Weekly Roundup 5-4-12

Wondering by the end of the day how many people will post “May the 4th be with you” on Facebook.  So far I am in double digits….

We are in May.  Hard to believe.  I am thinking that there are many signs of a long, hot summer.  Just what we need in an election year.

In the meantime, here are a few things that happened this week:

  • CMS Announces Delay in Sunshine Act Reporting – You may remember that CMS already missed one important deadline for implementing the provisions of the Sunshine Act in October 2011 for publishing a proposed rule which CMS eventually did do in December.  Recall also that recently Senators Charles Grassley and Herbert Kohl sent a letter to CMS expressing their desire that the agency issue a final rule no later than June 2012 on the collection of data, but that is not happening.  In a blog post on May 3, CMS let it be known that they received over 300 comments on the proposed rule during the comment period.  Saying they would issue a final rule “later this year” CMS also stated that data collection would not begin before January 2013.
  • FDA Approves Gaucher Disease Drug – The agency announced this week that it was approving a new orphan drug Elelyso (taliglucerase alfa) – a long-term enzyme replacement therapy for treatment of Gaucher disease. Gaucher disease affects about 6000 people in the U.S. and causes a build up of fatty materials in various organs.  The drug is manufactured by Pfizer.
  • Facebook Pushes Organ Donation – Apparently there is  “Like” button for almost everything – after an initiative that allows folks on Facebook to opt into organ donations, several states saw a spike in willing donors.  When you think about it, Facebook does have lots more people in their ranks than the Department of Motor Vehicles.
  • The i’s Have It – i-Phone App Approved for Blood Glucose Monitoring – As many regular readers may know, I have a device that hooks up to my i-Pad to take my blood pressure.  Well now diabetics have i-support as well with the approval of the new Sanofi US blood glucose monitoring system.  It is the first FDA cleared blood glucose meter to directly connect with an iPhone or iPod touch.  Check out the multi-media news release for photos, video and more.

That’s it for me this week.  Have a good one everybody.

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