College Psoriasis Campaign
The National Psoriasis Foundation is seeking to increase awareness and knowledge about psoriasis among college students, partly because the disease usually first appears between the ages of 15 and 25 years. The College-Age Psoriasis Awareness Campaign will be anchored by television news segments provided by the foundation that feature Dr. Stephen Feldman, professor of dermatology and pathology at Wake Forest University and a 21-year-old psoriasis patient and college student discussing the physical, social, and psychological consequences of the disease. "Misperceptions about psoriasis can negatively affect [college students'] comfort level with dating, participating in sports and going on job interviews," said Gail Zimmerman, Psoriasis Foundation president and CEO, in a statement. "The goal of CAPAC is to educate this group and alleviate the potentially adverse social effects of psoriasis," she said.
Cosmetic Surgeons' Calif. Victory
A California judge has ruled that the state's Medical Board must grant equivalency status to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS). The decision by Judge Jack Sapunor in the Superior Court of California, Sacramento County, means that the ABCS would be given the same footing as other boards recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. The Medical Board of California had refused applications for equivalency by ABCS in 1999 and again in November 2005. That meant that cosmetic surgeons in the state could not use the phrase "board-certified" in advertising, and that they had difficulty getting hospital privileges, according to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. The ABCS challenged the Medical Board's decision, calling it arbitrary and capricious. The Judge agreed and said that the ABCS met or exceeded the requirements. The Medical Board is appealing. The AACS said that the ruling could pave the way for equivalency in other states.
AAD Targets Indoor Tanning
The American Academy of Dermatology is launching a public service campaign on the dangers of indoor tanning using teen-centric instant-messaging shorthand. The print, television, and radio ads use language typically employed while "IM-ing." According to the AAD, 70% of indoor tanning customers are white females aged 1649 years. "This campaign is to specifically target teenage girls at a young age before they start tanning and educate them in a peer-to-peer manner that will encourage them to avoid this unnecessary health risk," said Dr. Arielle N.B. Kauvar, chairman of the AAD's Council on Communications, in a statement.
CMS Curbs Improper Claims
Medicare's on track in 2006 to further reduce the number of fraudulent and inappropriate claims being submitted. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported that 4% of claims were improper in 2006, down from 5% the previous year and from 14% in 1996, leading to $11 billion less in improper payments over the last 2 years. To determine the error rate, CMS randomly sampled 160,000 claims submitted from April 2005 to March 2006. Since it has been able to more closely identify errors, CMS has been providing more accurate information to contractors, resulting in improved system edits and updated coverage policies, the agency said in a statement.
Ex-FDA Chief Guilty
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester M. Crawford, D.V.M., has pleaded guilty to lying about stock he held during his tenure, in violation of federal conflict-of-interest and stock ownership rules. Dr. Crawford was charged with two misdemeanors and is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 22 in Federal District Court in Washington. He could receive a year in prison and could be fined $200,000. According to the plea, Dr. Crawford failed to sell shares in Sysco, Pepsico, and Kimberly-Clark, all of which have products that are regulated by the FDA. Federal rules require senior officials to divest shares in companies that their agency regulates. Dr. Crawford also did not disclose his wife's ownership of Wal-Mart stock. Dr. Crawford was charged with conflict of interest for owning the Pepsico and Sysco shares while he was chairman of FDA's Obesity Working Group. Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) said he will push for a completion of an Office of Inspector General inquiry into Dr. Crawford's resignation and financial holdings. "Based on Lester Crawford's apparent disregard for the law, we must find out what other improper actions he took while leading the FDA, which may not necessarily have been illegal, but were inappropriate or unethical," Rep. Hinchey said in a statement.
McClellan Accepts Think Tank Post
Former Medicare Chief Mark McClellan has accepted a new post as a visiting senior fellow with the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies in Washington. The new job will keep Dr. McClellan involved in health care policy issues. He also will remain as an associate professor of economics and an associate professor of medicine at Stanford (Calif.) University. Dr. McClellan had been on leave from Stanford for several years while working in the federal government. Before taking the post as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. McClellan served from 2002 to 2004 as the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. He also served as an economic and health care advisor to President Bush from 2001 to 2002.