"Health & Medical News"

Better vigilance is needed to ensure medical research on human subjects is not flawed by financial conflicts of interest, according to the Assn. of American Medical Colleges and the Assn. of American Universities.

In March, the two organizations issued a report that calls on medical schools and research universities to put into place conflict-of-interest policies within two years. Such policies should cover how to identify, evaluate and manage financial conflicts, the report said.

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A California appeals court dealt another blow to health plans over their policy cancellation tactics.

The 4th District Court of Appeal unanimously said insurers have a responsibility to make sure patients’ policy applications are complete and accurate before issuing coverage — not after expensive claims come in the door. Judges said plans cannot revoke patients’ policies unless they fully investigate pre-enrollment forms up front or insurers show patients intentionally misled them.

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By a 3-2 vote, the Utah Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission delegated its rulemaking authority to the state legislature on several key issues, the BYU NewsNet reported on Nov. 19.

These issues include whether alcoholic beverages should be sold only in state liquor stores, and labeling requirements for malt beverages and alcohol-infused energy drinks.

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Voters in Denver appear to have approved a ballot question that would require police to make enforcement of marijuana-possession laws their lowest priority, the Rocky Mountain News reported Nov. 7.

Question 100, backed by the group Safe Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), was being approved by a 5-to-4 margin, election observers said, although balloting was incomplete.

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A hospital’s proposal to pay physicians for providing on-call emergency coverage does not run afoul of the federal anti-kickback statute, says an advisory opinion posted Sept. 27 by the Health and Human Services Dept.’s Office of Inspector General.

Experts said they believe the letter is the first of its kind. It offers some guidance on what the government views as an acceptable plan to address on-call shortages. But that does not mean it’s a one-size-fits-all solution, they warned.

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