Pharma will have to name names and specify dollar amounts, too. The law also
would ban nearly all gifts–including meals–for docs, nurses, pharmacists,
health plans and hospitals/clinics. …
Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) has previously criticized the NIH’s
enforcement of financial conflicts of interest. A 2008 report by the HHS Office
of the Inspector General stated that the NIH lacked oversight of conflict of
interests at grant-receiving institutions. …
“It is outrageous that doctors who are testing and, in many cases, recommending
the use of certain high-risk medical devices are being compensated with stock in
the very companies that make the devices. …
And if we fail tomorrow, let us all witness — and never forget — the
incredible brutality being forced on Ray, over his wishes and the
wishes
of his family, even though he has been living peacefully out in
the
community in his own home.
…
When rumors recently began circulating that a union drive might be brewing in
San Francisco, the response from the company was immediate–including mandatory
“Morale Meetings” to dissuade employees. But company leaders failed to address
workers’ complaints that they have gone without any pay raises, sometimes for
more than two years, because Team Leaders have neglected to hold “Job Dialogue”
meetings (known as “annual performance reviews” in traditional
corporate-speak).
…
A serious financial crisis is inevitable when you live too far above your means
for too long. This applies whether you’re talking about a single-family
household or an entire country. As this article points out, countries in crisis
need to learn to live within their means – just like you and I. This may mean
increasing exports and cutting imports. …
Hamburg, not-so-coincidentally, is an expert on pandemics as well as
bioterrorism, the Wall Street Journal
reports. A spokeswoman for Sen. Ted Kennedy, who chairs the committee,
told the paper that it’s a “high priority” to get Dr. Hamburg confirmed,
stat–at least in part because her expertise “will be an invaluable resource” in
handling the H1N1 outbreak. …
The international drama playing out right now before our eyes is an example of
how citizens around the world can be easily manipulated by doctors and
politicians engaging in fear mongering in the name of disease control to forward
agendas that have more to do with ideology, power and corporate profits than
health. …
Taking effect July 1, the policy prohibits any pharma-funded gifts and
entertainment, no matter how small their value. Drug reps will be
restricted to no-patients-allowed parts of the teaching hospital and its
clinics–and will be allowed even in those areas only by invitation. And
beginning in 2010, the school will also bar free drug samples. …
face=Arial>class=156302500-07042009>3 minute video.class=671574323-07042009> class=156302500-07042009>Florida
TV Stations spread the good news!class=671574323-07042009> …