Genetic Testing for Opioid Use Disorder Heads to FDA Advisors

Genetic Testing for Opioid Use Disorder Heads to FDA Advisors https://www.medpagetoday.com/painmanagement/opioids/101314 To date, no FDA-cleared or approved devices are indicated for identifying genetic risk of OUD On Thursday, members of the FDA’s Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Toxicology Devices Advisory Committee will meet to discuss AvertD, a prescription genetic risk assessment tool for opioid use disorder […]

Congressman Escalates War With PBMs – one of only 2 Pharmacist in Congress/House

Congressman Escalates War With PBMs – one of only 2 Pharmacist in Congress/House They are hurting healthcare affordability and quality, says Rep. Buddy Carter https://www.medpagetoday.com/pharmacy/pharmacy/101124 SAVANNAH, Ga. — Representative Buddy Carter, BSPharm (R-Ga.), a pharmacist and former pharmacy owner, on Friday escalated his longstanding battle against pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), releasing a report critical of […]

Pharmacy benefit managers inflate drug prices and decrease competition while consumers pay the price. Does the FTC have the medicine to fix it?

Pharmacy benefit managers inflate drug prices and decrease competition while consumers pay the price. Does the FTC have the medicine to fix it? Pharmacy benefit managers inflate drug prices and decrease competition while consumers pay the price. Does the FTC have the medicine to fix it? Many have never heard of a pharmacy benefit manager, […]

Pres Biden has costs Medicare folks requiring insulin abt $900 extra on the cost of their insulin over TWO YEARS

back in June 2020   Trump slashes cost of insulin for Medicare enrollees to $35 a month This plan would have limited the cost of insulin to Medicare folks to $35/month, starting in Jan 2021 Yes, Biden stopped a Trump order to lower insulin costs, but it would not have helped most diabetics President Biden took […]

CDC 2022 Opioid Prescribing Guideline: Tapering – waiting for the other shoe to fall ?

CDC 2022 Opioid Prescribing Guideline: Tapering https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/resources/clinical-practice-guidelines/cdc-2022-opioid-prescribing-guideline-tapering Guideline Analysis: A look at the updated recommendations regarding the opioid tapering process and MME cutoffs. In this analysis, we break down the various aspects of the proposed revisions to the CDC Guideline on Opioid Prescribing for Chronic Pain to help clinicians, patients, and caretakers alike understand their […]

Stable, Long-term Opioid Therapy Safer Than Tapering?

Stable, Long-term Opioid Therapy Safer Than Tapering? https://flashnews11.com/health/medicine/stable-long-term-opioid-therapy-safer-than-tapering/ Discontinuing secure, long-term opioid remedy is probably not obligatory for sufferers who present no indicators of misuse ― and it may even be safer than tapering or abrupt discontinuation, new analysis suggests. Investigators analyzed knowledge for nearly 200,000 sufferers who didn’t have indicators of opioid use dysfunction […]

CPAP masks with magnets MAY affect implantable devices – like implanted opiate pumps & Spinal Cord Stimulators

Philips Respironics Alerts Customers Worldwide of Updated Instructions and Labeling of Specific Sleep Therapy Masks That Contain Magnetic Headgear Clips Due to Potential Risk of Serious Injury https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/philips-respironics-alerts-customers-worldwide-updated-instructions-and-labeling-specific-sleep Company Announcement These masks may continue to be used according to the updated instructions and labeling if patients or people in close proximity to them do not […]

Suicide Notes Offer ‘Unique Window’ Into Motives, Risks in the Elderly

Suicide Notes Offer ‘Unique Window’ Into Motives, Risks in the Elderly https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/982132 Suicide notes left by elderly people provide a unique opportunity to better understand and prevent suicide in this often vulnerable population. A new analysis of notes penned by seniors who died by suicide reveals several common themes. These include feeling as if they […]

WHO KNEW in 2021: FDA had a TWO DAY VIRTUAL SEMINAR ON Morphine Milligram Equivalents: Current Applications and Knowledge Gaps, Research Opportunities, and Future Directions

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/morphine-milligram-equivalents-current-applications-and-knowledge-gaps-research-opportunities-and   There is a BOAT LOAD of PDF’s in this hyperlink…  since this was a two day virtual seminar… it might take someone a couple of days to try and digest all this information.   Here is a link to a one of my blog posts that includes a what is basically the genealogy […]

UP TO 5% of TRICARE beneficiaries will have to make a 30+ MINUTE round trip to get their prescription filled because of DOD contract

Tricare to reduce number of network pharmacies for its beneficiaries this month https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2022-10-11/tricare-prescriptions-pharmacy-express-scripts-7659239.html A new contract from prescription-drug benefit manager Express Scripts will force nearly 15,000 pharmacies out of the Tricare network by the end of this month, according to a spokeswoman for a small pharmacies’ association. The new contract will remove 14,963 pharmacies from […]