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The pharmaceutical industry is fighting back against a Maine law that would require the industry to bargain with the state over pricing. The Washington-based Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has filed a challenge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, claiming Maine's "Act to Establish Fairer Pricing for Prescription Drugs" is unconstitutional. The law, which was signed by Governor Angus King in May of 2000 and took effect the following August, allows the state to collectively negotiate rebates on drugs from pharmaceutical companies, which would then be sold at lower costs through participating pharmacies. The law also authorizes government price controls if state officials are not satisfied with the price decreases by July 2003.

According to a new report on children's health insurance released by the Washington-based Children's Defense Fund, 12 million children are still uninsured three years after Congress passed the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which provided $48 billion for the states to provide health insurance to children. CDF estimates that nearly 12 million children are uninsured, but seven million of those uninsured are eligible for CHIP and Medicaid and not enrolled.

Pre-call planning is a necessity if you're going to move your physicians and your productivity to another level.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, reported that they have identified a single gene that lends some cancer cells the ability to metastasize.

New guidelines designed to address the alarming rise in bacterial resistance to antibiotics have been issued by The Sinus and Allergy Health Partnership, with representation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. The guidelines were developed to stem antibiotic resistance by helping health professionals to more accurately diagnose acute bacterial rhinosinusitis, reduce the use of antibiotics for non-bacterial infections and recommend the use of the most effective antibiotics when rhinosinusitis is likely.

According to a new study, published by Waltham, MA-based research and consulting company Decision Resources Inc., on the market for drugs targeting depression, the estimated sales of antidepressant drugs - in the treatment of depression only - exceeded $6.4 billion in 1999 in the seven major pharmaceutical markets.

At the May 7-10 Annual Conference of the National Society of Pharmaceutical Sales Trainers, the membership voted to change its name to the Society of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Trainers.

Results from the first study within the healthcare industry documenting how implementation of a three-tier prescription co-pay plan affects pharmaceutical and medical utilization and expenditures, continuation with chronic medications and plan enrollees were presented at the fourth annual Express Scripts Outcomes Conference, held in St. Louis.

Despite a booming national economy, private and public health insurance coverage continues to decline for Americans at all income levels, while American voters, who continue to view healthcare as an important topic, seem unmoved on the issue, according to two studies published in Health Affairs (vol. 19, no. 4).

A bill that would allow doctors to collectively bargain with health plans over the terms of their contracts with them passed the House of Representatives by a 276-136 margin.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would provide prescription drug coverage under Medicare to seniors and the disabled. The bipartisan proposal calls for a public-private partnership to let senior citizens choose between competing plans for coverage that they feel best meets their needs.

There's no better way to attract a doctor's attention than to mention his or her name.

Between 55% (in Germany) and 93% (in the United States) of PCPs have accessed the Internet, according to I.MD 2000, a global study conducted by Montreal-based P\S\L Research. Projections made based on stated future intentions indicate that by the second quarter of 2001, between 75% (in Germany and Italy) and 97% (in the United States) of primary care physicians will have accessed the Internet.

According to investigators from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a computerized medication monitoring system has shown that HIV patients must be at least 95% adherent to antiretroviral therapy for the drugs to work. The study also reveals that physicians often are wrong about their patients' adherence. Results of the study were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (vol. 133, no. 1).

The National Institutes of Health announced the formation of the international HIV Prevention Trials Network to develop and test promising non-vaccine strategies to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The global initiative will explore alternative measures, besides AIDS vaccines, that may be able to block or reduce infection with HIV. The network will constitute NIH's largest comprehensive multicenter network dedicated to this task, comprising core operational, data and laboratory centers, as well as research sites located worldwide in Africa (Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe), Asia (China, India and Thailand), Europe (Russia), South America (Peru) and the United States.

Having the proper mindset and attitude makes it easier to sidestep potential career obstacles.

Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL, Eli Lilly and Co., Indianapolis, and Schering-Plough Corp., Madison NJ, were named number 38, 40 and 45 respectively on Fortune magazine's list of 50 Best Companies for Minorities. The list is compiled through a collaboration between Fortune and the Council on Economic Priorities, a New York nonprofit research organization. The results were tallied from surveys sent to all of the companies in the Fortune 1,000, plus the 200 largest privately held firms in the United States, of which 148 responded. Results were analyzed for how well companies stacked up against one another in 15 different quantitative and qualitative categories, from what percentage of new hires are minorities to whether the company ties performance reviews and bonuses to diversity goals. Special attention was paid to how many minorities are in leadership roles at each company.

Dealing with internal conflict.

The Food and Drug Administration is looking at taking a more active role in switching prescription medications to over the counter. Under the current system, manufacturers of the drugs play the most active role in determining which drugs change to OTC.

The Children's Research Protection Act, a bill that would ensure safety standards for children participating in clinical drug trials, was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Mike DeWine (R-OH).

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a draft guidance for changes to the adverse reactions section of prescription drugs. The document, which is available through the agency's Web site, suggests that the adverse events section be limited to information that can be helpful in treating, monitoring and advising patients.

Several large health maintenance organizations have announced that they are dropping out of the Medicare+Choice program, citing inadequate funding and overregulation. Humana Inc., Louisville, KY; Aetna U.S. Healthcare, Hartford, CT; Foundation Health Systems Inc., Woodland Hills, CA; and UnitedHealth Group Inc., Minnetonka, MN, among the largest plans, have announced that, as of Jan. 1, 2001, they will no longer be offering the supplemental insurance in many states and counties. Plan members in those areas will need to switch to higher-cost, traditional fee-for-service Medicare, which lacks a prescription drug benefit.

But prescription drug plan could be a hard pill to swallow.

When asked to rate pharmaceutical companies, physicians most value three attributes: commitment to research and development, credibility and educational orientation, according to Newtown, PA-based Scott-Levin's Pharmaceutical Company Image 2000 study. According to the report, doctors overall ranked Pfizer Inc., New York; Merck & Co. Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ; and Glaxo Wellcome Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, as having the strongest commitment to research and development. For the study, Scott-Levin surveyed physicians in 27 specialties, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, HMO medical directors and pharmacists.

For Michael Dorfman, a pediatric sales specialist with Wilmington, MA-based Ascent Pediatrics Inc., the most rewarding part of his job is watching his professional relationships grow. "I enjoy the rapport with the doctors and the staff and seeing how, as the relationship develops, your sales increase as well," said Dorfman, who has been in pharmaceutical sales for over six years and spent the last three with Ascent.

President Clinton issued an Executive Memorandum directing the Medicare program to revise its payment policy and immediately begin to explicitly reimburse providers for the cost of routine patient care associated with participation in clinical trials. The order also directs Medicare to take additional action to promote the participation of Medicare beneficiaries in clinical trials for all diseases. These actions follow a recent Institute of Medicine report recommending policy changes to encourage greater use of clinical trials by older Americans and the completion of a review of administration policy.

New York-based Standard & Poor's ratings outlook for the health insurance and managed care industries in 2000 is stable. However, according to the company problems persist in certain regions of the country, particularly New England, Texas and Florida.

According to "The Strategic Advantage: A Competitive View of Managed Care Sales Forces," a new survey released by Newtown, PA-based Scott-Levin, managed care decision-makers have named the managed care sales forces of SmithKline Beecham, Philadelphia, and Forest Laboratories, Inc., New York, the "most empowered."

President Clinton released a new report from the Domestic Policy Council and the National Economic Council showing that rural beneficiaries tend to have a greater need for prescription drug coverage but have fewer coverage options. Their incomes are lower, access to pharmacies is more limited and out-of-pocket spending is higher. The report highlights the fact that the private prescription drug coverage options available to rural beneficiaries are not only severely limited, but are extremely expensive.

California continues to lead the nation in HMO enrollment, with 55% of the state's population participating in an HMO plan, according to a survey released by Medical Data International, Santa Ana, CA.