News Briefs: Week of Nov. 23-27

This roundup includes the following news briefs:

The Procter & Gamble Co. is recalling three lots of Vicks Sinex nasal spray after finding the bacterium Burkholderia cepacia in the product at its plant in Gross Gerau, Germany.

Procter & Gamble said in a news release that the problem is limited to a single batch of raw material mixture used in product sold in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom, and no illness has been reported. The manufacturer said B. cepacia poses little risk to healthy individuals, but it could cause serious infections in people with compromised immune systems or those with chronic lung conditions.

The affected product is Vicks Sinex VapoSpray 12-Hour Decongestant UltraFine Mist, 15 ml, and the lot number recalled in the United States is 9239028831. Consumers who have product from this lot can call the company at (877) 876-7881 for a replacement coupon or refund.

Adverse events associated with the use of this or other health products should be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Program.

Two medications commonly used to treat high blood pressure also appear to be effective in treating stable ischemic heart disease, according to a comparative effectiveness review published recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The review -- funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality -- found that treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE, inhibitors, or angiotensin receptor blockers, or ARBs, can lead to reductions in heart attack and stroke risk, fewer hospitalizations for heart failure, and fewer deaths among patients suffering from stable ischemic heart disease.

Some physicians prescribe treatment using both ACE inhibitors and ARBs, but the researchers cautioned that combination treatment does not show any added benefit compared with ACE inhibitor use alone and that risks of combined therapy include fainting, diarrhea, low blood pressure and kidney problems.

David Blumenthal, M.D., HHS' national coordinator for health information technology, or health IT, has launched a new government blog dubbed Health IT Buzz.

The resource was designed to provide a forum for public engagement and to help readers learn more about health IT and activities within the office of the national coordinator. Consumers, patients, health care professionals, policymakers and technology enthusiasts are invited to join the online discussion and post comments.

HHS plans to use $80 million available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to develop and strengthen the health information technology, or health IT, workforce.

In a Nov. 24 news release, David Blumenthal, M.D., the national coordinator for health IT, said the grants would include $70 million for community college training programs and $10 million to develop educational materials to support these programs.

Any nonprofit institution of higher learning in the United States that currently is engaged in providing training in health IT can apply for the grants. Additional information about grant applications is available on HHS' HITECH Funding Opportunities Web page.

Medical practices need to begin now to prepare for the implementation of new standards for the electronic transmission of health care transactions. The 5010 version of standards, which is required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, will take effect on Jan. 1, 2012.

To help practices prepare for the change, the AAFP has created a new online resource that includes a transition checklist (4-page PDF; About PDFs) to help physicians successfully complete the switch to the new HIPAA transaction standards.