The MedSafe Compliance Corner

• Prescription Drugs Retain Potency Long After Expiration Date
• Patients Visiting Doctors Less Frequently
• Stroke Becoming a Disease of the Middle-Age Rather Than Elderly
• Dengue Epidemic Declared in Puerto Rico
• Medical Researchers Protest Restrictions to Death Records
• Physicians Healthier Than Others, Including Nurses

Prescription Drugs Retain Potency Long After Expiration Date

• Meningitis Outbreak Reported in Five States
• Abbott Laboratories Fined $500 Million for Illegal Marketing
• Alert Issued for New SARS-Like Virus
• Inner-City Children Get Different Types of Colds Than Suburban Children
• Teen Drinking and Driving on the Decrease

• NICU Nurses Exposed to High Rates of Radiation
• New Virus Identified in Missouri
• Ingestion of Button Batteries Serious Health Threat for Children
• Uncontrolled Blood Pressure Growing Problem in U.S.
• Organic Fruits and Vegetables Have No Additional Nutritional Value
• Drug Resistant TB Continues As a Growing Problem

NICU Nurses Exposed to High Rates of Radiation

• Final Rule for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use Published
• ICD-10 Deadline Pushed Back to 2014
• West Nile Virus Outbreak Continues to Rise
• MMR Vaccination Rates Below Target Goal
• One in Ten Patients Readmitted to Hospital Following Surgery
• Father’s Age Linked to Risk of Autism and Schizophrenia
• Chickenpox Down 80 Percent Since 2000
• New Website for Medicare.gov

Final Rule for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use Published

• Guidance Issued on Influenza Vaccinations for Children
• CDC Recommends HVC Testing for All Baby Boomers
• CDC Fears Outbreak of West Nile Virus in Dallas Will Spread to Other Areas
• National Institute on Aging Issues Report on Health Trends
• Pharmacy Retail Clinics Gain Popularity
• Outbreak of Salmonella From Cantaloupes Kills Two and Sickens 141

Guidance Issued on Influenza Vaccinations for Children

• HHS Issues New Rules for Electronic Health Care Payments
• CDC Issues Revised Guidelines for Treatment of Gonorrhea
• FDA Approves Lucentis for Treatment of Macular Edema
• CMS to Begin Issuing Penalties for Readmissions
• List of Hazardous Drugs Updated
• Hepatitis C Outbreak Result of Poor Security and Lack of Infection Control Practices
• Physical Inactivity Should be Treated a Medical Condition, Says Mayo Clinic

HHS Issues New Rules for Electronic Health Care Payments

• Prepayment Audits to Begin on August 27
• HHS Looking for Mobile App to Reduce Heart Risk
• CDC Reports Worst Season for West Nile Virus
• New Command Center for Fighting Fraud
• Free Preventative Services Now Available to 47 Million Women
• Swine Flu Reported in Humans Following Fair
• Ebola Virus Kills 14 in Uganda
• Pennsylvania Provides Incentives for Meaningful Use

Prepayment Audits to Begin on August 27

It’s virtually impossible to read a newspaper, magazine, or online news banner without seeing some article about obesity. The topic pervades the news, just as it pervades our culture. A new study reports that by 2030, 42 percent of American adults will be obese, and about one-quarter of that group (11 percent) will be severely obese. Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30, which is 186 pounds for someone five feet, six inches tall. Severe obesity is a BMI of 40 or more – 248 pounds for someone that height.

• CMS Issues Proposed Rule to Increase Primary Care Pay Raise
• Consumer Reports Expands Ratings to Hospitals and Physicians
• Half of Heart Patients Make Medication Errors Despite Counseling
• Methadone Risky for Treatment of Chronic Pain
• FDA Approves Home HIV Test
• MRSA Infections Decreasing

CMS Issues Proposed Rule to Increase Primary Care Pay Raise

• Supreme Court Upholds Healthcare Reform Act
• Alaska Medicaid Pays $1.7 Million for HIPAA Violations
• CDC Bringing HIV Testing to Pharmacies
• First Weight Loss Drug in More Than a Decade Approved by FDA
• Hospital Faces Lawsuits Over Hepatitis C Outbreak
• Healthcare Will Need 5.6 Million New Jobs by 2020 to Meet Demand
  

Supreme Court Upholds Healthcare Reform Act