- © 2007 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors
More trial info: Pharmaceutical companies in the US are now disclosing more information about their clinical trials. The number of trials with incomplete information on the National Institutes of Health's registration Website (http://clinicaltrials.gov) dropped from 26% on Jan. 1, 2006, to 8% by November 2006 (NEJM 2007;356:184-5). In 2005, medical journal editors under the auspices of the International Committee of Medical Editors (CMAJ 2005;172:1700-2), began rejecting articles about trial results if the studies were not registered in a public database.
Gastro outbreak: Nearly 3 dozen health-care institutions in Quebec and New Brunswick were battling outbreaks of viral gastroenteritis in early January. In the Montréal area alone, 29 institutions reported viral outbreaks in December and early January that infected staff and patients, triggered quarantine measures and forced postponement of some elective procedures. In New Brunswick, several hospitals closed their doors to control the spread of the virus. Infectious disease experts suspect the outbreaks are due to a more contagious and possibly more virulent form of Norwalk virus. Similar outbreaks have occurred in Europe, Japan and the US.
Crisis averted: Eleven of the 14 emergency department physicians who tendered their resignations at the Saint John Regional Hospital, have agreed to stay on after the province offered more money and recruitment incentives. The province will pay a quarterly bonus for over time (emergency physicians now earn about $138 an hour). It will also offer new emergency physicians a $50 000 signing bonus, double the existing one, and these new recruits will only be required to stay 3 years instead of the current 5. The province is expected to announce a $25-million ED expansion later this month. The ED opened in 1982 with a capacity for 25 000 patient-visits annually, but in 2005-06, saw 63 309 patients. The 14 ED doctors tendered their resignations last fall. The 11 who have agreed to stay will maintain services with the help of other health care professionals until new doctors can be recruited. Discussions with the remaining 3 physicians continue. — Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon, Saint John, NB
Wait times pilot: The federal government is investing $2.6 million in a 15-month long Wait Time Guarantee pilot project for pediatric surgery. The pilot includes the first pan-Canadian wait times information system for children who wait longer than they should according to guidelines from the National Child and Youth Health Coalition. The project, to be conducted in partnership with the 16 pediatric academic health science centres, will initially focus on 6 surgical areas: cardiac, cancer, neurology, sight, spinal deformity and dental treatment requiring anesthesia.
No free lunch: The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations has barred its member associations in more than 60 countries (including Canada) from distributing gifts or money that could influence doctors' choice of drugs or devices they prescribe. The federation's revised Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices limits members to distributing gifts that are related to work and of modest value (e.g., stethoscopes). In addition, the code stipulates that medical and scientific meetings should not be held in “renowned or extravagant venues” and the cost of hospitality should not exceed what doctors would normally be willing to pay for themselves. IFPMA Director General Dr. Harvey E. Bale stated that the new code reflects “the industry's concern to underscore that its life-saving products are promoted in an ethical manner.” — Compiled by Barbara Sibbald, CMAJ