Another important factor to consider when collecting data for an outcomes management program is data error. The traditional approach can be associated with poor data quality because respondents might unintentionally skip questions and provide multiple responses to single survey items. Compared to the traditional method for SF-36 administration, the fax-based approach obviates the need for [...]

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One of the first factors that needs to be considered is whether personnel are available at the clinical site(s) to perform the tasks needed to collect, administer, and analyze surveys (Table 1). The clinical site needs to determine who can perform the additional activities to administer and collect SF-36 data, given the other duties and [...]

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With the release of the Institute of Medicine’s report, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, the quality of our health care system has been at the center of the nation’s attention. The quality of health care has traditionally been measured by evaluating the structure and processes of the health care system. However, [...]

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When one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies invests millions of dollars in a patient-education program, I believe that it’s worth knowing more about. At the very least, P&T committees ought to be aware of most national patient-education programs, especially when they involve medications.

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Speaker: Douglas T. Dieterich, MD, Vice Chair and Chief Medical Officer, Department of Medicine, and Professor of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York
Patients who are co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) who achieve a sustained virological response with peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys®, Roche) and ribavirin generic (Rebe-tol®, Schering) combination therapy have [...]

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Speaker: Charles Hicks, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
Tipranavir (TPV) (Boehringer Ingelheim), a novel non-peptidic protease inhibitor (PI), now in late phase 3 clinical development, plus low-dose ritonavir(r) (Norvir drug, Abbott) was found to be significantly superior to currently available comparator protease inhibitors (CPIs) boosted [...]

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Speaker: Beth L. Nordstrom, PhD, Epidemiologist, Ingenix Epidemiology, Aburndale, Massachusetts
In a large population of patients with influenza, treatment with oseltamivir (Drug Tamiflu, Hoffman-LaRoche Ltd.) was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of pneumonia. Several clinical studies showed that oseltamivir was up to 92% effective in preventing influenza in adolescents, adults, and elderly adults [...]

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