How many more “corrections” from the CDC – before they lose all credibility – if they haven’t already

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

CDC reports fewer COVID-19 pediatric deaths after data correction

https://news.yahoo.com/cdc-reports-fewer-covid-19-204027980.html

(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 966,575 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday after it corrected the data earlier this week, which reduced the death tallies in all age-groups, including children.

The health agency, in a statement to Reuters, said it made adjustments to its COVID Data Tracker’s mortality data on March 14 because its algorithm was accidentally counting deaths that were not COVID-19-related.

The adjustment resulted in removal of 72,277 deaths previously reported across 26 states, including 416 pediatric deaths, CDC said.

The reduction cut the CDC’s estimate of deaths in children by 24% to 1,341 as of March 18.

Children accounted for about 19% of all COVID-19 cases, but less than 0.26% of cases resulted in death, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which summarizes state-based data.

Americans have been polarized over the mitigation measures the CDC recommended for schools during the pandemic from urging schools to be remote, require masks and set up social distancing measures. It now advises that for most of the country, children should be in school and can be without masks.

(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 966,575 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday after it corrected the data earlier this week, which reduced the death tallies in all age-groups, including children.

The health agency, in a statement to Reuters, said it made adjustments to its COVID Data Tracker’s mortality data on March 14 because its algorithm was accidentally counting deaths that were not COVID-19-related.

The adjustment resulted in removal of 72,277 deaths previously reported across 26 states, including 416 pediatric deaths, CDC said.

The reduction cut the CDC’s estimate of deaths in children by 24% to 1,341 as of March 18.

Children accounted for about 19% of all COVID-19 cases, but less than 0.26% of cases resulted in death, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which summarizes state-based data.

Americans have been polarized over the mitigation measures the CDC recommended for schools during the pandemic from urging schools to be remote, require masks and set up social distancing measures. It now advises that for most of the country, children should be in school and can be without masks.

The number of U.S. children with COVID-19 rose sharply during the Omicron variant wave due to its increased transmissibility and low vaccination rates among children 5-11 who are eligible for the vaccine. Children ages 0-4 are not eligible for the vaccine in the United States.

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Does this sound familiar – SOP for the way that the CDC functions ?

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

JetBlue, American, Southwest pilots sue CDC over federal mask mandate

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/jetblue-american-southwest-pilots-sue-cdc

A group of commercial airline pilots filed a lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an attempt to lift the federal transportation mask mandate.

In court paperwork, the 10 commercial airline pilots – who work for American JetBlue and Southwest – argued that the CDC issued an order “Requirement for Persons to Wear Masks While on Conveyances & at Transportation Hubs” on Feb. 1, 2020 “without providing public notice or soliciting comment.”

The pilots are asking the court to “vacate worldwide the FTMM (federal transportation mask mandate)” calling the move an “illegal and unconstitutional exercise of executive authority.”

A passenger wears a face mask she travels on a Delta Air Lines flight after taking off from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File / AP Newsroom)

The Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) mask mandate went into effect on Feb. 1, 2021, and was originally set to expire on May 11, 2021. However, the TSA has extended the mandate several times since then as infections rose nationwide. The rule now remains in place through April 18.

Until then, the “CDC will work with government agencies to help inform a revised policy framework for when, and under what circumstances, masks should be required in the public transportation corridor,” TSA said in a statement earlier this month. “This revised framework will be based on the COVID-19 community levels, risk of new variants, national data, and the latest science.”

However, the pilots claim that federal officials adopted the policy despite “countless scientific and medical studies and articles showing that face masks are totally ineffective.”

A Jetblue Airways Airbus A320 takes off from Fort Lauderdale Airport.

The pilots also argue that it was enacted without “considering the impact on tens of millions of travelers and transportation workers every single day.”

The pilots say they “have seen up close and personal the chaos in the sky created by the FTMM, with thousands of reports to the Federal Aviation Administration (‘FAA’) of ‘unruly’ passenger behavior since the FTMM took effect Feb. 1, 2021 – nearly all of which have been caused by incidents related to masks,” according to court documents.

So far this year, the FAA has already received 889 reports of unruly passengers, with 587 of those cases mask-related incidents. In 2021, 5,981 unruly passenger cases were reported to the FAA with 4,290 being mask-related.

To quell these incidents, the FAA has been proposing fines against passengers who assault, threaten, intimidate or interfere with airline crew members as part of its zero-tolerance policy, which was adopted in January 2021. The FAA reported that the rate of incidents has dropped by half since record-highs reported in early 2021.

Still, the pilots say the policy was “was rushed into place only 12 days after the inauguration” and that the CDC and HHS “illegally failed to give passengers and employees our legally guaranteed option under the Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act (‘FDCA’) to refuse to use a medical device (face mask) not approved by HHS’ Food & Drug Administration (‘FDA’) or allowed only under an Emergency Use Authorization (‘EUA’).”

Representatives for Southwest, American and JetBlue airlines did not immediately return FOX Business’ requests for comment.

Representatives for the Air Line Pilots Association, the world’s largest airline pilot union, and the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association did not return FOX Business’ request for comment.

The Allied Pilots Association, the labor union representing American Airlines pilots, declined to comment.

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COVID-19 rapid test recalled for ‘high number’ of false positive reports

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

COVID-19 rapid test recalled for ‘high number’ of false positive reports

https://www.foxbusiness.com/healthcare/covid-19-rapid-test-recalled-for-high-number-of-false-positive-reports

The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that a healthcare company has recalled 45,500 COVID-19 rapid tests due to a “high number of false positive reports.”

Pharmaceutical company Celltrion USA announced on Feb. 28 it is recalling specific lots of the DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test due to the high number of false-positive reports, an FDA recall webpage read on Wednesday.

The FDA says that a false-positive test result can lead to a delay in “the correct diagnosis and treatment for the actual cause of a person’s illness.”

The COVID-19 rapid tests also displayed a shelf life of 18 months, but the FDA’s emergency use authorization states that the tests can only be used for 12 months.

Individuals and customers who received the effected COVID-19 rapid tests are being told to discontinue use and return the unused products.

“The use of the affected product could cause serious adverse health consequences and death,” the FDA webpage states.

On Wednesday, the FDA also announced the recall of the SD Biosensor STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Home Test, stating the test is not approved by the FDA for marketing or distribution in the United States.

Since the test was not authorized by the FDA, the government agency said “there is not sufficient data demonstrating that the test’s performance is accurate,” which could lead to inaccurate results.

“This means there is a risk of both false-negative and false-positive test results. False negative results are when the test does not detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus but the person is actually infected. False-positive results occur when the test says the person has SARS-CoV-2 virus present, but they are not infected,” the website states.

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Should the DEA pay attention to what is going on in FL with STING OPERATIONS ?

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

Case Against Florida Cannabis Doc Goes Up in Smoke

Judge clears Joseph Dorn, MD, who was the target of an undercover sting operation

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/97760

An administrative law judge in Florida issued a decision in favor of Joseph Dorn, MD, whose medical cannabis clinic was targeted by the state’s Department of Health in an undercover sting.

The department sent two investigators posing as patients to Dorn’s clinic in Tallahassee in November 2017 and April 2018. The first investigator said he was a 30-year-old delivery driver with anxiety, PTSD, and chronic pain, while the second claimed to be a 37-year-old construction worker and former Marine with PTSD.

In 2019, the Department of Health filed a license-threatening administrative complaint against Dorn, claiming its sting operation had found that he failed to conduct a full assessment of patient medical histories before prescribing medical cannabis, and that he acted in a manner to defraud or trick patients.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic delayed a hearing in the case until late last year, a decision by Judge W. David Watkins on March 16 stated that the Department of Health failed to prove any of its claims against Dorn.

“The evidence of record undermines DOH’s argument that Dr. Dorn’s practice is nothing more than an ‘open gate’ to medical marijuana,” Watkins wrote in his decision. “In the case of both [investigators] (and presumably the other 28 patients examined), Dr. Dorn conducted a detailed and thorough assessment of the patient’s condition prior to prescribing medical marijuana.”

Watkins further wrote that the evidence in the case demonstrates that Dorn performed a meaningful review of the investigators’ medical histories and symptoms, identified and discussed their qualifying stressors, and noted the PTSD symptoms they said they experienced. The judge added that Dorn documented the severity of the PTSD symptoms through two rating scales, and discussed the benefits and risks of medical marijuana with each of the investigators.

The decision also addressed the Department of Health’s argument that Dorn defrauded or tricked patients by including false representations in the investigators’ medical records, failed to create or complete their records until subpoenaed, operated without the necessary medical equipment to conduct adequate physical examinations, charged $299 per new patient appointment for the sole purpose of adding patients to the medical marijuana user registry, and ordered marijuana for more than 3,000 new patients in a 12-month timeframe.

“DOH failed to present competent substantial evidence in this case establishing, particularly under a clear and convincing evidence standard, that Dr. Dorn acted, or failed to act, in any manner to defraud or trick any patient, or that any patient was actually defrauded or tricked,” Watkins wrote.

Ultimately, Watkins recommended that the Department of Health issue a final order dismissing the administrative complaint against Dorn. The department had sought to strip Dorn of his medical license for 5 years, ban him from ordering medical marijuana for patients, and impose a $10,000 fine, the News Service of Florida reported.

“We feel great about the result, and frankly are not surprised. Dr. Dorn is an incredible physician with an even stronger reputation. Hopefully this ruling will now help the DOH finally understand the statutes they are charged to enforce,” wrote Ryan Andrews, of the Andrews Law Firm in Tallahassee, who represents Dorn, in an email to MedPage Today.

“Nonetheless, this saga is not over,” Andrews added. “Now it’s our turn to pursue in circuit court DOH and every individual that was involved in this investigation.”

The Department of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Corporate policies is more important to a Vanderbilt prescriber that a pediatric cancer pt’s quality of life ?

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve


I was involved in on this “remotely” via phone with Bob & Johanna who were there in person.  Any time that Bob runs into a medication question when he is advocating… my phone rings.  I am more than happy to provide Bob with the “factual ammunition” in advocating for a pt. Apparently this practitioner is JUST AN EMPLOYEE OF VANDERBILT HOSPITAL… and if he was concerned about liabilities – he shouldn’t have become a physician…  I suspect that VANDERBILT is another large hospital corporation that has adopted a “little/no opiate” policy.  The medication that this kid was on previously was not doing a very good job on reducing their pain and there is NO RECOMMENDATION FOR DOSES FOR KIDS… and this physician wanted to take the kid off of a opiate – that I had previously recommended – that was reducing their pain and improving their QOL and giving the FAMILY more quality time together, with what time that the kid has left.

I know that if a parent INTENTIONALLY inflicted as much pain on one of their kids , as this kid was going to experience if he was put back on the medication that was not working well for them…  Child Protective Services would be knocking at their door. Isn’t it amazing in our society that health care practitioners can INTENTIONALLY inflict pain on a pt – by taking away or lowering their pain meds – and NO ONE IS IN TROUBLE….  EXCEPT THE PT HAVING TO EXIST IN PAIN.

Maybe it is time that the chronic pain community start using LAW FIRMS to advocate for us

Bob Sheerin

APDF learned yesterday if you spank your kid the government will punish you! But It’s entirely ok for the government to torture your child (Guantanamo Bay style) if they are suffering from rare diseases or end of life issues! Then the idea was to change the child from a schedule 2 that has reported to be working to a schedule 4 when the child only has 3 to 6 months left to live. Then he proceeded to tell us his liabilities and hospital policies! Then he spread his God like knowledge upon us like we were in kindergarten! Well that backfired when he met the KING OF ARGUMENTS! I may let Amanda win from time to time but he ain’t Amanda! At the end of the day we let it known that child services and an attorney will be contacted and paid for by American Pain And Disability Foundation and not to mention having several picketing signs outside his beautiful home and hospital establishment.. they decided to leave the child on the current medication that was previously agreed to from a previous appointment as long as I wasn’t allowed back to Advocate for said child any longer 🤣 I told the mom make the deal and if they go back on it…. we will be back. Deals a deal right? Oh and he also said,” something about F###ing a##hole before leaving abruptly! 😬 🤣After all we aren’t looking for credit but I’ll be damned if we were gonna let that impede my other 14 children and start a new ”policy” especially at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital where we have worked so hard and it would spread like wildfire! Anyways we also went to Methodist Hospital were we were successful in helping the last of the 15 children get end of life care and a special thank you to Methodist Hospital for stepping up for these kids! A special thank you goes out to Methodist Hospital & Johnna Magers and Steve Ariens and the rest of the APDF team for taking up your whole day! You are truly Amazing people! I was home about 3 minutes before I passed out from 6pm to 5 am and thank God because obviously my old beat up ass body was ready for that! 🤣 OH and 14-1 is not a bad Advocating record for a bunch of pain patients with bad attitudes but with alot of knowledge 🤣 more thank yous go out to all the folks who helped along the way Andrew Hohenthaner Carol Adams Dr Anthony Mimms Shirley Buck Stacy Siano Ashley Michel Karlyn Beavers Karen Wilkinson & Cheri Mendes for awesome articles…. Thank You!

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WAGS: corporate greed: overcharging insurance and pts – profits at any cost ?

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

Walgreens sued by BCBS payers, health systems for alleged drug overcharging fraud scheme

https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/walgreens-sued-by-bcbs-payers-health-systems-for-alleged-drug-overcharging-fraud-scheme.html

Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates and other payers are suing Walgreens for allegedly overcharging payers and customers for prescription drugs.

Court documents filed March 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division claim that Walgreens “knowingly and intentionally engaged in an ongoing fraudulent scheme” to overcharge payers by submitting claims with artificially inflated drug prices.

The lawsuit alleges that Walgreens concealed the fraud scheme by making false statements and leaving out facts related to its true usual and customary prices for prescriptions given to the individuals enrolled in the plaintiff’s health plans. The suit alleges that Walgreens overcharged payers and health systems by hundreds of millions of dollars for more than a decade by submitting falsely inflated usual and customary prices on millions of reimbursed claims.

The plaintiffs named in the suit are CareFirst of Maryland, Group Hospitalization and Medical Services, CareFirst BlueChoice, Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, BlueChoice HealthPlan of South Carolina, Louisiana Health Service and Indemnity Co., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, and HMO Louisiana.

The court documents say that plaintiffs are owed at least the amount of money they were overcharged on reimbursement claims.

The suit also says that Walgreens’ alleged scheme affected consumers directly. By purchasing prescription drugs from Walgreens’ pharmacies with falsely inflated prices, payers increased copays, coinsurance, deductibles and premiums.

The lawsuit claims that Walgreens’ alleged fraudulent actions are still happening and that the company continues to report falsely inflated prices for payer claims. Because of this, the plaintiffs believe they are still threatened with future harm from Walgreens.

Walgreens declined to provide a comment to Becker’s Hospital Review.

Here is another blog post from today… https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/colorado-wags-pharmacy-techs-shine-light-on-shortages-delays-mistakes/

suggests that WAGS is under paying their Rx dept employees, while at the same time under staffing and over working the same employees. It is almost like WAGS is “pocket-picking” just about everyone’s pockets that deals with them – at least in the Rx dept.

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Colorado WAGS pharmacy techs shine light on shortages, delays, MISTAKES

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

Colorado pharmacy techs shine light on shortages, delays

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/contact-denver7/colorado-pharmacy-techs-shine-light-on-shortages-delays

After almost seven years as a pharmacy technician at a Centennial Walgreens, Melanie- who asked Denver7 to not use her last name to protect her privacy- quit right before her shift last summer.

“I just sent a message to my store manager, and I said, ‘I’m really sorry. I know that multiple people have done this now, but I am to the point where I can’t do it anymore,'” said Melanie. “I couldn’t even get out of bed that day. I physically couldn’t handle the stress anymore.”

She still has a copy of her six-day-a-week Walgreens work schedule from last year, as well as text after text begging her for help.

“I told my managers, ‘We need help. We need to find people. We need bodies that can count by five,'” Melanie said, recalling how pharmacy workers had to juggle prescriptions, COVID-19 shots, vaccinations and even stocking the store, all with no breaks.

“Mistakes happened all the time,” she said. “It was a matter of if we were able to get the patient to come back and correct it, make sure that they left happy so their report didn’t have to get filed. My pharmacists on a daily basis were scared they were going to be losing their license. To get all of that stuff done on top of vaccines on top of testing, it’s not possible. It’s physically not possible.”

Ali DiLorenzo has been a pharmacy tech at Wheat Ridge Professional Pharmacy for more than a decade and says Walgreens has a reputation in the industry.

“They are overworked, underpaid, and understaffed. They’re closing. You can’t get a hold of anybody. I mean, it’s just a nightmare,” said DiLorenzo. “You’re in a field where you make a mistake, you could kill somebody.”

The Colorado Pharmacists Society tells Contact Denver7 that the issue is much larger than Walgreens, stemming back to insurance companies not reimbursing pharmacies for the full cost of drugs.

“The margins have continued to be less and less and less and less. Sometimes we’re getting paid 10 cents to dispense a prescription. That used to be $10,” said Emily Zadvorny, executive director of the Colorado Pharmacists Society. “So when you have a situation where, whether that’s a chain or an independent, where they can barely scrape by to make enough money to keep the doors open, they’re certainly not going to be able to hire four more pharmacists.”

Zadvorny says pharmacies have no choice but to sign contracts with the three big health plans, which then reimburse pharmacies for less than the cost of the drug.

“I see it as them forcing you basically to go to mail order where they don’t have to staff in-house pharmacy,” said DiLorenzo. “Obviously, the insurance companies and the drug companies are making a ton of money. But the pharmacies themselves are not most of them are operating at a loss.”

While Wheat Ridge Professional Pharmacy has been taking on more patients, they say they can only take on so many if they are not being reimbursed.

Contact Denver7 reached out to Walgreens, and a spokesman released this statement:

While we are grateful for the hard work and dedication of our pharmacy staff, we also recognize some of the challenges facing our team members — and healthcare workers in general – in the current environment.   We continue to take steps to help mitigate current staffing pressures, including hiring thousands of new pharmacy team members, adjusting vaccine appointment availability and store hours as needed and expanding remote pharmacy capabilities to help reduce workload. 

Melanie says she is now much happier working for a different company in a more clinical setting and is making twice as much. She wants patients who are waiting in long lines for delayed prescriptions to understand that there is more to the story.

“I feel like a lot of patients would come through and be so upset because they’re like, ‘You don’t care. You don’t even care.’ We do! I mean, I had techs leaving in tears on a daily basis because they just couldn’t handle the stress,” she said. “It’s not a matter of Walgreens not being able to find people to work. It’s that people don’t want to work for minimum wage in unworkable conditions.”

Editor’s note: Denver7 seeks out audience tips and feedback to help people in need, resolve problems and hold the powerful accountable. If you know of a community need our call center could address, or have a story idea for our investigative team to pursue, please email us at contact7@thedenverchannel.com or call (720) 462-7777. Find more Contact Denver7 stories here.

You only have ONE LIFE…. ONE HEALTH…. don’t let corporate greed cause you to loose either one

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Clock is ticking on making a comment on the proposed 2022 CDC opiate dosing guidelines

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

Did anyone notice that seemingly innocuous link to the left top of on this page  https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/CDC-2022-0024-0001  When you click on it… the rest of this post is what shows up …

  • The comment process is not a vote – one well supported comment is often more influential than a thousand form letters  
  • this line could be the most important line in the entire text…  “well supported comment” could very well me a comment with references to clinical studies to support the statement… the 211 page 2022 proposed dosing guidelines contained 20 pages of footnotes and references.  And in looking at those 20 pages… one whole page had references with one of the author of each reference being one of the 5 who wrote/supervised the creation of this proposed guidelines.
  • Historically, pt’s personal observation of health/pain issues are discounted as being anecdotal and of no clinical value, since they are considered as potentially biases and did not follow some sort of approved protocol and thus your submission may not be considered “well supported”
  • There is about three weeks left to make comments. Right now there is abt 2600 comments have been accepted and posted. Just how many of comments from pts will have any influence on the final 2022 guidelines when they are published. We may never know, you can use the link above to go to the page to make a comment.

Write a Comment

Commenter’s Checklist

https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/CDC-2022-0024-0001

Commenter’s Checklist

Tips for Submitting Effective Comments*

Overview

A comment can express simple support or dissent for a regulatory action. However, a constructive, information-rich comment that clearly communicates and supports its claims is more likely to have an impact on regulatory decision making.

These tips are meant to help the public submit comments that have an impact and help agency policy makers improve federal regulations.

Summary

  • Read and understand the regulatory document you are commenting on
  • Feel free to reach out to the agency with questions
  • Be concise but support your claims
  • Base your justification on sound reasoning, scientific evidence, and/or how you will be impacted
  • Address trade-offs and opposing views in your comment
  • There is no minimum or maximum length for an effective comment
  • The comment process is not a vote – one well supported comment is often more influential than a thousand form letters

Detailed Recommendations

  1. Comment periods close at 11:59 eastern time on the date comments are due – begin work well before the deadline.
  2. Attempt to fully understand each issue; if you have questions or do not understand a part of the regulatory document, you may ask for help from the agency contact listed in the document. Note: Although the agency contact can answer your questions about the document’s meaning, official comments must be submitted through the comment form.
  3. Clearly identify the issues within the regulatory action on which you are commenting. If you are commenting on a particular word, phrase or sentence, provide the page number, column, and paragraph citation from the federal register document.
  4. If a rule raises many issues, do not feel obligated to comment on every one – select those issues that concern and affect you the most and/or you understand the best.
  5. Agencies often ask specific questions or raise issues in rulemaking proposals on subjects where they are actively looking for more information. While the agency will still accept comments on any part of the proposed regulation, please keep these questions and issues in mind while formulating your comment.
  6. Although agencies receive and appreciate all comments, constructive comments (either positive or negative) are the most likely to have an influence.
  7. If you disagree with a proposed action, suggest an alternative (including not regulating at all) and include an explanation and/or analysis of how the alternative might meet the same objective or be more effective.
  8. The comment process is not a vote. The government is attempting to formulate the best policy, so when crafting a comment it is important that you adequately explain the reasoning behind your position.
  9. Identify credentials and experience that may distinguish your comments from others. If you are commenting in an area in which you have relevant personal or professional experience (i.e., scientist, attorney, fisherman, businessman, etc.) say so.
  10. Agency reviewers look for sound science and reasoning in the comments they receive. When possible, support your comment with substantive data, facts, and/or expert opinions. You may also provide personal experience in your comment, as may be appropriate. By supporting your arguments well you are more likely to influence the agency decision making.
  11. Consider including examples of how the proposed rule would impact you negatively or positively.
  12. Comments on the economic effects of rules that include quantitative and qualitative data are especially helpful.
  13. Include the pros and cons and trade-offs of your position and explain them. Your position could consider other points of view, and respond to them with facts and sound reasoning.
  14. If you are uploading more than one attachment to the comment web form, it is recommend that you use the following file titles:
    • Attachment1_<insert title of document>
    • Attachment2_<insert title of document>
    • Attachment3_<insert title of document>

    This standardized file naming convention will help agency reviewers distinguish your submitted attachments and aid in the comment review process.

  15. Keep a copy of your comment in a separate file – this practice helps ensure that you will not lose your comment if you have a problem submitting it using the Regulations.gov web form.

Posted Comments

After submission, your comment will be processed by the agency and posted to Regulations.gov. At times, an agency may choose not to post a submitted comment. Reasons for not posting the comment can include:

  • The comment is part of a mass submission campaign or is a duplicate.
  • The comment is incomplete.
  • The comment is not related to the regulation.
  • The comment has been identified as spam.
  • The comment contains Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data.
  • The comment contains profanity or other inappropriate language.
  • The submitter requested the comment not be posted.

Form Letters

Organizations often encourage their members to submit form letters designed to address issues common to their membership. Organizations including industry associations, labor unions, and conservation groups sometimes use form letters to voice their opposition or support of a proposed rulemaking. Many in the public mistakenly believe that their submitted form letter constitutes a “vote” regarding the issues concerning them. Although public support or opposition may help guide important public policies, agencies make determinations for a proposed action based on sound reasoning and scientific evidence rather than a majority of votes. A single, well-supported comment may carry more weight than a thousand form letters.

* Throughout this document, the term “Comment” is used in place of the more technically accurate term “Public Submission” in order to make the recommendations easier to read and understand.

Disclaimer: This document is intended to serve as a guide; it is not intended and should not be considered as legal advice. Please seek counsel from a lawyer if you have legal questions or concerns.

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Independent Pharmacy: if there is a problem, make sure you are talking to THE BOSS/OWNER

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve

A intractable chronic pain reached out to me … concerning a new pharmacist at a pharmacy she had been patronizing for years, and this pharmacist decided that the medication that this pt had been taking for years – by the book – had some potential interactions that the pharmacist “had concerns about”.  Was hassling the pt about filling them. The next day the pt talk to the pharmacist at the pharmacy who had filled her Rxs before and that pharmacist declined to fill her Rxs.  Maybe the first pharmacist was more of a “bully” and the second pharmacist was more of a “wimp”.
If this had been the first time that the pt was coming to have these medications filled, I could understand the pharmacist’s concern and may there would have been a need to have a conversation with the prescriber over the pharmacist’s concerns of POTENTIAL INTERACTIONS… but because the pt had been taking these meds for several years. The concerns of POTENTIAL INTERACTIONS should have been quickly viewed as a non-concern.

I was surprised of this sort of attitude from a independent pharmacy, I had own my own pharmacy for 20 yrs and pretty familiar with the typical mindset of a independent pharmacy owner.  This independent pharmacy was one of  a “multi-store” independent and the owner of the stores did not work in this store. The pt was ready to discontinue the use of one or more of her medications.  I suggest to the pt that she reach out to the OWNER of this store, that he/she may not be aware of  how this new employee was dealing with the store’s pts’ medication needs.

The pt took my recommendation, and reached out to the owner… but had to leave a message… HOWEVER.. the owner did contacted the pt by the end of the that same day.  Apologized PROFUSELY for how she was treated…. and the pharmacy DELIVERED her medications the very next day at NO CHARGE.

This is excellent example why I suggest that pts that are having trouble/issues with chain pharmacies filling their Rxs, that they find a local independent pharmacy and I regularly share this link to find a independent pharmacy by zip code https://ncpa.org/pharmacy-locator

The typical chain pharmacist and the Rx dept is GROSSLY UNDERSTAFFED and GROSSLY OVERWORKED.  I have seen some chain pharmacist making statements on some private/closed pharmacist FB pages that they are upwards of TEN DAYS BEHIND IN FILLING PRESCRIPTIONS.   Here is a PUBLIC FACE BOOK PAGE https://www.facebook.com/PizzaIsNotWorking that one particular pharmacist has started creating a rebellion of chain pharmacists … I believe that the “final straw” genesis of that revolt was triggered by what I shared on this blog post https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/cvs-pharmacist-dies-on-the-job-from-cardiac-mi-forced-to-wait-for-relief-pharmacist-to-show-up/

Why are independent pharmacies better staffed ?  Most independents are normally not sitting on “high price real estate”…  they don’t have to financially support layers of upper management and a large corporate headquarter bldg, their stores are much smaller and few-if any – have 24 hr operations and they depend more on word of mouth advertisement than large multi media advertising campaigns.  They commit all those financial resources to better staffing and better pt services.

 

 

 

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What’s your story: pt leaving our country to find better pain management

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Pharmaciststeve


Hi I’m Sam I’ve have RSD, chronic migraines pcos, TD, neuralgia.
After everything I’ve tried in my 21 years of chronic pain I decided to leave my country because of the cdc guidelines. My pharmacy of 16 years got raided for doing the right thing and continued to help us chronic pain patients out. My PM doctor was forced tapering me to nothing as I was withdrawaling with my toddler near me, they didn’t care that I had a little one to take care of.
So I made the toughest decision to move out of the country for better pain care and for my husband’s family’s help to watch our child. Unfortunately my husband couldn’t come with me and I probably won’t see him for a very long time because he needs to make the money to keep care of me in Guatemala because let’s face it, I’ll never get better but atleast I’ll have the quality of life since before the opioid crisis began. And I was able to get my anxiety medication back over here after 7 years because it was a benzodiazepine and im taking a pain medication on top of it and I’m not dying or in danger like the cdc states. I took that combination for years before the cdc stuck their noses where it didn’t belong.
This is the craziness we must face now, chronic pain patients moving out of our country for better pain care and leaving your loved ones behind?

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