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SPECT MPI With Cardiolite(R) Used In BARI 2D Study To Evaluate Type 2 Diabetes And Coronary Artery Disease Treatment Strategies
Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic imaging, announced today that the company"s leading imaging agent, Cardiolite® (Kit for the Preparation of Technetium Tc99m Sestamibi for Injection), was used in a recently completed five-year study examining appropriate treatment regimens for patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. The results of this study, known as The Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D), will be presented by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health at a special symposium on Sunday, June 7, 2009, from 4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. (CT) at the American Diabetes Association 69th Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.

Insurers Offer Reform Concessions, But Balk At Small Business Demands
"Employer-provided medical insurance remains the bedrock of the nation"s health care system. And yet, while most big employers still provide health benefits, soaring premiums have meant many small businesses can no longer afford to cover their workers," the New York Times reports. Some are concerned that many such businesses, those with fewer than 100 workers and which employ 40 percent of the labor force, will be left out of the health reform plan incubating in Congress. While insurers have offered key concessions to make it easier for individuals to buy insurance, saying they"ll "sell policies even to people with pre-existing medical conditions, and to stop basing prices on how healthy or sick someone is," the companies appear unwilling to give small employers the same break.
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Study Links Depressive Mood, Racial Disparities In Preterm Birth
Women who have depression symptoms prior to becoming pregnant are at an increased risk for having preterm births, with the risk twice as high for black women as for white women, according to a study in the Journal of Women"s Health, Reuters reports. For the study, Amelia Gavin of the University of Washington and colleagues examined the links between race, preterm birth and pre-pregnancy depressive mood among 555 women. The study used data collected from 1990-1996 as part of a larger, long-term investigation of heart disease risk.Researchers determined that 18.1% of the 249 black women in the study gave birth prior to 37 weeks" gestation, compared with 8.5% of the 306 white women in the study. The study also found that 9.4% of black women had pre-pregnancy symptoms of depressive mood, compared with 7.2% of white women. After researchers accounted for other factors associated with preterm birth, such as body weight and sociodemographic characteristics, black women"s risk remained more than twice that of white women.Gavin said, "The black-white disparity in preterm birth may be in part a consequence of different exposures to depressive mood prior to pregnancy." She said, "Reproductive outcomes must be viewed in light of women"s health over the entire life-course, as well as during pregnancy," adding that the study"s results suggest that "the experience of cumulative health disadvantages or "weathering"" might play a role in increased risk for preterm birth (Hendry, Reuters, 6/25).
Oncology

Drug Benefit Case Studies Needed

A well-crafted case study is a powerful educational and marketing tool. The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute"s (PBMI) 15th Anniversary Drug Benefit Conference offers industry experts an opportunity to present case studies that showcase solutions to critical drug benefit challenges. Speaker proposals will be accepted until August 14, 2009 for the conference to be held February 17-19, 2010 in Phoenix. "PBMI has a long-standing reputation for educating the industry on the best approaches for managing the drug benefit," says Dana H. Felthouse, MBA, president of PBMI. "We want conference proposals that educate employers, health plans, union groups, and third-party administrators. These stakeholders say they benefit most from case studies that show how other purchasers are overcoming challenges similar to their own." Proposals for presentations that provide insight on drug benefit trends also are welcome. Speakers are needed for general sessions and breakout sessions in three tracks: HR Perspectives, Managed Care Pharmacy Perspectives, and Industry Trends. Conference attendees typically include human re generalists as well as benefits specialists and managed care pharmacy professionals. Some attendees want to know more about the fundamentals of pharmacy benefit management while others want more technical information. PBMI will offer sessions that meet both needs. The conference will offer 12 continuing pharmacy education (CPE) credits as well as continuing education credit for human re professionals. Prospective speakers should submit proposals at http://pbmi.com/SpeakerPresentation.asp. All speakers will receive free registration to the 2-day conference. The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute provides research, continuing education and Web res that help health care benefit executives work effectively with pharmacy benefit managers to improve the design and management of drug benefit programs. Learn more at http://www.pbmi.com. To view this press release and other PBMI news, please visit http://www.pbmi.com/news-releases.asp. Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute


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