Manufacturers' distribution of drug samples to a family medicine clinic.

The distribution of drug product samples by pharmaceutical companies to a family medicine clinic was studied. Data on all deliveries of drug samples to the clinic site of a university-affiliated family medicine residency program from November 1992 through December 1993 were collected. In addition, the 11 faculty family physicians were surveyed about their experiences with the deliveries of samples. Forty-three manufacturers delivered samples of 331 drugs during the 14-month study period. There were 366 visits by the drug company representatives, who made 1117 separate deliveries. The total value of the samples, based on the average whole-sale price, was $240,782. Twenty-nine percent of the drugs were nonformulary, and only 49% were stocked by the pharmacy. The physicians surveyed indicated that they were either usually or always asked to sign for samples they did not in fact request, that they usually did not know what was recorded on the receipts for samples that they signed, and that they seldom verified what was actually delivered. Pharmaceutical manufactures delivered large quantities of drug samples during the study period, and many of the drugs were nonformulary or not stocked by the pharmacy. The physicians indicated that they were not well informed about delivered samples for which they signed receipts.

Rehabilitation in the outpatient setting.

A working familiarity with rehabilitation techniques is absent from most primary care settings. Primary care clinicians can benefit greatly from better knowledge of the principles of geriatric rehabilitation. Physiatrists and geriatricians can have a greater impact if future research also explores the practical barriers to providing rehabilitation services outside institutional settings. An active, collaborative search for new models of care is needed. If more elderly citizens are to benefit from effective rehabilitation services, established geriatric rehabilitation programs must learn how to select from the many patients referred for evaluation those who will most benefit from outpatient rehabilitation services. Impending national health care reform creates a window of opportunity to establish rational systems to deliver health services designed for our aging population.

[Development on a rice-based food product, for children]. / Desarrollo de un producto alimenticio a base de arroz, para uso infantil.

An infant dehydrated rice-based food product, complemented with soybean flour, was developed. To improve its nutritional and organoleptic characteristics, fruits were also added. Ingredients were first precooked and dried in a drum-dryer, obtaining a final product, as flakes, with a 2 to 3% water content. This rehydrates easily with liquids such as milk, water or "panela" (refined and concentrated sugar cane syrup). The sensory panel did not detect any difference between formulations containing 10, 15 and 20% soybean, respectively.

Desarrollo en un producto alimenticio a base de arroz, para uso infantil / Development on an infant food product based on rice

Se desarrolló un producto alimenticio deshidratado para niños a base de arroz, complementado con soya y frutas para mejorar sus características nutricionales y organolépticas. El proceso consistió en la precocción de los ingredientes y un secado posterior en un deshidratador de tambores. Se obtuvo así un producto final en forma de hojuelas, con un contenido de humedad de 2 a 3%, el cual es de fácil rehidratación cuando se mezcla con un líquido como leche, agua o agua de panela. El panel de catación no detectó diferencia alguna entre las formulaciones con un contenido de soya de: 10, 15 y 20%, respectivamente