The Handoff: Your Week in Endocrinology – 12/23/16

The Handoff is a weekly roundup of endocrinology and general medicine news covering various developments in subspecialties, as well as pharmaceutical industry, association, and society news.

• This week, the FDA approved an expanded indication for insulin degludec injection 100 U/mL and 200 U/mL (Tresiba®, Novo Nordisk) for use in children and adolescents with diabetes.
• Also this week, the FDA expanded its indication for the Dexcom G5®  Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) System to allow for the replacement of daily fingerstick blood glucose testing for diabetes treatment decisions in patients aged 2 years and older.
• The FDA has approved Synjardy XR® (empagliflozin and metformin HCl extended-release; Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly) tablets as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when both empagliflozin and metformin can be taken.
• Guidelines on dietary sugar intake are of poor quality, and the supporting evidence is of low quality, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
• Katherine A. Roberts, MD, FACE, ECNU, of Williamsburg Endocrinology Inc in Virginia offers her perspective on what physicians need to know about opting out of Medicare and how it will affect their practices.
• A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine evaluates differences in mortality rates and readmission rates between patients treated by female vs male doctors, as reported by Tech Times.
• The Endocrine Society recently expressed disappointment in the European Commission’s revised proposal on defining and identifying endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), according to a press release.
• The first round of HIPAA audits by the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found that providers are still not doing some of the most basic tasks required by the law.