TESTING INCENTIVE CHANGES: UnitedHealth Group is testing a new way of reimbursing oncologists that aims to dial back the profit incentive for prescribing cancer drugs, the WSJ reports. The program is being tested in five clinics, and involves getting doctors to commit to a drug regimen at the beginning of treatment, then reimbursing them for the profit they d make on those drugs plus a care-management fee. Any additional drugs that are prescribed would be reimbursed only at cost, the paper says.
CALL FOR CAUTION: U.S. Rep. Edward Markey is urging the nation's nuclear regulators to keep thyroid patients treated with radiation in the hospital for a time after treatment in order to avoid contact with groups that might be particularly vulnerable to exposure, the Boston Globe reports. Radioactive iodine-131 can linger in perspiration and saliva for a few days after treatment. There's no hard evidence that exposure from patients has caused cancer cases, the paper says.
MORE STUDY NEEDED: The FDA wants Eli Lilly and development partners Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Alkermes to further study the effect the companies experimental diabetes drug, Bydureon, has on heart rhythms, the WSJ reports. The surprise move is expected to delay the drug's approval until 2012, the companies said. The delay is likely to benefit rival Novo Nordisk, which has a competing product.
STROLLER RECALL: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says Newell Rubbermaid's Graco Children's Products unit is recalling about 2 million strollers after reports of four infant deaths between 2003 and 2005, Bloomberg News reports. The recall applies only to certain models and years: Quattro Tour strollers made before November 2006 and MetroLite models made before July 2007, BN says. Graco's website has a list of recalled models.
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