Posts Tagged ‘health & safety’

October5

New report: Worker injuries and deaths mount; OSHA is hamstrung

By: Angela Bradbery

"OSHA rules"We’re sure you’ve heard the Big Business hype about how the regulatory process is out of control. Well, as we’ve shown before, that’s nonsense. Here’s more evidence to prove it: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has produced regulations in the past decade at a far slower rate than ever before, according to a new report Public Citizen is releasing today.

The agency’s inaction on these safeguards have a high cost: More than 100,000 serious injuries, more than 10,000 cases of illness and hundreds of fatalities could have been prevented had the protections not been delayed.

We released the report as the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, part of the Education and the Workforce Committee, holds a hearing on a proposal that would further thwart OSHA’s rulemaking abilities. Yeah, that’s just what we need (that was sarcasm).

Here are some more eye-popping facts:

  • Since 2001, OSHA has produced just one new health or safety standard every 2.5 years;
  • Individual OSHA regulations have been delayed for as long as 31 years; and
  • OSHA has regulated only two chemicals since 1997; industry, meanwhile, develops two new chemicals every day.

Says Justin Feldman, worker health and safety advocate with Public Citizen and author of the report,

The requirements on OSHA have nearly paralyzed the agency. As a result, OSHA cannot adequately protect workers from toxic chemicals, heat stress, repetitive use injuries, workplace violence and many other occupational dangers. Inadequate regulation imposes tremendous costs on workers, who may be forced to pay with their health or even their lives.

Continue Reading

Posted in: Activism, Congress, Consumer Protection, Environment, Health, Product Safety, Regulation, Uncategorized, Workplace Health & Safety1 comments

August23

If you take Nexium, Prilosec or similar stomach acid-reducing drugs, you should read this

By: Angela Bradbery

Flickr photo by JudeanPeoplesFront

Have you ever taken Nexium, Prilosec or many other stomach acid-reducing drugs? Chances are, you or someone you know has. They are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the U.S.

But these drugs can cause long-term dependence and should carry the strongest possible warning label for a variety of dangerous adverse effects, Public Citizen told the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a petition sent today.

The drugs are proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), so-named because of the mechanism they use to shut off the production of stomach acid. An estimated  119 million prescriptions dispensed in 2009 and $13.6 billion in U.S. sales. About 1 of every 20 people in the developed world is taking the medications, which include Nexium, Dexilant, Prilosec, Prilosec OTC, Zegerid, Zegerid OTC, Prevacid, Prevacid 24-Hr, Protonix, Aciphex, Vimovo and numerous generic counterparts, most prominently omeprazole and pantoprazole.

Said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group:

These drugs are being prescribed far too commonly to people who shouldn’t be taking them. As a result, millions of people are needlessly setting themselves up to become dependent on PPIs while exposing themselves to the serious risks associated with long-term therapy. The FDA should act immediately to ensure that patients and physicians are adequately warned of these effects, and reminded of the many safer alternatives for common conditions such as acid reflux.

PPIs are approved to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) – sometimes referred to as acid reflux – as well as gastric ulcers, erosive esophagitis and stomach bleeding associated with using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). But evidence shows that after using PPIs for a month or more, patients who stop taking the drug make even more stomach acid than before they started the drug, a phenomenon known as rebound acid hypersecretion, which causes acid reflux symptoms to return even worse than before therapy.

Continue Reading

Posted in: Consumer Protection, Health, Pharmaceuticals, Product Safety, Regulation1 comments

August10

Our letter to California governor on failings of state medical board is getting attention

By: Angela Bradbery

A letter we sent to California Gov. Jerry Brown yesterday about the need to improve the state’s medical is kicking up quite a storm in that state.

The Los Angeles Times published a really thorough piece, as did the Associated Press. California Health Line picked it up, as did Kaiser Health News. We’ve been getting more calls today from radio stations and other outlets that want to cover the matter.

We told Brown that the state of California has become delinquent in disciplining doctors with documented poor records. We urged the governor to take the necessary steps to correct the dangerous shortcomings of the state medical board.

According to our analysis, California’s state medical board has failed to take disciplinary action against 710 physicians in the state, all of whom were disciplined for wrongdoing between September 1990 and the end of 2009 by California hospitals, health maintenance organizations, ambulatory surgical centers and other health care organizations. What’s more, 102 of those doctors were designated by peer reviewers as an “immediate threat to health or safety” of patients.

Continue Reading

Posted in: Consumer Protection, Health1 comments

May4

Bed handles can be deadly, FDA should recall and ban

By: Angela Bradbery

You probably never thought that those innocuous-looking bed handles you can install on beds at home — the ones designed to help the elderly and ill get in and out of bed — can be deadly.

But they have, in fact, strangled people who unwittingly roll over in their sleep and become caught in the gap between the bed and the handles.

A little while ago, Public Citizen received a call from a woman whose mother was killed this way. We began to investigate and found that others had died in a similar manner.

So today, we sent a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), urging the agency to recall all Bedside Assistant bed handles, ban the marketing of these devices and investigate the link between similar bed handles (also known as bed rail devices) made by other companies and the risk of life-threatening injury or death due to entrapment and subsequent strangulation or suffocation.

Bed handles — which are considered medical devices and are therefore regulated by the FDA — are used in patients’ homes and in nursing homes; they are rarely used in hospital settings. Said Dr. Michael Carome, deputy director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group:

Contrary to the manufacturer’s claim that the Bedside Assistant  bed handles make any bed a safer bed, data previously provided to the FDA demonstrate that these devices can turn a bed into a death trap for patients who are physically weak or have physical or mental impairments.

It’s an important consumer story. We’ll keep you posted on what we hear from the FDA.

 

Posted in: Health, Regulation1 comments

April4

One of the most dangerous things you’ll ever do

By: Rick Claypool

Chances are, one of the most dangerous things you will ever do is stay overnight at a hospital.

If that sounds alarmist, it’s because the numbers are truly alarming: A recent study of Medicare participants found that, in a single month, one of every 17 hospital patients was injured or killed by a preventable medical error. Many more Americans are hurt by unsafe drugs and medical devices.

Given the staggering injury and death rate, it’s shocking that some members of Congress want to shield from accountability those in the medical field who are responsible for harm.

They’re pushing H.R. 5, and overreaching bill that would immunize practically the entire medical industry from responsibility when their defective products or services hurt people. If it passes, the costs of medical mistakes would shift from the negligent actors to injured patients, their families, and taxpayer-funded health and disability programs.

Only an extremely small number of doctors are responsible for most medical errors. Just 5 percent are responsible for more than half of all medical errors. Those doctors should be held responsible for their actions – not given a free pass. The same goes for drug companies and medical device manufacturers.

Instead of attacking patients’ rights, Congress should focus on improving patient safety and reducing deaths and injuries. H.R. 5 does neither. But Public Citizen’s research has shown that 10 basic safety measures would save, conservatively, $35 billion and 85,000 lives a year.

Urge your representative to oppose H.R. 5.

Posted in: Activism, Consumer Protection, Health, Social Justice0 comments

© Copyright . All Rights Reserved.