News in brief - Feb. 3, 2003

Two Calif. internists sue online health firm - Health care second to tax reform in small business owner concerns - Pfizer to add bar codes to medications

Two Calif. internists sue online health firm

Two California internists have sued Roche Diagnostics, alleging that the Indianapolis-based company misappropriated proprietary information to create an online consultation business, MyDoc.com Inc.

In the lawsuit, Gus Papas, MD, and John Cuniff, MD, of Palo Alto, Calif., allege that Roche Diagnostics improperly obtained and used the business plan they developed for an online consultation venture, Dr-OnCall Inc.

The physicians' complaint states that they developed the idea and Web structure while residents at California's Stanford University Medical Center, and that they shared that information with third parties.

The doctors allege that Roche Diagnostics obtained the information from one of those parties.

Roche responded that the lawsuit had no merit.

Separately, MyDoc.com says it's attempting to resume operations in Illinois, after being shut down last year for violating state law by diagnosing and treating patients without an existing patient-physician relationship.

Health care second to tax reform in small business owner concerns

Getting laws passed to ensure affordable health care for employees was the second biggest thing on the minds of U.S. small business owners in 2002, overshadowed only by tax reform, according to a survey by American Express.

The study found 30% of small business owners (firms with less than $200,000 in yearly revenue) said that "providing affordable health care options" ranked as their No. 1 priority for legislation they want Congress to pass. Thirty-three percent said lawmakers should concentrate on tax reform first. Respondents were allowed to specify one priority only.

The survey also asked what changes companies had made in employee health plans in 2002. Almost half said no changes were made, 7% expanded coverage, 4% reduced coverage and 3% eliminated coverage, said Tom Sclafani, an American Express spokesman.

Pfizer to add bar codes to medications

Pfizer Inc. has announced that it will put bar codes on its individual hospital medication dosage packages to help hospitals, doctors and other clinicians reduce medication errors.

The bar code will allow each unit dose of product to be identified by its national drug code, expiration date and lot number so that the bar code can be read by both computers and humans, Pfizer said. The technology will be compatible with hospitals' existing hardware, the company said.