"Health & Medical News"

The Washington, D.C., city council last month became the first legislative body in the nation to approve the licensing of drug reps. At press time, the bill was awaiting the signature of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who supports the legislation.

The measure, dubbed SafeRx, would require detailers to pay a licensure fee, adhere to an ethics code, receive continuing education and refrain from misleading doctors about drugs. Sales reps could be fined up to $10,000 for operating without a license.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: unranked [?]

Washington — Two more national provider identifier deadlines are fast approaching for physicians.

As of March 1, doctors who bill Medicare electronically must include their NPIs on all Medicare claims in addition to any older IDs they may have been using. For most of the past year, the program has been allowing physicians to use their older, “legacy” identifiers alone while they obtained new NPIs and made sure the personal information attached to all of the numbers was matching correctly.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: unranked [?]

State medical board leaders are exploring a new way to assure the public that physicians retain skills throughout their careers. But some doctors say the boards’ plan is just more busywork.

Board leaders are working on an initiative to expand the requirements for maintenance of licensure, a process in which doctors demonstrate continued competence at the time of relicensing. In most states, physicians can maintain their licenses just by having no disciplinary actions against them and by completing a minimum number of hours of continuing medical education.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: unranked [?]

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.

Popularity: unranked [?]