News in brief - Oct. 13, 2008

USP database details look-alike, sound-alike drugs

U.S. Pharmacopeia launched a new, searchable database listing nearly 1,500 commonly used drugs involved in look-alike and sound-alike medication errors since 2003. When a user enters a drug name into the USP Drug Error Finder, up pops a list of other drugs with similar-sounding or similar-looking names and any associated errors listed in the USP's Medmarx database, to which hospitals anonymously report drug mix-ups.

For example, a search found that the blood pressure medication clonidine was confused with the gout drug colchicine, the antihistamine cetirizine and the anti-anxiety drug clonazepam. The site shows if the mix-ups harmed or killed patients.

USP hopes the Drug Error Finder, unveiled in August, can help patients looking to ensure they got the right drug, as well as doctors, pharmacists and other health care professionals. USP is a private, pharmaceutical standards-setting group in Rockville, Md. The free Drug Error Finder is available at the USP Web site (www.usp.org/hqi/similarproducts/choosy.html).

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Study shows Texas liability reforms boost access to care

Medical liability reforms have helped transform access to care for the better in Texas, according to a September study.

Of the 1,391 physicians surveyed by the Texas Medical Assn., three-quarters said their insurance premiums had declined since 2003, when voters passed a constitutional amendment capping noneconomic damages for physicians at $250,000. Forty-five percent of respondents reported rate drops in excess of 20%.

Since the cap's enactment, 22% of surveyed doctors said they started offering new services to patients, compared with 9% in 2004. Eighteen percent began accepting high-risk cases they previously referred or denied, up from 4% four years ago.

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Blues settlement facilitator appointed

A compliance dispute facilitator was appointed in September to help doctors enforce a $130 million class-action settlement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans nationwide.

Doctors who say a Blues plan has not adhered to the agreement to change business practices can file a complaint with the facilitator, who will review it and represent them in valid compliance disputes. Doctors also may file grievances with the help of the American Medical Association or one of the 27 state medical societies that signed on to the settlement.

The appointment of the facilitator came after a Florida federal court in April gave final approval to the deal between the nation's doctors and more than 30 Blues subsidiaries over alleged improper payment tactics. Compliance dispute forms and settlement information are available online (www.ama-assn.org/go/settlements) and (www.hmosettlements.com).

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