Letter From The Editor

It seems like every time we get something new we forget about the old. Just last week I got a frantic call from an experienced, well-controlled, Omnipod patient who had not replaced her pod and had to inject insulin with a syringe. She was at lunch with friends and had …

Our patients often use the internet to learn more about the conditions we diagnose and the medications and procedures we use to treat them. Often they come to us with good information and seem to have become “specialists” at their own condition. At times this can make it easier for …

There has been a lot of activity at the AADE 37th Annual Meeting this past week. With over 3,000 of America’s most knowledgeable diabetes caregivers in attendance it is hard to imagine that so many patients never get the care that they need. With this in mind there was a …

Steve, Andrew and I are on our way to the 2010 AADE Annual Meeting & Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas. This should be a very interesting meeting because education is a major focus of the new national healthcare plan. The AADE has been at the forefront working with many different …

During the past week the Tour de France has been in full swing. As a budding cyclist I have been watching the race with interest as it has wound its way through over 2,276 miles of France. Some of the rider strategies and techniques are very similar to what our …

Most of you already know the Avandia story: after two years of controversy, Senate hearings and multiple FDA reviews nothing has really changed. Avandia is still on the market, clinicians aren’t writing for it and Glaxo will probably discontinue it. The interesting thing will be whether this means the FDA …

It is not often that I venture out of the diabetes arena. However, this week I wanted to start out by reminding you that the FDA is again issuing a strong warning not to prescribe quinine for your patients who complain of leg cramps. This therapy may result in thrombocytopenia, …

The ADA is over and the Endo Society has finished their annual meeting and now we have to get back to the real world of managing patients, battling insurance companies and hoping that we finally get our payments from Medicare. There was a lot of great science at both conferences …

Steve, Andrew and I are in Orlando at the ADA 70th Scientific Sessions and although things are just getting started there is already news in the diabetes sector. Lilly has agreed to co-brand their Humulin insulin line with Walmart, the world’s largest retailer. Beginning in mid-September, Lilly’s Humulin brand of …

I spent some time in the pharmacy last week and it was somewhat frightening to see just how many Medicare patients have reached the donut hole already and the year is not even half over. I took time looking for copay lowering cards on the internet just to help the …