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 Snohomish County Medical Society Update: April 2008 Rx Data Mining Bill Dies; Your Ability to Opt Out of AMA's Data Release
Program Lives
While the bill to ban pharmaceutical manufacturers from using physician-prescribing patterns as part of their marketing efforts expired in the waning hours of the legislative session, there remains your ability to opt out of the AMA's Data Release Program, data from which are used in establishing prescribing patterns. As we've pointed out before, pharmaceutical manufacturers mine a number of data sources (and cross reference them) to determine physician-prescribing patterns. One such source has been the AMA physician database (Note: the AMA does not collect or distribute individual physician prescribing data of any kind). However, due to growing concern - and action in a number of state legislatures - over inappropriate use of prescribing data, the AMA now has a web-based Prescribing Data Restriction Program (PDRP), which lets you restrict all pharmaceutical sales representatives from having access to your individual data (while ensuring these data continue to be available for evidence-based medicine and research). If you want to prohibit use of your data, go to www.ama-assn.org/go/prescribingdata. You don't have to be an AMA member and there are instructions on how proceed. Please consider these timely and useful recommendations from the Snohomish County Health District. CDC has issued the following guidance about antiviral use to treat or
prophylax for influenza:
Given the low level of overall resistance to oseltamivir among circulating
influenza viruses, the finding of resistance only in influenza A (H1N1) viruses,
and no resistance to zanamivir, neuraminidase inhibitor medications continue to
be recommended for the treatment and chemoprophylaxis of influenza. Antiviral
treatment should begin within 48 hours of symptom onset if possible, but
treatment should still be considered for persons who present more than 48
hours after illness onset if they have severe influenza illness or are at higher
risk for severe complications from influenza. Oseltamivir is approved for
treatment and prevention of influenza for persons aged ≥1 year, while
zanamivir is approved for treatment of persons aged ≥7 years and prevention of
influenza in persons aged ≥5 years. Enhanced surveillance for detection of
oseltamivir-resistant influenza viruses is ongoing, and antiviral usage
recommendations will be revised to account for changes in antiviral resistance
trends as needed.
http://ui.constantcontact.com/visualeditor/visual_editor_preview.jsp?agent.uid=1102042871. 3/6/2009 Revised recommendations for MMRV vaccination
On February 27, 2008, new information was presented to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) suggesting an increased risk for febrile seizures among children aged 12--23 months after administration of the combination measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine. This report summarizes current knowledge regarding the risk for febrile seizures after MMRV vaccination and presents updated ACIP recommendations that were issued after presentation of the new information. Although the combined MMRV remains an acceptable vaccine, these updated recommendations remove ACIP's previous preference for administering combination MMRV vaccine over separate injections of equivalent component vaccines (i.e., measles, mumps, and rubella [MMR] vaccine and varicella vaccine). Please follow this link for more information: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5710a3.htm Forward email
This email was sent to bjw@wsma.org by bjw@wsma.org. Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Snohomish County Medical Society | 2033 6th Ave Ste 1100 | Seattle | WA | 98121 http://ui.constantcontact.com/visualeditor/visual_editor_preview.jsp?agent.uid=1102042871. 3/6/2009

Source: http://www.snohomishmedical.org/newsletter/08newsletter/april2008.pdf