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How the opioid epidemic costs the US economy $80B a year http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/us-and-world-news/248573030-story WJBK) – The opioid epidemic is becoming one of the biggest issues plaguing Americans. Heroin abuse drains almost $80 billion a year from the U.S. economy. The costs start showing up as lost tax revenue as productivity among addicts drops. Addicts inevitably make […]
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MSU professor files lawsuit against world’s largest retailer http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/35149595/msu-professor-files-lawsuit-against-worlds-largest-retailer BOZEMAN – A professor at Montana State University is taking on Walmart. Court documents, filed Thursday state that MSU professor Gilbert Kolande is suing the world’s largest retailer for libel. Kalonde is currently working as an Assistant Professor of Technology and Education at MSU. Court […]
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FDA jumps on another Mylan plant in India, slapping it with a warning letter http://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/fda-slaps-another-mylan-plant-india-a-warning-letter Less than two years after being slapped hard by the FDA for problems at three plants it got in its buyout of a sterile injectables specialist Agila Specialties, another Mylan plant in India has been issued a warning letter for […]
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Intensity of Chronic Pain — The Wrong Metric? http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1507136#t=article Jane C. Ballantyne, M.D., and Mark D. Sullivan, M.D., Ph.D. N Engl J Med 2015; 373:2098-2099November 26, 2015DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1507136 Pain causes widespread suffering, disability, social displacement, and expense. Whether the issue is viewed from a moral, political, or public health perspective, pain that can be relieved […]
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Alabama Battle Over Alprazolam is Done. For Now. deachronicles.quarles.com/2017/04/alabama-battle-over-alprazolam-is-done-for-now/ The battle is over! For now. Yesterday, Alabama lawmakers blocked the proposal to move Alprazolam into Schedule II, as well as blocking the other proposed changes described in this series of client updates. See here and here. The pharmacy community in Alabama took an active role […]
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It has been stated that AG Session is going to “reactivate”the war on drugs.. turn back the clock to the 90’s. Except in the early 90’s there was no Americans with Disability Act and the original act was “very vague” for Congress intended for the law to be defined in our court system… which would […]
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Georgia moving to regulate another industry, in the name of consumer protection investigations.blog.ajc.com/2017/04/13/georgia-moving-to-regulate-another-industry-in-the-name-of-consumer-protection/ Georgians who need oxygen equipment, walkers, blood sugar monitors or other durable medical equipment could be impacted by legislation now awaiting the governor’s signature. But there’s debate over whether it will provide those consumers with important protections or increase medical costs by unnecessary […]
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Opioids after surgery: Which patients don’t stop when they should http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/04/12/opioids-after-surgery-which-patients-dont-stop-when-should.html The first time many patients in the United States take prescription opioid painkillers is following surgery. But not everyone puts away the pills: In a new study, researchers found that 6 percent of patients continued to use the drugs for at least three months […]
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Empathy, active listening are key to communicating with patients who have chronic pain http://pharmacytoday.org/article/S1042-0991(17)30398-5/fulltext As the opioid epidemic surges and the government tightens its regulatory grip on prescribing, pharmacists must walk a thin line between providing compassionate care and complying with the law—and sometimes they stumble, leaving their patients with chronic pain feeling questioned and […]
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Opdivo for head and neck cancer too expensive for NHS use, says NICE https://www.thepharmaletter.com/article/opdivo-for-head-and-neck-cancer-too-expensive-for-nhs-use-says-nice In yet another negative decision of a new cancer drug, the medicines cost-effectiveness watchdog for England and Wales has issued new draft guidance that has also come in for criticism from the Institute for Cancer Research, though the latter sees a […]
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