WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report from the  National Pharmaceutical Council makes a serious study of clinical trials and studies. Their conclusion is that if research is interpreted poorly, the results can be misunderstood.

The report, entitled “Demystifying Comparative Effectiveness Research: A Case Study Learning Guide,” was written by Robert W. Dubois, MD, PhD, chief medical officer of Cerner LifeSciences, and Sylvia L. Kindermann, MPH, Cerner LifeSciences senior research associate.

The report discusses the three most prominent types of research, and what they mean. There are randomized controlled trials, or RCTs, wherein subjects are randomly allocated into study and control groups. There is also meta-analysis, which synthesizes data across a series of similar studies. And lastly there are observational studies, which follow participants over a period of time. The report details a guide on how to best evaluate each kind of study, and it discusses case studies in each of the three types of comparative effectiveness research.

“If conducted and interpreted correctly, these types of research can help to inform health care decision-making. If, however, such studies are conducted or interpreted incorrectly, the comparative answers from these studies may be inaccurate, or worse, misleading,” Dubois and Kindermann noted in a press release.

Other headlines today include:

• As part of its global market access strategy, Underwriters Laboratories announced its UL Europe Mark (UL-EU). Manufacturers who hope to reduce the number of certification marks appearing on a product, now can obtaining the UL-EU Mark in combination with the United States and Canada Listing Marks.
• St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut, has selected the vendor Streamline Health to provide an I.T. workflow solution to ensure compliance with O.S.H.A. Voluntary Protection Programs.
• The new website touchsurfaces.org, featuring TV physician Dr. Bob Arnot, helps consumers and healthcare professionals discover harmless products that kill germs; bacteria, fungus and viruses.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is very rare among children who have been vaccinated against chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the December issue of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal.

The study used electronic health records to identify more than 170,000 children vaccinated with the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine from 2002 to 2008 in Southern California. It then followed children for an average of two and a half years to identify the occurrence of herpes zoster. “The message to parents and pediatricians is: vaccinating your child against the chicken pox is also a good way to reduce their chances of getting herpes zoster,” said the study’s lead author, HungFu Tseng, Ph.D, MPH, a research scientist and epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Department of Research and Evaluation in Pasadena, Calif. For more information, see www.kp.org/research

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PRINCETON, N.J. – New Jersey hospitals’ statewide 2008 hospital operating margin reached just 0.2 percent, the lowest point since 1999. The data is contained in the 2009 Financial Status of New Jersey Hospitals report, released today by the New Jersey Hospital Association.

The annual report examines hospitals’ audited year-end financial data. The survey also showed that in New Jersey, Medicaid pays hospitals an average of just 66 cents for every $1 of care provided and Medicare pays hospitals 89 cents on the dollar. (more…)

PRINCETON, N.J. – A new survey sponsored by Novo Nordisk reports that the diabetes population in the United States will almost double over the next 25 years and annual medical spending could hit $336 billion, up from $113 billion today.

The study was published in the December issue of Diabetes Care, sponsored by The National Changing Diabetes Program and commissioned by a team from the University of Chicago. (more…)