Health care updates, August 20

CDC Expert Commentary: Could You Treat 270 Patients in Two and a Half Hours?
In a recent commentary on Medscapre, Dr. Richard C. Hunt, the director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Injury Center’s Division of Injury Response describes the CDC’s experiences during simultaneous terrorist attacks that result in a large number of trauma patients within a short period of time. He describes as an example the attacks in Madrid in 2004 when 10 terrorist explosions went off almost simultaneously on the city’s commuter trains. The victims were taken to the nearest hospital s and in one hospital, a total of 270 injured patients arriving within 2 and a half hours. Health care services are usually not prepared for this large number of trauma patients.

FDA approves ella™ tablets for prescription emergency contraception
The “morning after” tablet ella™ (ulipristal acetate) has finally been approved by the US FDA. Ella is progesterone agonist/antagonist indicated f or emergency contraception. It supposedly delays ovulation and prevents pregnancy when taken within 5 days of a contraceptive failure or unprotected intercourse. The drug has been available since May 2009 in Europe where it is marketed as ellaOne. Ella is only available with prescription.

NIH Seeks to Break New Ground in Reducing Health Disparities
The National Institutes of Health launched earlier this month a multidisciplinary network of experts who will explore new approaches to understanding the origins of health disparities. The Network on Inequality, Complexity, and Health (NICH).will consist of experts from different fields and disciplines. According to Dr. Deborah H. Olster, acting director of NIH’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR):

“NICH brings together scientists from many different disciplines to create a new conceptual approach for examining the behavioral, social and biological factors which interact to cause inequalities in health.”

Accelerating Electronic Health Records Adoption and Meaningful Use
The widespread meaningful use of electronic health records(EHR)  by 2014 is the goal of the US Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH). The regulations of the federal program announced in July

FDA: Aseptic Meningitis Risk with Use of Seizure Drug Lamictal
The US FDA has issued warning about the anti-seizure drug Lamictal (lamotrigine). The drug, which is indicated for the management of seizures and bipolar disorder, “can cause aseptic meningitis, an inflammation of the protective membranes (meninges) that cover the brain and spinal cord not caused by bacterial infection.” Lamictal is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.