The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has posted on its Web site its first quarterly report that lists certain drugs that are being evaluated for potential safety issues. The drugs have been identified based on a review of reports in FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first nucleic acid test for hepatitis B virus (HBV) that measures the amount of viral DNA (viral load) in a patient's blood. Assessing a patient's viral load provides health care professionals with a highly sensitive method for gauging the progress of antiviral therapy in patients with chronic HBV infections.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that the manufacturers of Humira, Cimzia, Enbrel, and Remicade must strengthen the existing warnings, in the Warnings and Precaution sections of the drugs' prescribing information and Medication Guides, on the risk of developing opportunistic fungal infections. Some patients with invasive fungal infections have died.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced approval of a software update from Medtronic that will help detect fractures of the company's Sprint Fidelis cardiac defibrillator lead. The new software package will alert both patients and physicians of a potential lead fracture. This will enable early intervention and lower the risk of serious complications.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it has cleared for marketing a non-invasive test that uses molecular expression techniques to assist doctors in managing heart transplant patients post-surgery for potential organ rejection.

In response to a national campaign to reopen debate on lowering the legal drinking age from 21 to 18, a group of New Jersey agencies and organizations has formed the NJ21 Coalition.

A year-old campaign by Middlebury College's former president to launch a discussion of lowering the legal drinking age from 21 has quietly gained the support of about 100 university presidents.

Pharmaceutical companies have found a way around federal regulations on advertising drugs like the antismoking remedy Chantix by creating ads that refer readers and viewers to websites like mytimetoquit.com rather than touting the drug directly by name.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst says that binge drinking and overall heavy drinking have declined two years after the school launched a social-norms campaign to combat its "Zoo Mass" reputation as a party campus.

The annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health found little change in past-month use of illicit drugs in 2007, although use of cocaine and methamphetamine did decline.

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Alcohol and drug use can progress into abuse and even addiction so insidiously that sometimes people do not realize that it has become a problem for them and those...

Every parent should make sure their teenagers or college-age children see this website. Anyone who ever drinks and drives should take time to view these dramatic and very emotional...

Although society as a whole is drinking less and approaching alcohol consumption with more moderation, a study of the last 50 years of drinking patterns in the United States...

In an effort to make mental health services more accessible in primary health care setting, three agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have developed a...

by Tom Coderre, National Field Director, Faces & Voices of Recovery There’s an informal network of recovery supports available to folks at the Republican National Convention. Thanks to outreach from Faces & Voices board member Jo Campe, mutual support networks in the Twin Cities were advised about the possible need for more resources for delegates and [...]

  by Tom Coderre, National Field Director, Faces & Voices of Recovery   What we accomplished by bringing the recovery wellness rooms and recovery to the conventions will not soon be forgotten.  It was an incredible project with a lofty goal – to help people.  We were able to support delegates, guests, staff and volunteers.  We were able [...]

by Tom Coderre, National Field Director, Faces & Voices of Recovery   On Wednesday, Carol and I attended a special luncheon where Bill Emmet from the Campaign for Mental Health Reform & Linda Rosenberg from the National Council were honored.  The reception was at the Denver Art Museum and was a really nice affair.  Congressman Kennedy spoke [...]

While attending the Rhode Island delegation breakfast, I ran into Washington Bureau reporter for the Providence Journal John Mulligan.  Mulligan interviewed me about our project and did a terrific story about the rooms and all that we were trying to accomplish at the conventions.  See Mulligan’s story here: http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/politics/2008/08/-since-the-hila.html   I also had an opportunity to visit [...]

by Tom Coderre, National Field Director, Faces & Voices of Recovery   About 3pm on Monday my cell phone rang.  The call was from my friend Jimmy back home in Rhode Island who had just finished watching our local NBC affiliate broadcast the first story on our project.  The reporter, Bill Rappleye from WJAR-10 in Providence nailed [...]

A behavioral healthcare organization aims to do what it takes to create a regional health information organization

The group has reached out to the party platform committees and is developing post-election plans

Microsoft and HHS IT vendors team up to promote interagency collaboration

It took a lot of hard work, but Congress finally acted to eliminate the higher co-pay for mental health services