Daily Dose for Reform
Get the inside scoop on prescription drugs, your safety and big pharmaceutical companies.

You Score Higher Marks than Doctors Posted by Daniela at 06/17/08 04:10 PM

According to new FDA data, consumers like you make up the majority of drug adverse event reports submitted, replacing physicians.

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What you should ask your doctor Posted by mitcka at 06/16/08 02:44 PM

Consumer Reports Health continues its AdWatch series, with this analysis of those ubiquitous Cialis ads.

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Common sense shouldn’t take two years – unless it’s the FDA Posted by Liz at 05/21/08 11:31 AM

Should it really take two years to study a common-sense proposal to make drug ads better for consumers? Not unless it’s the Food and Drug Administration, which has taken foot-dragging to new heights

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What Vytorin/Zetia Ads Don't Tell You Posted by Daniela at 04/08/08 02:57 PM

Last Sunday a panel of cardiologists told more than 5,000 people that high cholesterol patients shouldn’t take Vytorin and Zetia except as a last resort. Made by Merck and Schering-Plough, these widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs are taken by about four million Americans.

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FDA Gets Moving on TV Drug Ad Study - Thanks to You Posted by herosu at 04/07/08 02:22 PM

Can one person take on the monolithic FDA and get it to actually do something about drug safety? You bet – especially when that person is backed by 56,000 voices.

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Welcome to Pharmageddon, Where Pills Make Us Sicker Posted by Daniela at 04/02/08 06:24 PM

Across the Atlantic, the folks over at Social Audit cooked up a neat idea: they invited people to submit a 350-word argument on “Pharmageddon” and heard from both patients and professionals.

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Some Hospitals Provide Rxs for Error, Dissatisfaction Posted by Daniela at 03/31/08 03:48 PM

You may remember Dennis Quaid from The Parent Trap but nowadays he’s speaking out against medical errors...

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Antidepressant meta-study sheds light, or dark, depending Posted by Daniela at 03/24/08 05:06 PM

A really long time ago, Aristotle said, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

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Contaminants in pig intestines? Who knew! Posted by Daniela at 03/20/08 09:32 AM

Update on the heparin recall. Heparin is a blood thinner derived from pig intestines.

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Have an opinion on off-label drug use information? Take this survey! Posted by Daniela at 03/06/08 05:03 PM

Survey about whether drug companies should hand out off-label drug studies to doctors.

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Heparin recall ordered Posted by Liz at 02/29/08 09:25 AM

Late yesterday, Baxter International ordered a full-scale recall on the blood thinner Heparin.

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100 vs 1 Posted by Liz at 02/19/08 09:26 AM

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the commercial where a beaver is talking to Abe Lincoln at a bus stop about some guy in a suit not being able to sleep. Or Dr. Jarvik (or his double?) rowing in a beautiful lake while telling us how Lipitor is the greatest thing since the last few blockbuster statins.

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3 minutes of your time could save your life Posted by Daniela at 02/08/08 05:16 PM

I needed an antidote. Too many drug ads—smiling people glowing with the pleasure of their successful medical treatments. But of course, they are actors.

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"The Medicated Child" sparks controversy Posted by Daniela at 01/28/08 04:39 PM

As a camp counselor for children with disabilities a couple years ago, I never stopped to consider that one of my bipolar campers may have been on eight different kinds of medication.

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Drugmakers in hot water with NY Attorney General Posted by Liz at 01/28/08 10:23 AM

A newly released study indicates that Vytorin, an expensive new cholesterol drug, is no more effective than an older drug Zocor. Although the drug makers got these results in April 2006, they failed to release them to doctors and the public--meanwhile earning $5 billion in revenue from sales of this drug last year. Sadly, we’re not shocked.

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Buried data on antidepressants Posted by Daniela at 01/22/08 04:42 PM

The New England Journal of Medicine issued a report that said a third of FDA-registered studies on popular antidepressants went unpublished.

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Drug company ads in your Inbox Posted by Daniela at 01/09/08 02:40 PM

If you ignore the plethora of drug ads on TV, you might want to check your email.

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Free drug samples hardly help the poor Posted by Daniela at 01/07/08 06:08 PM

If you are poor, uninsured, non-English speaking, or an ethnic or racial minority, you are less likely to receive free drug samples, according to a first of its kind study by Harvard researchers at the Cambridge Health Alliance.

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Recap of Medicare Part D in 2007 Posted by Daniela at 12/31/07 05:13 PM

Open enrollment for your prescription drug plan under Medicare Part D ends today. Over 1,800 private insurance plans to choose from, but they all cost too much, and the costs keep climbing.

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Discount drug cards underscore need for a national solution Posted by Daniela at 12/20/07 09:47 AM

Some cities and counties are trying to fight high prescription drug costs, but we really need Congress to act.

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Statin drug may be approved for over the counter Posted by Liz at 12/12/07 02:29 PM

Merck will be presenting to an FDA advisory committee tomorrow in an effort to get their Statin drug Mevacor approved for over-the-counter.

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Holy prescribing Posted by Meg at 10/30/07 05:42 PM

the Pope weighs in on pharmacists’ ethical duties

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Sidestepping Your Doc Posted by Meg at 10/10/07 04:46 PM

Should consumers have access to certain medications at the pharmacy without a prescription?

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A huge victory -- and a huge thanks Posted by Meg at 10/02/07 05:40 PM

Your emails, phone calls and visits to legislators helped win new drug safety protections for all Americans

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Victory! Congress passes FDA reform! Posted by Liz at 09/21/07 09:56 AM

Both Houses of Congress have now passed legislation that would require the public disclosure of the results of drug studies and would give the FDA more authority to ensure the safety of prescription drugs. Next step is for Bush to sign this bill.

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