News in brief - Nov. 14, 2005

GAO: FDA politicized Plan B process - DoctorFinder allows physicians to post temporary office relocations - Pa. governor says liability reforms are making an impact - MCAT solid predictor of medical school success - UCLA to reopen donated body program

GAO: FDA politicized Plan B process

The Food and Drug Administration's 2004 decision not to approve Barr Pharmaceuticals' application to allow over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B was made months before it was announced, according to a draft of a Government Accountability Office report that at press time was scheduled for release in November.

According to a summary of the leaked report that was published in The Washington Post, the GAO found that the FDA's action was unusual not only because it ignored a 23-4 advisory panel vote in favor of OTC status for Plan B, but also because several high-level officials were involved in the decision.

The "perceived sensitivity of the issue" -- social conservatives believe Plan B would encourage promiscuous sex and some believe it sometimes acts as an abortifacient -- was used to justify deviating from the procedural norm, the GAO reported.

In August 2005, then FDA commissioner Lester Crawford, DVM, PhD, indefinitely delayed a decision on Barr's application for OTC status for women age 16 and older. Dr. Crawford resigned from the FDA in September.

An FDA spokesperson said the agency would review the report. But at press time, the spokesperson said the FDA had no comment.

DoctorFinder allows physicians to post temporary office relocations

Doctors who have temporarily relocated their offices because their permanent offices were damaged in recent storms, or for any other reason, now can let their patients know their new location by putting up a notice on the AMA's Web-based physician search tool, DoctorFinder.

Physicians can list a temporary address and phone number. They also can include a message to patients informing them about the best times to call, when the permanent office is expected to reopen and other relevant information.

Listing temporary information will not change the address or telephone information officially on record with the AMA. More information is available online (www.ama-assn.org/go/hurricanerelocation).

Pa. governor says liability reforms are making an impact

Pointing to more affordable and available medical liability insurance as proof, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell said tort reform efforts in the state are starting to take effect.

While the state's three largest medical liability insurers are keeping their rates flat, the surcharge physicians pay for the state-run Mcare fund will be reduced more than 25%, according to Rendell's office.

The improvements in the state's liability insurance market has meant that patients have health care available on a more consistent basis as well. The governor's office reported that the amount doctors pay into the Mcare surcharge has held constant at about $34,000 over the past few years.

Pennsylvania Medical Society spokesman Chuck Moran said that while the news is encouraging for doctors, liability rates still have not declined to a more affordable level. "The fact is, things aren't necessarily better until the rates come down," he said.

MCAT solid predictor of medical school success

Medical College Admission Test scores, not undergraduate grades, are the best way to tell who is prepared for the academic rigors of medical school, according to a study by the Assn. of American Medical Colleges published in the October issue of Academic Medicine. They are also very strong predictors of how students will score on all three steps of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, the study found.

Students applying to medical school have been taking the MCAT in its current form since 1991. This study followed first-year classes from 14 medical schools in 1992 and 1993 through residency to see to what extent MCAT scores supplemented undergraduates grade point averages in predicting success in medical school.

While the MCAT was a strong predictor of how students would perform, there was a lot of room for variation, according to researchers.

For example, differences in school missions might contribute to how predictive MCAT scores and GPAs are of students' success at individual schools. Those seeking to train researchers are likely to reward students differently than those seeking to produce physicians for rural and underserved areas, the researchers said.

UCLA to reopen donated body program

The University of California, Los Angeles, is set to start operating its willed body program again, following a Los Angeles County Superior Court ruling.

The program was shut down in 2004 under allegations of the illegal sale of human body parts and accusations of improper disposal of donated bodies.

The program will operate under court supervision for 18 months. Due to construction of a new facility, the program is not expected to be excepting body donations until early 2006.