United States Responsible Care

The needs of modem medicine require sophisticated measuring devices for a wide range of chemical species in very complex matricies. Due to fundamental breakthroughs in the 1950 s and 1960 s, electrochemical methods have proven to be extremely valuable in meeting such needs. This past success, coupled with the current trend in the United States and western Europe towards cutting medical costs while still maintaining quality of care is largely responsible for the present fast pace of research and development in the area ... 

Osteoporosis is a common and often silent disorder associated with significant morbidity and mortality and reduced quality of life. It is associated with increased risk and rates of bone fracture and is responsible for over 1.5 million fractures in the United States annually, resulting in direct health care costs of over 17 billion.1 As the population ages, these numbers are expected to increase. It is estimated that postmenopausal Caucasian women have a 50% lifetime chance of developing an osteoporosis-related fracture.1 Common sites of fracture include the spine, hip, and wrist, although almost all sites can be affected. Only a fraction of patients with osteoporosis receive optimal treatment. 

The establishment of performance criteria for a given tumor marker test is not a simple process because accuracy and precision are unique for each type of analyte and its application. Establishing methodological limits for accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and specificity often requires standard reference materials, quality control materials, comparative studies, and actual clinical specimens. Accuracy and precision must be measured over the analyte reportable range for which the device is intended to be used. Sensitivity and specificity must be considered with respect to the intended clinical use of the device. Also, the indications for use should be carefully considered in the design of the study protocol. The indications for class II should be to monitor residual tumor after surgery (or radiation), the recurrence of tumor, or response to therapy. A 510(k) must provide clear evidence that the device is accurate, safe, effective, and substantially equivalent to a device legally marketed in the United States. 

Section 13 of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 created an Office of Dietary Supplements as part of the National Institutes of Health. The office was given two primary responsibilities (1) to explore more fully the potential role of dietary supplements as a significant part of the efforts of the United States to improve health care and (2) to promote scientific study of the benefits of dietary supplements in maintaining health and preventing chronic disease and other health-related conditions. 

It is well known that there is a major problem in the health care system in the United States related to providing new drugs that are effective and relatively safe in a wide diversity of patients with undifferentiated diseases whose individual dose-response relationship varies based on genetic, disease, environmental, and life-style factors. While many may argue over... 

Despite extensive use, animal models have not contributed significantly to AIDS research. While monkeys, rabbits, and mice can be infected with HIV, none develops the human AIDS syndrome. Of over 100 chimpanzees infected with HIV over a 10-year period, only two became sick. Because chimpanzees turned out to be poor models for AIDS, and were expensive to maintain, all of the animals were faced with euthanasia (a euphemism for being killed). In 1997, the National Research Council recommended a solution. For all of the chimpanzees housed in research facilities throughout the United States, a breeding moratorium was introduced and specific steps taken toward making long-term care available for the primates. Animal rights supporters applauded the decision on the basis of moral responsibility. 

Kingdom (UK), the United States (US) and some emerging countries. In the US, for example, the American Chemistry Council has an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make Responsible Care members more easily qualify for membership in EPA s Performance Track Programme, which can reduce the number of environmental inspections for companies that participate because the Responsible Care companies are used to thinking in terms of systems, measurements and performance improvements. 

In the United States, nurses constitute the largest sector of the health care workforce and will certainly be on the front lines of any emergency response. As part of the country s overall plan for disaster preparedness, all nurses must have a basic understanding of disaster science and the key components of disaster preparedness, including the following ... 

In the United States there are about one million people who suffer from Parkinson disease (one person in 100 over the age 60), and each year 50,000 new cases are reported. The elderly are most vulnerable to the condition, with men showing a greater tendency toward the disease than women. In about 10% of cases, symptoms of the disease begin to show when patients are in their 40s, but in the majority of cases most symptoms appear occur after age 50. Parkinson disease symptoms are most pronounced in patients between the ages of 70 and 80. While there is no cure for the disease and the factors responsible for the brain damage are not fully understood, the mechanism of brain-cell deterioration and the brain chemicals involved has been carefully studied. 

In the United States, the majority of mental health services are provided by nonmedical therapists. Likewise, the majority of prescriptions for psychotropic medications are written by family practice and primary care physicians (see figure 1-A). Thus, even though psychiatrists represent the branch of medicine that specializes in psychopharmacology, they are directly responsible for providing only a fraction of professional services to the mentally ill. Consequently it is becoming increasingly important for all mental health clinicians to have a basic familiarity with psychiatric medication treatment. 

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