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Doctors First, Google Second as Source of Health Information
According to a national survey, Americans rely heavily on Google searches as a source of healthcare information. The survey, conducted in April 2010, found 22 percent of respondents consider Google searches "influential" in seeking health information. First in the ranking was doctors at 44 percent in reported influence and was named more than twice as often as nurses, pharmacists, advocacy groups, and friends or family members.
The poll also asked which sources they trust; health advocacy groups emerged as a particularly trusted source of online health information. Of this, 71 percent judged Web content of such groups "somewhat reliable" or "extremely reliable."
Younger respondents were much less likely to see pharmacists as reliable sources of information, perhaps reflecting the more impersonal relationship they have with chain pharmacists compared to their parent's long-standing reliance on independent pharmacies over the years.
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=704905&categoryid=43
Kids' Use of Chronic Prescription Medications Rises 5%
More than one-in-four children take medications to treat ongoing health conditions. In growing numbers in America, children are adding a dose of medicine to their daily routine. In 2009, prescription spending growth increased 10.8 percent, driven by a 5 percent increase in drug utilization and higher medication costs, according to the Medco 2010 Drug Trend Report. The growth in prescription drug use among children was nearly four times higher than the rise seen in the overall population.
A corresponding analysis of pediatric medication use found that in 2009, more than one in four insured children in the U.S. and nearly 30 percent of adolescents (10- to 19-year olds) took at least one prescription medication to treat a chronic condition; the most substantial increases were seen in the use of antipsychotic, diabetes, and asthma drugs over the past nine years.
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=705668&categoryid=43
FDA Warned Dozens of Drug Factories Since 2009
About 43 drug companies have received government warnings in recent months for failing to correct improper manufacturing practices that may have exposed patients to health risks. The warning letters, issued since January 2009, reflect only some of the most serious manufacturing violations the FDA found during facility inspections. During 2002 to 2006, for example, more than half of inspections at domestic drug plants and 62 percent at foreign plants supplying the U.S. had violations that didn't prompt warning letters but were classified as requiring correction.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-05-26-drug-factories-warned_N.htm
Perrigo Plant Released Drugs Contaminated With Metal
U.S. regulators said Perrigo failed to protect consumers from ibuprofen tablets contaminated with metal shavings four years after the company recalled similarly tainted acetaminophen products.
The world's largest maker of nonprescription, store-branded drugs, was forced to pull the ibuprofen from the market after the tablets were released by its Allegan, Michigan, plant. The company failed to thoroughly investigate why some tablets were the wrong size and didn't inspect packaging equipment between batches, the FDA said.
The warning follows Perrigo's 2006 recall of 11 million bottles of acetaminophen products containing pieces of wire as long as 8 millimeters (0.32 inches). The FDA ordered the company to fix its quality-control issues or face product seizure, injunction, or a ban on exports or new product approvals.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-25/perrigo-plant-released-drugs-contaminated-with-metal-update2-.html
Johnson & Johnson May Face Criminal Charges for Pattern of Violations
Government officials have said they are considering criminal charges against Johnson & Johnson, resulting from last month's recall of Tylenol and other popular OTC children's medicines. Johnson & Johnson insists it has taken dramatic steps to clean up the plants where the recalled products are made. Meanwhile, the FDA says it has referred the matter to its criminal division for consideration.
Last year, when the situation with Motrin IB caplets that were not dissolving properly came up, McNeil Consumer Healthcare (a division of J&J), hired contractors to buy the products under orders not to mention the term "recall." When the FDA discovered what was going on (as one of the contractors accidentally dropped an instruction sheet on the floor of a store), McNeil announced a recall of roughly 88,000 packages of the product. Since last year, there have been four recalls of McNeil products; this includes an April 30 recall of 136 million bottles of infant and children's Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, and Zyrtec.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/business/28drug.html?src=busln
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