Clinic has been at the forefront of healthcare providers using social media. Now the organization has created an online site to connect the global Mayo Clinic community.
Genetics counselor Allie Janson Hazell provides a timeline on the social aspects of genomics that illustrates the relationship between genomics and social media.
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