Health Headlines - May 20

Recession Affecting Access to Health Care: Survey

Many Americans are worried about their ability to pay for health care and are suffering health problems because they're doing without needed preventive care, according to a survey that looks at the impact the recession is having on access to health care.

The American Academy of Family Physicians' poll of members found that almost 90 percent reported their "patients have expressed concerns recently over their ability to pay for their health care needs." The survey also found that 58 percent of respondents said they'd seen an increase in appointment cancellations, and 54 percent said they were seeing fewer total patients since January 2008.

Among the other findings:

• 60 percent of family doctors reported they'd "seen more health problems caused by their patients forgoing needed preventive care."
• 73 percent said they'd seen an increase in uninsured patients visiting their offices.
• 64 percent reported a decrease in the number of employer-sponsored/privately insured patients.
• 87 percent said they'd seen a significant increase in patients with major stress symptoms since the beginning of the recession.
• 66 percent said they were taking actions to help their patients manage health care needs during the recession, including discounting fees, increasing charity care, providing free screenings, and moving patients to generic prescriptions.

"The survey found that patients are cancelling or deferring important preventive screenings such as pap smears, mammograms and colonoscopies," Dr. Ted Epperly, AAFP president, said in a news release. "They also are failing to return for recommended follow-up visits or refill medications that are vital to managing their chronic conditions. Rather than forgoing needed medication altogether, some patients opt to cut their prescriptions, without their physician's knowledge, to make them last longer."

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Federal, State Governments Join Lawsuits Against Wyeth

The U.S. government and more than a dozen states are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from New Jersey-based drug maker Wyeth, which is accused of overcharging Medicaid programs for the stomach acid drug Protonix.

The Justice Department and the states have joined two whistleblower lawsuits filed in federal court in Massachusetts, the Associated Press reported. The lawsuits charge that between 2000 and 2006, Wyeth offered thousands of hospitals large discounts on two versions of Protonix, but did not offer the same deal to state Medicaid programs. Brand name drug makers are required to offer the same rebates to state Medicaid programs that they give to other customers.

"By offering massive discounts to hospitals, but then hiding that information from the Medicaid program, we believe Wyeth caused Medicaid programs throughout the country to pay much more for these drugs than they should have," Assistant Attorney General Tony West said in a news release.

The government wants the court to force Wyeth to pay penalties of up to three times the amount lost by Medicaid, the AP reported.

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Erectile Drugs Similarly Effective: Report

There isn't enough evidence to determine which erectile dysfunction drugs work best or cause the least harm, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Erectile dysfunction -- a sexual disorder that prevents men from getting or keeping an erection -- affects between 15 million and 30 million men in the United States.

Men who take oral PDE-5 inhibitors have improved erectile function compared to men who don't take the drugs. But head-to-head comparisons of the effectiveness of three drugs -- sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra), and tadalafil (Cialis) -- were inconclusive, the report said.

Headache, flushing, abdominal pain and runny nose were the most common short-term side effects reported by men taking the drugs. There were no significant differences in side effects associated with either Viagra, Levitra or Cialis.

Further studies are needed to clarify the best treatment management options for different groups of patients, the report authors said. They also called for more clinical trials to compare PDE-5 inhibitors to hormonal, injection, and creams or other topical treatments for erectile dysfunction.

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Little Progress Made in Preventing Medical Errors: Report

Over the last 10 years, little progress has been made in reducing medical errors in the United States, according to a report released Tuesday by Consumers Union.

In 1999, an Institute of Medicine report said as many as 98,000 Americans die every year from preventable medical errors. The report triggered congressional hearings and promises of reform, but little progress has been made in implementing key reforms recommend by the IOM, Consumers Union said.

The nonprofit group's report was released as Congress works on ways to tackle the rising cost of health care and to expand access to coverage. Reducing medical harm -- such as medication errors and hospital-acquired infections -- would improve patient care and reduce health costs, according to Consumers Union.

"There is little evidence to suggest that the number of people dying from medical harm has dropped since the IOM first warned about these deadly mistakes a decade ago," Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project, said in a news release. "That means a million lives and billions of dollars have been lost over the past 10 years because our health care system failed to adopt key reforms recommended by the IOM to protect patients. As the debate over health care heats up in Washington, Congress should make sure that improving patient safety is a central part of any reform legislation it adopts."

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California Counties Lose Medical Marijuana Fight

An attempt by two California counties to ban the use of medical marijuana has been rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear a case brought by San Diego and San Bernardo counties.

They argued that the federal law outlawing marijuana should take priority over a California law that allows the use, cultivation and possession of marijuana for medical purposes, Agence France Presse reported.

The California law was adopted by referendum in 1996. Twelve other states have similar laws.

San Diego and San Bernardo lost twice in lower courts and again on appeal. The California Supreme Court refused to take up an appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court's rejection means the case is now closed, AFP reported.