Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Growing Number Of Alternative Pharmacies Lack Costlier Generics
Stat: Study: Many Costly Generic Drugs Are Unavailable At Alternative Pharmacies
A growing number of alternative pharmacies — such as those run by Costco, Amazon, and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs — may be increasingly popular with American consumers, but a new analysis finds many of the most expensive generic medicines are unavailable, prices vary widely, and savings can be modest. (Silverman, 3/1)
NBC News: CVS To Pay Ohio $1.5 Million In Penalties Over Understaffing And Other Safety Issues At Pharmacies
CVS Health, one of the nation’s largest operators of retail chain pharmacies, will pay Ohio $1.5 million in penalties for problems largely related to understaffing and make changes that may soon be mandatory for all the state’s retail pharmacies, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy said Thursday. The penalties, the largest ever imposed by the state board, are part of the settlement of 27 safety cases the board was investigating at 22 CVS pharmacies. (Kaplan, 3/1)
Stat: RaDonda Vaught, Nurse Who Accidentally Killed Patient, To Speak At CommonSpirit Event On Patient Safety
CommonSpirit Health is hosting an educational event this month featuring RaDonda Vaught, the Tennessee nurse who was criminally prosecuted for accidentally killing a patient by injecting the wrong medication. (Bannow, 3/1)
Bloomberg: Monsanto Wins Mistrial In Roundup Case After Jury Deadlocks
A Bayer AG trial in Delaware over claims that the company’s Roundup weedkiller causes cancer ended with the jury unable to reach a verdict. Jurors in state court in Wilmington deliberated for about three days before saying Friday they couldn’t reach an agreement on whether Anthony Cloud’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was caused by exposure to Roundup made by Bayer’s Monsanto. Judge Vivian Medinilla declared a mistrial and dismissed the panel. (Feeley, 3/1)
In organ transplant news —
Reuters: Flying Dutchman Recognised As Longest-Surviving Heart Transplant Patient
Four decades after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition and given just six months to live, Bert Janssen has set a Guinness World Record as the longest-surviving transplant patient. "I want to be an example for people," said the Dutchman, who was 17 when he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood around the body. (Van Campenhout, Fiorin and Van Der Wouw, 3/4)
