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Utah Bill Would Offer Parents Choice Of Two Sex Education Options
A bill (H.B. 189) before the Utah Legislature"s Health and Human Services Interim Committee would allow parents to choose between two sex education curriculums, the Salt Lake City Deseret News reports. The first curriculum would be "abstinence-based and teach strategies for waiting until marriage but also offer information about issues such as sexually transmitted" infections. The "other class would emphasize abstinence but also offer facts," including STI prevention and contraceptive options.State Rep. Lynn Hemingway (D), who proposed the bill, cited data from the state Department of Health showing that 4,356 young women became pregnant in 2007 and that there were 1,805 reported cases of chlamydia among girls ages 15 to 19 in 2008, an increase from 1,332 in 2005. Hemingway said, "These numbers are frightening. This isn"t a moral issue anymore. This is a health issue." Hemingway"s bill is modeled after similar legislation under consideration in North Carolina.According to the Deseret News, the state Office of Education"s rule on sex education currently states that educators are allowed to instruct on contraception options if they have parental consent. Some advocates, policymakers and teens argue that students are receiving inadequate sex education because instructors are leaving out important information over concern that they will be accused of advocating sex. Hemingway"s bill allows instructors to provide information on contraception "without fear of reprimand," according to the Desert News (Stewart, Salt Lake City Deseret News, 6/18).
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Food And Drug Administration Moves Towards Greater Openness
The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps towards greater openness. The Associated Press reports that FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg "announced Tuesday she has created a task force to make recommendations on how the agency can release more information in such areas as drug evaluation and enforcement matters. She wants a report in six months." Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein will head the task force, which will represent all of the FDA"s major divisions as well as its law enforcement branch. It will hold two public meetings with the first on June 24. "The FDA has long operated under strict confidentiality rules," the AP reports, and in opening up information, one sensitive issue will be what to do with unpublished clinical trial data from drug manufacturers. Despite such concerns, "Hamburg said she believes the need for secrecy may have been taken too far, and is harming the FDA"s credibility within the medical community and among consumers" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/2).
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New Lasers Drive Powerful Applications
Telecoms, healthcare and display technology will be the major beneficiaries of a new generation of semiconductor lasers developed in a massive European research effort. Better cancer treatment, wider bandwidth and smaller, better displays could be on their way.
Medical Devices

Respironics Issues North American Recall Of SmartMonitor(R)2 Infant Apnea Monitor

Respironics announced today that it has voluntarily recalled 4,992 infant apnea monitors. This recall of the SmartMonitor®2 models 4002 and 4003 is being conducted due to the possibility of an audible alarm failure. Caregivers or parents who are using a SmartMonitor 2 Infant Apnea Monitor for their infant, should contact their homecare provider immediately to determine if their device is affected. However, they should continue using the apnea monitor until it is replaced, unless directed otherwise by a physician. The SmartMonitor 2 Infant Apnea Monitor is intended for use in the continuous monitoring of respiration and heart rate of infant patients in a home or hospital environment. The monitor detects and alarms for periods of central apnea and high or low heart rates. If the device fails to alarm during an apnea or heart rate event, the device will not deliver an audible alert to direct the caregiver to respond to the patient. There is a possibility that the lack of response by a caregiver to an apnea or heart rate event may result in serious injury or death. Even if the audible alarm fails, the unit will still trigger a visual alert (red lights will come on). The infant apnea monitors affected by this recall have been distributed in the United States and Canada. Respironics provided notification of the recall to distributors and user providers, sales personnel and customers by letter and phone beginning on April 27, 2009. The firm is continuing to contact customers to arrange for the return of all the recalled apnea monitors. Respironics has received one report of an alarm failure; however no injury resulted. Respironics has notified the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) of its decision to voluntarily recall the affected product. Homecare providers with questions may contact Respironics Customer Service at 1-877-387-3311. Any adverse reactions experienced with the use of this product should be reported to the FDA"s MedWatch Program by phone at 1-800-FDA-1088, by fax at 1-800-FDA-0178, by mail at MedWatch, HF-2, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787, or on the MedWatch website at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch. U.S. Food & Drug Administration


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