The ABC's of Unsafe and Greedy Health Care

Hey kids, its alphabet time!  We thought we’d make this really fun by teaching you just how dangerous the world of pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and greedy health care providers can be!  Let's begin.

A is for Alpharma, a unit of King Pharmaceuticals, which according to the U.S. Justice Department, “has agreed to pay $42.5 million to resolve allegations that it gave kickbacks to doctors to prescribe the pain drug Kadian and misrepresented its safety and effectivenesss.” 

B is for Boston Scientific.  The FDA says that “questions remain about the accuracy of the company's study of [a new heart device], suggesting in an online review that “patients Boston Scientific studied were less healthy than typical patients with the condition.  As a result, the true benefits of the device may have been overstated.”

D is for Dentist, the one in Massachusetts that the state Attorney General says used “paper clips instead of stainless steel posts inside the teeth of root canal patients while billing Medicaid for the more expensive parts.”   The former dentist has been indicted for assault and battery, larceny, submitting false claims to Medicaid and illegally prescribing drugs.”

I is for Ista Pharmaceuticals, which the FDA says “made misleading claims about Xibrom eye solution in sales material, including overstating the drug's efficacy and omitting and minimizing important risk information."  (Since X is such a hard one, this is for X too!)

M is for Merck, which was criticized this week by Cleveland Clinic cardiology chief Dr. Steven Nissen who said the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology were too cozy with industry and that the College “granted continuing medical education credits for a seminar sponsored by Merck,” and was conducted by faculty members who consult with Merck who touted an experimental Merck drug.

P is for Punjwani, Dr. Sohail, that is, who just received a “warning” from the FDA that said he failed ``to protect the rights, safety and welfare'' of children enrolled in clinical drug trials.  Turns out that he was “treating a 7-year-old foster child before the boy committed suicide last year.”  Also, “one girl slashed her wrists while hallucinating" and "another, a 13-year-old, 'experienced sedation and dizziness during the study.'"

V is for Veterans.  That's because “Federal inspectors found medical equipment not properly cleaned or inspected at some of the clinics for veterans in Puerto Rico.… The findings on conditions in the U.S. Caribbean territory come nearly a year after some 10,000 people treated at veterans hospitals across the United States were told they might have been exposed to infections during procedures where equipment was not properly cleaned.”

I think that’s enough learning for today!