Many doctors are performing unnecessary Pap smears, ignoring guidelines issued by major medical organizations and adding to healthcare costs, a survey of physicians has found. Of 1,212 primary care doctors who responded to a survey about cervical cancer screening, only about one-fifth described practices that were consistently in line with the latest recommendations from groups including the American Cancer Society and the United States Preventive Services Task Force, the study found. Most had overused cervical cancer screening. A vast majority said they would recommend annual Pap smears for at least three years for an 18-year-old woman, who had recently become sexually active, which is consistent with the recommendations of major medical groups. But many of the doctors said they would also recommend the screening for a 35-year-old woman whose cervix had been removed, but who had no history of cancer; testing in that situation would be inconsistent with guidelines.
New York City health officials have distributed small amounts of the swine flu vaccine to some major New York companies, including Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, even as shortages continue. Citigroup has received 1,200 doses, more than half of what it requested, health officials said, and in late October, Goldman received 200 of the 5,400 doses it asked for. By contrast, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center received 200 of the 27,400 doses that it requested for its workers, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Jessica Scaperotti, a health department spokeswoman, said the priority was to get the vaccine to pediatricians, obstetricians, gynecologists, community health centers, and public and private hospitals. Private companies that have asked for the vaccine are also eligible to receive it, as long as it is distributed to people who are considered at risk. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs said they had administered the vaccine to pregnant women and employees with serious health conditions.
Now that the White House has declared swine flu a national emergency, and with the H1N1 vaccine in short supply, many Web sites have been peddling swine flu nostrums. The Food and Drug Administration has identified 140 different dubious products sold online and has sent letters to 75 manufacturers. It is violation of federal law to market products that claim to prevent or treat H1N1 and that have not been approved by the FDA. The agency has gone after sellers of gloves, inhalers, masks, shampoos, herbal extracts, air fresheners, and an array of vitamins that make claims about fighting swine flu. Some of the Web sites were fly-by-night operations that have since closed down.
Chanting "Kill the bill," thousands of conservatives rallied at the Capitol on Thursday against the Democrats' healthcare overhaul plan, labeling it a government takeover of the nation's medical system. The protest attracted many of the so-called Tea Party demonstrators angry with increased spending and an expanded government role under the Obama administration. Their signs ranged from the harsh, "Waterboard Congress," to an echo of the rallying cry at August town halls with lawmakers, "Vote no to government-run health care." One protester carried a placard reading, "Bury Obamacare with Kennedy," a reference to Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who died of brain cancer this past summer.
Dallas County health officials spent Thursday figuring out how to get people with insurance more 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine, even as they continued to vaccinate the uninsured. Almost 3,100 people received vaccine during the second day of the county's first large-scale walk-in vaccination clinic, bringing the two-day total to about 6,700. But plans announced by Texas officials on Wednesday may send thousands of doses a week to the county health department. And large clinics like the one this week that basically closed the department to anything but swine flu vaccinations just aren't practical very often, county health department director Zachary Thompson said.
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating some of CVS Caremark Corp.'s business practices, the company said Thursday. The drugstore chain and pharmacy benefits manager did not disclose the details of the "nonpublic investigation," but said it has not violated any antitrust laws. CVS suggested the FTC inquiry is connected to complaints made by the Change to Win coalition of labor unions. Change to Win has said CVS Caremark's size and buying power is bad for consumers, and accused CVS of a stocking expired products and violating patients' privacy, among other issues.