FROM THE FOUNDATION

End-of-Life Choices

Trends in end-of-life care show that not only does the care given vary widely from region to region and hospital to hospital, but also patients often don't get the care they prefer. What can be done?

Care Management Puzzle

Chronic diseases and the cost of care are rising. Are disease management programs improving outcomes for patients with complex, chronic conditions?

No Middleman

Under the "direct primary care" model, patients pay a monthly fee for basic medical services. Learn about the history and current landscape of physician practices offering this arrangement.

Patient Safety

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

FDA Warns 8 Calif. Surgical Centers on Lap-Band Ads

On Tuesday, FDA announced that it sent warning letters to eight surgical centers and the marketing firm 1-800-GET-THIN LLC in California about misleading advertising of Lap-Band, a device manufactured by Allergan to treat obesity. According to FDA, the surgical centers and the marketing firm used billboards and advertising inserts that did not provide the required risk information about using the Lap-Band, such as warnings, precautions and possible side effects. In addition, the agency said the font size used for risk information in the inserts was too small for consumers to read.



Readers are invited to send feedback to: chl@chcf.org

Click to register for California Healthline