Medical device software criticized as under-regulated - latimes.com

Image via WikipediaMedical device software criticized as under-regulated - latimes.com:  'via Blog this'

In a nutshell:

"Between 1983 and 1997, 1 in 4 medical devices used software. Today, the figure is more than half. Software problems are now the third-leading cause for recalls of medical devices."

Just when you thought technology might move us ahead.

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FDA Video Reassures Consumers - Peanut Products

Updated May 24, 2016 - The original video link broke. I've replaced it with something that might still interest you.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to be clear with consumers as to what is safe and what should be avoided when it comes to peanuts and peanut products. David W.K. Acheson, M.D., Associate Commissioner for Foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, talks about the current peanut butter recall and offers viewers a reassuring message about how to be careful with peanut products, in this FDA Responds to Peanut Butter Recall (video):

The replacement video comes from this FDA webpage, FDA - Food Allergies: What You Need to Know





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Check Out iGuard - Esp. If You Take Multiple Meds (free)

Updated April 10, 2024

The original post didn't age well.

The iGuard website is no longer available. It is undergoing several changes of hand.

The iGuard site became MediGuard, and now that site is moving to another location.

You might also be interested in:

MediGuard - on Wikipedia

---  the original post follows below  ---

No, this isn't an Apple product or accessory. This is a free service (registration & usage are free) for folks taking medications, and offers extra benefit for those taking multiple medications, reports this BusinessWire release, One Million Americans Now Receive Personalized FDA Drug Safety Alerts Through iGuard.org. Read on for the quick highlights . . .

According to the news release, iGuard.org is different from other drug information services, because although patients today have access to an enormous set of tools for getting information about their health, iGuard.org is the only service that:

• helps patients identify which drugs pose the greatest risk using a personalized, color-coded, drug safety rating system
• detects potential interactions between drugs and diseases as well as interactions between drugs – recognizing that drug-disease interactions (e.g., Viagra and heart disease, birth control pills and smoking) are the highest cause of death and disability associated with medication use
• communicates emerging product recalls (which outnumber alerts by four to one) as well as safety notifications and FDA advisories
• avoids bombarding patients with irrelevant communications by ensuring that drug-specific messages are sent only to those users to whom they apply
• ensures that communications are actionable and easy to understand by having a pharmacist review and update FDA / drug company alerts for the consumer audience
• allows patients to have their doctor copied on their communications
• is funded by medical research, not by advertising, which helps improve medicines

If you're taking meds, shouldn't you be taking advantage of iGuard?

Related Posts:
Serious Drug Interaction Risks For Older Adults (video)
MedNotes - A New Online Drug List Mgmt Tool - And More! (free)
Drug and Alcohol Interactions - Have things changed?
Deadly Overdose At Home - Especially alcohol and opioid painkillers

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Caution - Some Dietary Supplements Contain Hidden Drugs

• FDA GMP QSR cGMP online training programs

Updated November 19, 2020

Links broke in the original post.

You might also like to read:

Feature: Revealing the hidden dangers of dietary supplements - ScienceMag

- - -  the original post follows below  - - -

Things aren't always what they seem to be. The same goes for some dietary supplements. An estimated 150 million Americans use dietary supplements, ranging from multivitamins to herbal remedies to specialized mineral blends. So folks need to be careful about what they buy and who they buy it from, reports this Atlanta Journal Constitution article, "Dietary pills laced with drugs - After-market scrutiny: FDA warns about Blue Steel, other supplements that do not have to prove their safety." The government estimates that 30,000 to 40,000 supplement products are being sold by all sorts of companies, some large and reputable, others operating out of a garage or basement. This poses a challenge because regulators are spread too thin, and can only conduct occasional spot checks. Here are some resources that you can reference to try and protect yourself . . . Dietary pills laced with drugs - After-market scrutiny: FDA warns about Blue Steel, other supplements that do not have to prove their safety (audio) 

Resources: 

FDA: Recalls & Safety Alerts for dietary supplements and other products 

FDA: Risks of buying fake erectile dysfunction products on the Internet 

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FDA Creates New Web Page of Drug Safety Information

Consumers and health care professionals can now go to a single page on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Web site to find a wide variety of safety information about prescription drugs, "Postmarket Drug Safety Information for Patients and Providers." On this page you'll find many resources organized in the following categories . .

• Drug Labeling
• Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS)
• Studies and Clinical Trials of Approved Products Required by FDA or Agreed to by the Application Holder
• Registries and Clinical Trials
• Memorandum of Agreement Between the Office of New Drugs and the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
• Latest Safety Information
• Reporting Problems to the FDA
• Warnings and Recalls
• Regulations and Guidance Documents
• Information about FDA's Drug Safety Oversight Board (DSB)
• Using Medicines Safely
• Consumer Articles on Drug Safety
• General Health Information
• FDA's Response to the Institute of Medicine's 2006 Report

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