41.   The expanded use was approved over the protests of patient advocates, who object to the way Rebetron is being sold.

42.   The measure, along with a similar one pending in the House of Representatives, has come under heavy attack from consumer groups, patient advocates and FDA officials.

43.   The practice has drawn criticism from patient advocates who say that it opens the door for unscrupulous doctors to deny prescriptions to patients who need them.

44.   The patient advocate reported the complaints quarterly to senior administrators.

45.   The review boards, the proposals say, would have to have a patient advocate as well as someone familiar with psychiatric research.

46.   While patient advocates and hospitals said Wednesday that the quality of care could suffer, the cuts would also help the budgets of municipalities like New York City.

47.   With new drugs prolonging life, she and other patient advocates expect the number of older people with the disease to grow.

48.   Yet patient advocates worry that the insurers may use genomic information to deny or limit coverage.

49.   And the patient liaison officer at each public hospital will be upgraded to a patient advocate to improve communication between medical staff and patients.