PHARMACIST STEVE

Substituting methadone for opioids could save billions http://whtc.com/news/articles/2017/nov/20/substituting-methadone-for-opioids-could-save-billions/ (Reuters Health) – Policymakers and insurers have been pushing people addicted to opioids into abstinence-based detox programs, but a new study concludes that methadone and similar drug-maintenance treatments save lives and money. If the nearly 47,000 Californians who began treatment for opioid-use disorder in 2014 had received […]

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Reps. Suozzi and Katko Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Combat Opioid Addiction https://www.longisland.com/news/11-21-17/reps-suozzi-and-katko-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-combat-opioid-addiction.html Long Island, NY – November 21, 2017 – U.S. Reps. John Katko (NY-24) and Tom Suozzi (NY-3) today announced that they have introduced bipartisan legislation geared towards reducing opioid addiction and drug abuse in New York and nationwide.     The legislation, introduced in […]

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Millions of Patients Face Pain and Withdrawal as Opioid Prescriptions Plummet https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-21/millions-of-patients-face-pain-and-withdrawal-as-opioid-prescriptions-plummet The suicide note Doug Hale left before killing himself. Source: Tammi Hale Six months after surgery to repair a damaged urinary tract in 1998, computer technician Doug Hale woke one morning with excruciating, burning pain. Hale’s suffering persisted for years, despite all sorts […]

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https://nypost.com/2017/11/20/amazon-is-selling-sketchy-health-products-and-it-may-be-illegal/ Amazon is hawking dubious health products, including some that have been criticized by regulators and may even be illegal. Current health offerings, replete with literal “snake oil,”a term that refers to fake medical products, could stymie the online retailer’s reported plans to disrupt the neighborhood pharmacy. These products include dietary supplements claiming to help […]

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GAO: CMS failed to identify thousands of Medicare beneficiaries at risk for opioid addiction https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/opioids/gao-cms-failed-to-identify-thousands-of-medicare-beneficiaries-at-risk-for-opioid-addiction.html The U.S. Government Accountability Office called on CMS last week to improve its oversight of opioid use among Medicare Part D beneficiaries after identifying flaws in the agency’s monitoring of opioid prescriptions. CMS estimated 33,223 Medicare recipients were at risk […]

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www.aei.org/publication/indias-dodgy-pharmacy/ Key Points The quality of medicine today is much less reliable due to several factors: Western regulators have difficulty overseeing foreign plants, domestic regulators lack the interest to oversee these plants, and generic companies are unable to differentiate their products except by price. This is not limited to a single group, company, or country. […]

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I would like to be included in this lawsuit. After more than 15 years of continuous prescription pain medication use for daily intolerable pain I am currently going through forced unsupervised withdrawal. With no warning my insurance company CVS Caremark is denying me access to my meds pending a “prior authorization”. Its now been several […]

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http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/chronic-pain-sufferers-applaud-changes-to-opioid-limits-law/450683168 AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — People taking opioid painkillers for chronic pain are breathing a little easier. A new state law that went into effect Friday is clearing up confusion about how much a patient can legally take. The law used to require people taking opioids to taper down their daily doses to no […]

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Study: W.Va. heroin overdoses doubled after use of drug-monitoring program https://www.ems1.com/opioids/articles/362080048-Study-W-Va-heroin-overdoses-doubled-after-use-of-drug-monitoring-program/ Researchers suggested that limiting the ability to acquire prescription painkillers can lead to more people using heroin MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — New research suggested that drug-monitoring programs can lead to more heroin overdoses if not paired with a policy to help treat addiction. Pacific Standard […]

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www.nationalpainreport.com/a-call-to-arms-for-the-chronic-pain-community-8834850.html Since 2012, and more recently in intervening months, weeks and days, the climate of health care for persons who require support for chronic and intractable pain has deteriorated – in part because of the politicization of health care that includes mental health, substance abuse services, care that addresses pain. The conflation of health care […]

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