Kaiser Permanent bars use of painkiller Bextra

• · HMO halts Bextra prescriptions Jan. 31: Kaiser Permanente is halting prescriptions for the painkiller Bextra, saying the drug may be unsafe and could increase the risk of heart attacks.
• - Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest not-for-profit managed-care provider, has stopped prescribing Bextra until tests show whether the painkiller is safe.
• The decision came amid "compelling" evidence of heightened heart risks associated with Bextra and a similar drug called Vioxx that manufacturer Merck & Co. pulled from the market in September, according to a company memo Kaiser issued late Friday.
• Kaiser spokeswoman Beverly Hayon said the policy, which Kaiser is calling a moratorium, represents the first time the health system's doctors had decided to stop dispensing a drug that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
• The Oakland-based HMO, hospital and clinic network, which serves 8.5 million patients in nine states and the District of Columbia, plans to stop filling new prescriptions for Bextra on Feb. 1 and on March 1 for refills.
• Risks vs. benefits Physicians will be notified with suggestions for alternative medicines they can prescribe.
• Bextra, made by Pfizer Inc., is most often recommended for arthritis patients.
• "This is not a drug that saves lives," said Dr. Sharon Levine, who oversees medication usage for Kaiser Permanente's Northern California division.
• The moratorium will last at least six months or "until the FDA and/or Pfizer can provide substantiated evidence to support the cardiovascular safety" of Bextra, the memo said.
• The Kaiser doctors who reviewed Bextra's "safety profile" cited several studies that have raised concerns about whether the drug might increase the risk of heart attacks.