Information technology
Minnesota doctors fail to follow end-of-life wishes | StarTribune.comDoctors at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., couldn't find end-of-life care wishes in a patient's electronic health record and resuscitated her even though her care plan advised against it. A 2013 report found that information on end-of-life care is often stored in multiple locations in a patient's EHR, making it difficult to find. In many cases, doctors can't find the information and make care decisions against a patient's wishes.
FDA Commissioner Califf suggests database for pre-clinical trial research | STAT
FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf proposed that preclinical research that involves either lab animals or cells should be gathered in a public dataset. Califf said it would make it easier for scientists to replicate major research results that are now unavailable for most researchers.
Pharmaceuticals
FDA approves first cholera drug | MedPage TodayThe federal agency approved a drug intended to treat the rare bacterial disease cholera. The FDA recommends the drug, called Vaxchora, should be taken only if traveling to a place where it remains an epidemic. The liquid dose should be taken 10 days before travel to such areas.
Merck, Pfizer double diabetes drug study | Bloomberg
Drug makers Merck & Co. and Pfizer Inc. are doubling the number of participants who are part of their joint diabetes study in order to keep up with competitors that have produced effective drugs. The study will be expanded to 8,000 people at high risk for heart disease.
Safety, quality and clinical practice
White House launches program to promote organ donation | The HillThe White House will invest $160 million in organ replication research to help the 120,000 people who await a transplant. The administration has also partnered with 12 organizations including Facebook to develop new tools and advocacy campaigns that make donor registration easier.
