Urgent Medical Device Recall: Triad Group Recalls Sterile Lubricating Jelly

Professional Medical, Inc. recently received notice from the Triad Group regarding an URGENT MEDICAL DEVICE RECALL. The product being recalled is STERILE LUBRICATING JELLY manufactured by the Triad Group and distributed by a number of companies, including Professional Medical.

This recall has been initiated due to concerns expressed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the validation of the gamma radiation sterilization cycles for the Sterile Lubricating Jelly. The use of inadequately sterilized product might result in patient infection.

This recall extends to all lots of Sterile Lubricating Jelly remaining within their labeled expiration dating (three years), including all lot numbers beginning with the digits 7, 8 and 9 and 0. These product lots began shipping in January of 2007.

Please examine all storage rooms, med rooms, med carts and treatment carts and inform nurses to be aware of all insertion kits that might contain lubricating jelly.

Affected items might be listed under the following three item numbers from ProMed:
• 500-LJ04
• 500-LJ144-3GM
• 500-LJ12-04FT

Whether you have the product subject to recall in your possession or not, please take the following steps:
1. Quarantine the affected product, if applicable
2. Email Pam West, VP of Clinical and Regulatory Compliance, at pwest@promedsupply.com for a Product Recall Acknowledgement Form.

If product is needed immediately, a replacement product (065-20545) is available from another manufacturer. Please note there is a difference in price.

We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause you and your staff. Please be assured that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please contact the Customer Relations Department at 800-648-5190.

A Potential Link Between Acid Suppressive Medications and Pneumonia

A new review in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has potentially linked taking acid suppressive medications with an increased risk of developing hospital-acquired pneumonia. According to the study, out of every 200 inpatients being treated with acid suppressive medications, such as proton pump inhibitors and histamine2 receptor antagonists, one will develop pneumonia.

Acid suppressive medications are the second leading medication worldwide. Between 40 and 70 percent of hospitalized patients receive these drugs, suggesting that there could be a link between the medications and hospital-acquired pneumonia.

Abbott Recalls Blood Glucose Test Strips

Abbott Diabetes Care has announced that they are recalling approximately 359 million blood glucose strips in the U.S. and Puerto Rico because they could give falsely low blood glucose results. These inaccurate readings could lead users to try and raise their blood glucose when it is unnecessary and fail to treat elevated blood glucose due to a falsely low reading.

According to a press release from Abbott, the problem is being caused by longer-than-expected blood fill times. Customers who are using the affected strips should discontinue use of the product. The affected brands are Precision Xtra, Precision Xceed Pro, MediSense Optium, Optium, OptiumEZ and ReliOn Ultima.

Customers are advised to contact their healthcare providers to determine testing options if they do not have any unaffected test strips to use. To view affected lot numbers and instructions for receiving new strips, please click here.

Barnes Foundation Makes Holiday Donations to to Local Charities

Thanks to the generosity of ProMed employees throughout the year, the Barnes Foundation, established by ProMed's president and founder, Terry Barnes, will be making donations to two local charities this holiday season.

Each  month, ProMed employees have the option of donating $5 to the Barnes Foundation in order to wear jeans to work on Fridays. This year, "Jean Fridays" raised a total of $3,000.

The funds will be donated to the George Werden Buck Boys & Girls Club in Joliet, Illinois, who will put the donation toward their Toys for Toys program, and the The Children's Enrichment Foundation, a charitable foundation managed by Children's Habilitation Center in Harvey, Illinois.

"It is so rewarding to know that when we collect together, we can make a real difference at such a wonderful time of year," said Barnes Foundation President Amy Gollan.

To learn more about the Barnes Foundation, please visit www.barnes-foundation.org.

CMS Wins Praise for Delaying Lab Requirement

AHCA is applauding CMS for delaying the implementation of a new requirement that physicians sign clinical lab service requisitions. The agency has pushed back the implementation from January 1, 2011 to the end of the first quarter of 2011.

In a press release, AHCA President and CEO Bruce Yarwood said that "the long term care community, along with our partners in the Clinical Laboratory Coalition, has been fighting this issue vehemently because it placed more emphasis on paperwork than on critical patient care."

To learn more, click here.

Study: Many Seniors Stop Taking Antidepressants Because of Side Effects

More than half of seniors who are first-time antidepressant takers begin taking the drugs while they are on other contraindicated drugs, leading to side effects that cause a quarter of them to stop taking the antidepressants, according to a new study published in The American Journal of General Psychiatry.

The study's authors analyzed information from Medicare claims to determine that 39,000 seniors started taking antidepressants between 2001 and 2006. Of those, 25% were taking other drugs that could have caused major drug interactions and 36% were taking other drugs that could cause moderate interactions.

To learn more, click here.

Report: Nursing Homes Overuse Risky Drugs

A new report from Consumer Reports found that oftentimes nursing homes' use of antipsychotics to treat aggression, agitation or hallucinations in residents with dementia is unwarranted. The report also noted that the risks posed by antipsychotics, such as diabetes, weight gain, movement disorders (sometimes permanent), pneumonia, sudden cardiac arrest and stroke, frequently outweigh the potential benefits of their use.

Experts who contributed to the report suggested trying behavior interventions before considering the use of medication - for example, music therapy, massage therapy, distraction techniques and allowing residents to make frequent calls to friends and family.

The report is part of a Consumer Reports Health Best Buy Drugs ongoing investigation into medication that is prescribed "off-label." There are no FDA-approved drugs to treat dementia or Alzheimer's disease, but doctors can legally prescribe any drug for reasons they deem appropriate.

To learn more, click here.

Congress Passes Bill to Create National Alzheimer's Project

This week, Congress voted unanimously to create a National Alzheimer's Project within the Department of Health and Human Services, the goal of which is "to accelerate the development of treatments that would prevent, halt or reverse the course of Alzheimer's" and "improve the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and coordination of the care and treatment of citizens with Alzheimer's."

Part of the project is the creation of an advisory council of representatives from agencies such as the CDC, NIH, FDA and Department of Veterans Affairs. The council will draft a yearly report on federally funded programs that involve research, treatment, nursing homes and home care. The report will include recommendations on whether to expand or eliminate any of the programs.

To learn more, click here.

Study: More Dementia Residents Using Hospice

A new study found has found that dementia residents are using hospice care benefits more and more. It also showed that 40 percent of residents have some degree of dementia when they die.

The study, published in the December issue of the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, is the first to estimate the percentage of people in nursing homes who have mild to moderately severe or advanced dementia when they pass away. The study authors, while pleased to see that more and more residents were using hospice, and using it for longer periods of time, also cautioned that their findings could be used by policymakers as a reason to cut costs.

The study's lead researcher also noted that while people die of dementia, many times family members and caregivers don't recognize it as a terminal illness.

To learn more, click here.

Rolaids Announces Recall

McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the manufacturer of Rolaids, has announced a voluntary recall of all lots of Rolaids Extra Strength Softchews, Rolaids Extra Strength plus Gas Softchews and Rolaids Multi-Symptom plus Anti-Gas Softchews distributed in the US.

The recall follows consumer reports of foreign materials in the products, including metal and wood particles. After an investigation, McNeil determined that the materials were potentially introduced into the products during the manufacturing process. The company will not restart production until the problem has been corrected.

Consumes who purchased any of the products should click here for information about contacting McNeil and receiving a refund.

FDA Plans to Pull Plug on Darvon, Darvocet

On November 19, the FDA announced that it plans to withdraw propoxyphene - perhaps most commonly known as Darvon and Darvocet - from the US market because new findings indicate that it could cause serious toxicity to the heart, even when taken in therapeutic doses.

Propoxyphene is an opioid pain reliever used to treat mild to moderate pain. It's sold under a number of names as a single-ingredient product (such as Darvon) as well as in combination with acetaminophen (such as Darvocet).

A new study shows that even therapeutic levels of propoxyphene can cause significant changes to the electrical activity of the heart. This can put users at risk for serious abnormal heart rhythms, even if they have taken propoxyphene for many years. Users are at a higher risk if they have a change in their disease state, take other medications or have a decrease in kidney function.

To learn more, click here.

Rod Roberts Nominated to Head Iowa Dept. of Inspections

Rod Roberts, an Iowa state legislator and former Republican gubernatorial candidate, has been nominated by Iowa governor-elect Terry Branstad to head Iowa's Department of Inspections - despite critics' allegations that he has conflicts of interest.

Roberts has sat on the board of the New Hope Village care center and its charitable foundation in Carroll, Iowa. His wife, Patricia, reportedly worked at St. Anthony Regional Hospital and Nursing Home in Carroll for about 17 years. Patricia now works as the director of development for a foundation that supports St. Anthony and works for a lobbying organization in support of Iowa hospitals.

A spokesman for Branstad said he is confident that there are no conflicts of interest between Roberts and his involvement in the nursing home industry.

To learn more, click here.

Report: EMRs Still Lacking

Despite a $27 billion grant from the stimulus bill to build more efficient electronic medical record systems, roughly 80 percent of doctors are still lacking even the most basic access to such records.

This finding was part of a report titled "Realizing the Full Potential of Health Information Technology to Improve Healthcare for Americans: The Path Forward," which was released by The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) on Wednesday. The group is calling on the Obama administration to develop a set of metrics within a year to measure progress toward to an operational, universal and national health IT infrastructure.

To learn more, click here.

Congratulations, Dolores Martinez!

Team ProMed congratulates Dolores Martinez on being named the December 2010 Employee Spotlight Award winner! Dolores is a Medicare Assistant and has been with ProMed for three years.

“Dolores is a fantastic employee who really cares about her job responsibilities and the customers she interacts with in our Med B department,” said Director of Medicare Billing Brett Bennett. “She is a meticulous biller and can always be relied upon to go ‘above and beyond’ to complete all tasks. ProMed is lucky to have her!”

When we asked Dolores why she enjoys being a member of Team ProMed, she said, “My favorite part of working for ProMed is really the department I work with, my coworkers. Also, I am learning something new all the time.” She also noted that the regular office luncheons and contests make working for ProMed both a pleasure and interesting.

As the Employee Spotlight Award winner, Dolores will be able to proudly display the Torch of Excellence trophy at her desk for the month of December. She was also given a $100 cash award.

Congratulations, Dolores!

Sunny Hill Goes High-Tech

Sunny Hill Nursing Home in Joliet, a recipient of a 2009 Innovation Grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health, has seized the opportunity to turn its facility into a more high-tech living space.

The $37,000 grant enabled Sunny Hill to install wi-fi throughout the building and add a 24-hour in-house TV channel that features menus, birthdays, staff and resident anniversaries and specially chosen videos.

The new wi-fi setup has received rave reviews from both residents and staff members. More and more residents are bringing computers with them when they move in, and the wi-fi allows them to easily send emails or browse the Web from their rooms. Staff members can also easily look up information on their smartphones during their rounds.

To learn more, click here.

"Fishy" Findings on Macular Degeneration

Looking to fight age-related macular degeneration? Ask someone to pass the oysters!

A new study found that seniors who ate at least one serving a week of fish or shellfish high in omega-3 fatty acids - such as salmon, tuna, crab and oysters - were able to reduce their risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration by 60 percent.

Age-related macular degeneration, which is chronic and irreversible, affects the part of the eye that is responsible for seeing fine detail. It is a leading cause of vision loss for people 60 years and older.

To learn more, click here.

Retirees Moving Back to College

One of our favorite blogs, The New Old Age, posted a great entry today. It talks about the growing number of college campus retirement communities that have sprung up around the country.

These communities, located near such big-name universities as Duke, Penn State and George Mason University, offer residents an active, intellectually stimulating and generational experience - the same sort of things residents were probably looking for in a college when they were teens. The educational opportunities at many of the namesake colleges are also play a big part in attractiving residents.

To read the entry, click here.

FDA Issues New Finger-Stick Device Guidance

Citing a rise in blood-borne infections in long-term care, the FDA has issued new guidance calling for restricted use and better labeling procedures for fingerstick devices.

The new guidance recommends that all fingerstick devices be labeled for use on just a single resident. Previously, some devices were cleared to for use on multiple residents. The FDA also wants manufacturers to include the following on their product labeling:

• Notification that reusable portions of a device are for single resident use only
• Instructions that such devices should not be used for assisted blood draws in LTC settings or reused by anyone else, including family members
• Instructions for cleaning and disinfecting reusable portions of devices after each use

To learn more, click here.

Today is World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day! Every year, on December 1, the CDC and its partners pay tribute to the millions of people living with AIDS in the United States and around the world.

The elderly are often overlooked in discussions about AIDS. According to the CDC, there were more than 16,000 people over the age of 65 living with AIDS as of 2007. That number will continue to climb as baby boomers age. Even if they're not afflicted with AIDS, many elderly people are affected by the disease in other ways, including the illness or death of loved ones or community members.

To learn more about World AIDS Day, click here.