Manufacturer: Lilly, France, for Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN

Indication: Stimulation of new bone formation in patients with osteoporosis

Drug Class: Teriparatide is a recombinant human parathyroid hormone (PTH), which is the primary regulator of calcium and phosphate metabolism in bones. It has an identical sequence to the 34N-terminal amino acids (the biologically active region) of the 84-amino acid human PTH.

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Manufacturer: Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN Indication: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Drug Class: Atomoxetine is classified as a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.

Uniqueness of Drug: The precise mechanism by which atomoxetine produces its therapeutic effects in ADHD is unknown, but it is thought to be related to selective inhibition of the presynaptic norepinephrine transporter. Atomoxetine is the first nonstimulant medication approved for the treatment of ADHD in children, adolescents, and adults. It is the only FDA-approved ADHD medication that has proved clinically effective for adults. It is not considered a controlled substance.

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Ezetimibe (Zetia drug)

Manufacturer: Schering Corporation, Kenilworth NJ, for Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, North Wales, PA (joint venture)

Indications: Primary hypercholesterolemia. Eze-timibe can be prescribed in several situations: …..Click here to read more

I took a deep breath and composed myself before entering the hospital room. I was a third-year medical student and preparing myself to deliver bad news. I was well aware that I had never done this before. He had a resident, an attending physician, and a lung specialist all caring for him, but I was the one who saw him three or four times a day. I was the one who spent the most time with him, and I felt that I should deliver the news.

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The following letter was written in response to the article by Dr. Thomas Marzili, entitled “What’s Going to Happen to Brave Surgeons and Patients?”

Dear Dr. Marzili, I just read your essay in the April Pharmacy and Therapeutics. I enjoyed the article. As a surgeon who is often asked to take on such difficult cases, I can tell you the decision-making process is never easy.

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The key unanswered question about the proposed rule by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which would require bar codes to be placed on drugs that are sold to hospitals, has nothing to do with the pharmaceutical industry. To paraphrase Bill Clinton: “It’s the hospitals, stupid!” Pharmaceutical manufacturers can add bar codes to their products to a fare-thee-well, but if the hospitals do not purchase the expensive scanners needed to read those bar codes, the whole effort to reduce medication errors will be for naught.

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Realizing that health care prokviders must gather information, analyze it, and share the results with others in order to learn from medical errors, the House of Representatives passed the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (H.R.663). The Act encourages providers to conduct research and gather data about the causes of medical mishaps and then share their findings with other providers in order to learn ways to remedy systems and practices.

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