Family says Pleasant Grove man committed suicide after going off pain meds too quickly

Posted on June 29, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Family says Pleasant Grove man committed suicide after going off pain meds too quickly

https://www.abc4.com/news/family-says-pleasant-grove-man-committed-suicide-after-going-off-pain-meds-too-quickly/amp/

PLEASANT GROVE, Utah (ABC4 News) – As Utah and the nation fight the opioid epidemic, patients suffering from chronic pain are being forced off of their medications too quickly, according to a local lobbyist.

That “force-tapering” had devastating consequences for a Pleasant Grove family.

Darleen Palmer says her husband Adam was funny, caring and loved his family. But he died by suicide in January after going off of his chronic pain medication. Palmer says Adam suffered a tick-bite a decade ago while roasting marshmallows with his family in American Fork Canyon. She says he contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, a bacterial sickness spread by ticks, that resulted in chronic nerve pain that left him in agony.

She says a Fentanyl patch helped quell the pain, but due to insurance and dosage changes stemming from the recent fight against the nationwide opioid epidemic, Adam no longer had regular access to the pain medication he needed.

“It was excruciating for him,” said Palmer. “He didn’t want to suffer anymore.”

On the morning of January 20, Palmer says her husband got up early in the morning and drove to a remote area, where he shot himself. Adam Palmer and his wife have four children together, ranging in age from 19 to 12.

“The night before he left, he gave us all hugs and told us how much he loved us,” said Kelcee Palmer, 19. “I’m glad he’s not in pain anymore, even though we do miss him.”

“I can’t be mad at him,” said Darleen, who knew the pain and suffering her husband was enduring without his medication. She said he left a video message for his children before he passed away.

Is “force-tapering” a problem in Utah?

Cases like the Palmers’ have lobbyist Amy Coombs with Prestige Government Relations concerned.

“We can do better,” Coombs said about the problem in Utah, adding that force-tapering patients off of much-needed pain medications because of fears about the opioid crisis can have unintended negative consequences.

In cases like Adam Palmer’s, patients resort to drastic measures, she says.

“You either choose to not be here anymore because you’re in so much pain, you go out on the street and you find drugs, or you sit and suffer until you figure it out,” said Coombs.

Speaking to a the Utah Health Reform Task Force earlier this month, Coombs outlined ideas to stop force-tapering in Utah. The Centers for Disease Control has admitted that 2016 guidelines on how to manage the opioid epidemic have been “misapplied” by the medical community, and said “abrupt tapering or sudden discontinuation of opioids” is discouraged.

Coombs says because of the negative conversation about certain pain medications, insurance companies are hesitant to cover it and doctors are reluctant to prescribe it, or are weaning patients off of it too abruptly.

Coombs worked with Utah lawmakers on a bill file surrounding this issue that is expected to be debated in the 2020 legislative session.

ABC4 News has chosen not to name the insurance company or medical providers involved in Adam Palmer’s story.

The national suicide hotline is 1-800-273-8255

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What do you get when a car and a motorcycle hit HEAD ON ?… a chronic pain pt ?

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Oscar Nominee George Clooney’s Fight with Chronic Pain

Oscar Nominee George Clooney’s Fight with Chronic Pain

www.nationalpainreport.com/oscar-nominee-george-clooneys-fight-with-chronic-pain-8812892.html

It’s a scene that may help George Clooney win an Academy Award. It’s also ironic, given the actor’s struggles with chronic pain.

“Goodbye my love, my pain,” Clooney’s character says in “The Descendents” as he prepares to tell doctors to turn off the life support machine that keeps his brain dead wife alive.

If Clooney wins the Oscar for Best Actor, “The Descendents” will have given the handsome actor the role of his career. But it’s a movie Clooney would have never made if he gave in to darker impulses while he was fighting chronic pain.

The Oscar nominee thought of suicide and “ending it all” because of chronic pain from a back injury he suffered while filming “Syriana” in 2005. The 50-year old actor hit his head on the floor during a violent scene and tore the dura around his spine that holds in spinal fluid. Even after surgery reinforced his spine with bolts, Clooney says the injury has never completely healed. Here are the truck accidents and legal actions that one can take when injured.

Clooney’s struggle with chronic pain and his ability to rise above it is a testament to not letting pain limit you or take you from your daily activities. Here are six more celebrities with chronic pain conditions:

Jennifer Grey

Jennifer Grey won the “Dancing with the Stars” competition despite having a ruptured disc in her back. Photo by Luigi Novi.

The “Dirty Dancing” star and “Dancing with the Stars” champion has neck pain stemming from a 1987 car accident. Grey had a plate inserted to help prevent any further damage to her neck. While competing on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2010 she ruptured a disc in her back. “Words can’t express how much pain I was in,” says Grey. But she stayed in the competition and eventually won the Mirror Ball trophy. Various states асrоѕѕ US hаvе different lemon laws. The abogados para ley de limon en California differs frоm thоѕе іn оthеr states. It іѕ important tо know thе fine intricacies оf Lemon law California. Lemon law California іѕ аlѕо known аѕ Motor Vehicle Warranty Rights Act. Thе California lemon law states thаt аnу vehicle purchase іѕ a major consumer purchase. If ѕuсh a vehicle turns оut tо bе defective оr іf іѕ fоund tо саuѕе ѕеrіоuѕ injuries оr еvеn hardships tо thе consumer duе tо іtѕ defects, thеn a consumer іѕ entitled tо bе mаdе aware оf hіѕ rights. Undеr thе consumer rights іf thе defects оr hardships аrе proved іn thе Federal court оf law аnd іf thе vehicle іѕ undеr warranty period, thеn a consumer саn саll fоr a lemon law suit.

Lemon law California аnd Federal warranty law protect consumers frоm bеіng stuck wіth ‘Lemon’ automobiles, соmрutеr lemons аnd оthеr defective consumer products. According tо Lemon Law іn California, іf аnу car оr соmрutеr іѕ turns оut tо bе a Lemon, thеn a consumer mау bе entitled tо уоur money bасk, a replacement оr a cash settlement.

According thе Lemon law California, thе owner оf a motor vehicle оr thе owner’s designated agent mау make a complaint concerning a defect іn a motor vehicle thаt іѕ covered bу a manufacturer’s, converter’s, оr distributor’s warranty agreement applicable tо thе vehicle. Anу complaint regarding a lemon vehicle muѕt bе mаdе іn writing tо thе applicable dealer, manufacturer, converter, оr distributor. Thе written complaint аbоut a Lemon muѕt specify еасh defect іn thе vehicle thаt іѕ covered bу thе warranty. Thе owner mау аlѕо invoke thе board’s jurisdiction bу sending a copy оf thе complaint tо thе board. Anу case regarding thе lemon vehicle, іf nоt resolved bу owner аnd dealer оr manufacture privately іѕ entitled fоr a hearing.

Grey is now an advocate for pain management and a spokesperson for Partners Against Pain. “Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional,” says Grey. “You don’t have to be a victim.”

Jillian Michaels

The former trainer for “The Biggest Loser” suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis. Michaels kept her abdominal pain hidden for years because she feared it would ruin her health-related career. Today, she controls her pain through exercise and a healthy diet.

Kathleen Turner

The actress who starred in “Body Heat” and “War of the Roses” suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Turner abused alcohol to control her pain after she was diagnosed in 1992. Then she sobered up and became an advocate for the Arthritis Foundation. “It is important to me that people know they have options so they can get some relief from this debilitating disease,” she has said. Turner believes early treatment is the key to managing the disease.

                                                                                                        Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul still has back pain from a cheerleading accident she suffered as a teenager. Photo by Alison Martin.

The former “American Idol” and current “X Factor” judge has back pain due to a cheerleading accident she had at the age of 17. She also has chronic pain from injuries suffered in a 1987 car accident and a 1993 plane crash. These events may have contributed to her 2005 diagnosis of reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes chronic pain.

Frank Fritz

One of the stars of “American Pickers” on the History Channel, Fritz has suffered from Crohn’s Disease for over 25 years. A painful intestinal disorder, Crohn’s is a form of inflammatory bowel disease.

Sinead O’Connor

The Irish singer stopped performing in 2003, in part because she suffers from fibromyalgia. She returned to singing two years later. “Fibromyalgia is not curable,” said O’Connor. “But it’s manageable. You get to know your patterns and limits, so you can work and plan around it

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ACLU-NH, state medical society look to block DEA access to prescription drug records

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

ACLU-NH, state medical society look to block DEA access to prescription drug records

https://www.unionleader.com/news/courts/aclu-nh-state-medical-society-look-to-block-dea-access/article_eab66edb-ffa8-5579-82bf-3c5a1c118b4b.html

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Medical Society filed a brief in federal court Wednesday, saying the state should continue to fight a request made by federal law enforcement for access to the state’s prescription drug database.

The brief, also filed by the national ACLU and four other ACLU affiliates, is part of the federal case U.S. Department of Justice v. Jonas, and explains that not only are these types of searches unconstitutional, but they can also have adverse consequences and deter patients from receiving needed medical care.

“The State of New Hampshire is sticking up for the privacy rights of all Granite Staters, and we are proud to stand with them,” said Henry Klementowicz, staff attorney at ACLU-NH. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) “cannot ignore state law and request these sensitive records with an administrative subpoena instead of a signed warrant. That’s not the New Hampshire way, and we are proud to stand with the New Hampshire Department of Justice to protect patient rights.”

New Hampshire, along with 48 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, has established a statewide Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), a system allowing physicians and pharmacists to look at a patient’s past prescriptions for medications that have addictive potential. State law prevents law enforcement agents from accessing the database unless they have a search warrant signed by a judge.

“The DEA’s most concerning argument in this case is that medical patients have no reasonable expectation of privacy in their prescription records. The medical community rejects this view,” says James Potter, executive vice president of the New Hampshire Medical Society. “Not only is this argument legally incorrect, but it undermines why medical confidentiality is so important. Protecting patients’ medical information is essential to ensuring that patients feel comfortable to seek medical care from health care providers. Patients who trust their health systems to protect their data receive better outcomes. Maintaining patient privacy is also essential to protecting our patients’ dignity.”

The dispute involves a subpoena New Hampshire received last June from the DEA seeking two years’ worth of a patient’s PDMP records. The state Attorney General’s office refused to comply, claiming that doing so would violate state law and infringe on privacy rights. The DEA sued in court, with the state’s Attorney General arguing the subpoena was improper under federal law and the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“Our medical records can reveal our most sensitive and private details, which is precisely the kind of information the Fourth Amendment is intended to protect,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, staff attorney with the national ACLU’s Project on Speech, Privacy, and Technology. “Requiring a search warrant for law-enforcement access to our private health information isn’t just good Fourth Amendment law; it’s good policy. Robust protections against unjustified police searches of prescription-monitoring databases help ensure that the opioid addiction crisis is primarily addressed using public health tools, not a broken criminal justice system.”

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This is how our legal system wins: Tsunami of spurious lawsuits filed to cause a organization to file bankruptcy

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

American Pain Society Goes Belly Up

Opioid lawsuit costs prompt membership to approve bankruptcy filing

https://www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/opioids/80777

Saying it is beleaguered by legal debt fighting lawsuits alleging that its policies contributed to the nation’s opioid crisis, the American Pain Society has voted to cease operations and on Friday, filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7.

Numerous legal filings have accused the organization, along with other companies and associations, of acting as “front groups” for opioid drugmakers because many of them regularly contributed significant financial support to professional groups such as the APS.

In a statement emailed Friday afternoon, the 42-year-old organization said it had been “named a defendant in numerous spurious lawsuits related to opioids prescribing and abuse. The organization’s financial health has deteriorated as a result of the litigation” that constituted “a perfect storm” for the organization’s demise.

The statement added that the organization’s financial health had deteriorated as a result of litigation costs, but that declines in membership, sponsorship revenue, and meeting attendance also contributed to the decision.

“Our resources are being diverted to paying staff to comply with subpoenas and other requests for information and for payment of legal fees instead of funding research grants, sponsoring pain education programs, and public policy advocacy,” APS President William Maixner, DDS, PhD, said.

In late May, the APS board of directors had called for a membership vote to support bankruptcy action, but said it was doing so “with heavy hearts.” Results were supposed to have been announced the following week, but requests for a determination were not forthcoming. A decision required at least 10% of its 1,173 eligible members to vote; the APS statement posted Friday on its website said 93% voted to approve the bankruptcy filing.

APS spokesman Chuck Weber said on Friday the decision was made with only one round of voting, but he said he did not know the reason why the organization delayed announcing the ballot’s result.

The press release quoted several members lamenting the end of the APS.

Roger Fillingim, PhD, an APS past president and professor of psychology, University of Florida School of Dentistry, said the “APS has been advocating for increased investment in research for many years, and it is particularly ironic that APS’s voice will go silent at this critical time in our history, when increased investment in pain research has finally become a reality in an effort to combat the opioid crisis.”

APS President-elect Gary Walco, PhD, also noted the irony that a “professional organization best poised to provide the spectrum of science to improve the prevention and treatment of pain and related substance abuse is defunct.”

Walco, director of pain medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital, added that “Now, more than ever, our nation needs the collective efforts of leading scientists and clinicians who hold patients’ well-being at the highest premium. The principal focus on punishing those in industry that may have contributed to the problem is shortsighted and far from sufficient.”

The Chicago-based organization said it filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

It is unclear what will happen to its monthly Journal of Pain, although Weber said last month that the journal, as well as numerous research grants, a young investors fund and the group’s annual scientific meeting, would disappear or be taken over by other organizations.

In brief remarks Friday afternoon, Weber said he expected that all of the organization’s endeavors and operations “will be gone,” and that there is no sign that any other organizations are willing to pick up any of its functions.

“The next steps are in the hands of the trustee,” he said. The APS statement also promised more information for members “in the next week or so.”

 

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PA: The bill would make it a crime for doctors to write a prescription of more than seven days for an opioid painkiller

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Pa. might devise punishments for docs who give more than a week of opioid painkillers

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/06/pa-might-devise-tougher-penalties-for-docs-who-prescribe-long-term-opioid-painkillers.html

The main sponsor of a bill that would ban doctors from prescribing more than seven days’ worth of opioids says it’s also time to consider stiffer penalties for doctors who overprescribe the highly addictive painkillers.

“It’s an area of the law we’re going to start looking into,” said state Sen. Gene Yaw. The Williamsport-area Republican said he expects lawmakers to hold a hearing this summer.

Yaw is the prime sponsor of the bill to impose the seven-day limit. The bill passed the Senate last week and could come up for a vote in the House this week. However it contains no criminal or civil penalties for doctors.

The bill would make it a crime for doctors to write a prescription of more than seven days for an opioid painkiller such as Oxycontin or Vicodin. Pennsylvania previously passed laws against opioid prescriptions of more than seven days for minors and for emergency room patients.

As with the law pertaining to minors, the one for adults contains exceptions, such as patients with cancer, terminal illness or patients who have had major surgery.

However, doctors would be required to document the reasons for the longer prescription. Also, doctors would have to talk to the patient about matters including correct use of opioids and risk of addiction.

Pennsylvania has already issued guidelines to prevent doctors from overprescribing opioids, which can be highly addictive. Pennsylvania’s biggest insurers have also greatly reduced the duration of prescriptions they will pay for.

The guidelines are intended to cut into long term use that can lead to dependence and addiction, or result in unfinished supplies that can fall into the hands of young people or others who might abuse the pills and become addicted.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also weighed in heavily, stressing to doctors that opioids are intended for severe short-term pain, and long-term use can result in dependence and increased tolerance and risk of overdose, respiratory failure and death. The CDC has further advised doctors to prefer other forms of treatment, such as non-opioid painkillers and physical therapy, for long-term pain.

The crackdown on opioid prescriptions has caused chronic pain patients to complain they are being denied long-term medications they legitimately need in order to function and be pain-free, and are suffering as a result.

Even the CDC guidelines, they say, have a chilling effect on doctors, causing doctors to drop and avoid chronic pain patients. They further argue such guidelines and laws come between doctors and patients, preventing doctors from making the appropriate medical decisions based on individual patients’ situations.

In 2017, 47,600 deaths in the United States were blamed on opioids, up from 8,048 in 1999, according to the federal government. However, pain sufferers and their advocates stress the majority, about 30,000, involved illegal opioids such as heroin or illegally-obtained prescription opioids

Yaw said his bill allows doctors to treat the individual needs of patients and isn’t designed to prevent people who legitimately need longer prescriptions from getting them. One benefit of the law, he said, might be to give more weight to doctors trying to convince patients long-term opioid use isn’t their best option.

“If that works and cuts down on people using it unnecessarily, so be it,” he said.

Yaw said the limit is a needed response to the opioid addiction and overdose crisis state officials say is responsible for 15 deaths per day in Pennsylvania.

Regarding criminal penalties for doctors, Yaw said he hasn’t decided whether it’s needed. “There may be many reasons against it. I think it’s worth looking into,” he said.

Some doctors around the U.S. have been prosecuted over opioids. But those cases tend to involve federal laws pertaining to things such as fraudulent prescriptions or trading prescriptions for money or sex.

 

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Should the healthcare insurance industry be treated like a MONOPOLY ?

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Image result for monopoly man

We have treated the utility industry since the Sherman Antitrust Act was signed into law in 1890.  Until the 1990’s most health insurance companies were mutual companies … the were NOT FOR PROFIT businesses and their policy holders basically owned the company.  but starting in the 1990’s the healthcare insurance industries began “demutalizing” … they converted the companies into FOR PROFIT, PUBLICLY HELD COMPANIES and their focus change to their bottom line profits and price of their stock.   The people who were stockholders became more important to the insurance company and large group health insurance plans than the healthcare that they provided.

In the last decade or so… mergers having been happening and we are being left single companies that provide various services,, that can both self serving and “feed/refer” business from one component to another.

CVS Health is a good example, first in the pharmacy business in 1964 with pharmacy depts in the then Consumer Value Stores. Today, they have some 10,000 community pharmacies,  Minute clinics in their stores, owns the largest long term care pharmacy (Omnicare), one of the largest Prescription Benefit Managers (Caremark), one of the largest Part D insurers (Silver Scripts) and currently trying to close a 60+ billion dollar deal acquiring Aetna insurance with some 43 million beneficiaries.  Their Minute Clinics which were originally suppose to deal with just acute health issues is starting to move into treating chronic health issues.

These health monopolies may or may not be able to “force” a pt to use all their services, but they can put into place financial incentives or disincentives to stay within their system and force pts to contribute to their bottom lines.

All of these insurance companies are exempt from Sherman Antitrust by the McCarran Ferguson Act.. So what is ILLEGAL for other business to do, these insurance companies can do without any concern of violating any law or suffering any consequence from the DOJ.

In the last year, Arkansas, Ohio, WV has caught PBM’s charging excessive costs for prescriptions (multiple millions in each state) they manage the bill paying for state employees and/or Medicaid pts. These are national PBM’s so it may not be long before other states start finding out that they are being “taken to the cleaner” by these PBM’s and taking some corrective action.

Personal experience, Barb had a chronic medication that our Part D/PBM wanted a prior authorization and a $600.00+ copay for her 90 day medication and I was able to find a big box store where I could purchase the same medication/strength/quantity for $44.00 – by PAYING CASH.  Saving abt $2,400.00/yr on JUST ONE PRESCRIPTION.  Maybe this is why they can charge pts about $30/month for premium… 

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The NATIONAL DEBATE WITHOUT the “opiate crisis” mentioned once ?

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

See the source image

What a dramatic difference between those on the stage the first night and the second night… the first night it was like a group of Type B personalities participating in a very “polite debate” The Second night was like a group of type A personalities in a “cat fight”.

They keep talking about “Medicare for all” …but when you listen to the real details that they are tossing out there is really should be called “Medicaid for all” or “VA care for all”… they are talking about no premiums, no deductibles, no copays… and they even want to provider “free healthcare” for illegal aliens.

Do you know what you get when all healthcare becomes “FREE”… you get lines out the door, around the corner and down the street.

They also claimed that “healthcare is a HUMAN RIGHT ”  does this mean that both chronic pain pts and those with various mental health issues – including additive personalities – deserve appropriate care ?

They talked about various discrimination…  Roe v Wade and women’s right, LGBTQ’s discrimination, discrimination with school busing … but discriminating against chronic pain pts and substance abusers… apparently NOT ON THEIR RADAR ?

As many of these 20 contenders start falling off, the remaining will start having meeting in many communities are the primaries start happening. Is this where the chronic pain should start having demonstrations and trying to get discrimination of chronic pain pts on the NATIONAL AGENDA ?

 

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Audit report raises concerns with effectiveness of prescription drug registry

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Audit report raises concerns with effectiveness of prescription drug registry

https://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/audit-report-raises-concerns-with-effectiveness-of-prescription-drug-registry/article_b406cb8f-f2d9-5885-8f5f-92669f47a180.html

An audit of the state’s prescription drug registry found several issues that hinder the system, making it not as useful as it could be in identifying misuse and abuse of prescribed medications.

Auditors found indications of doctor and pharmacy shopping, including one person who filled nine prescriptions in a 30-day window at four different pharmacies.

They also found more than 1,000 likely incorrect birth dates for people in the system, and prescribers writing prescriptions without licenses, though representatives with the state Board of Pharmacy said auditors didn’t take into account everything that could have led to their findings.

The Montana Prescription Drug Registry went into effect in 2012. It is administered by the Board of Pharmacy, which is under the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. The cost for the registry over the last seven years has been about $1.8 million, and it’s now primarily funded by fees paid by prescribers and pharmacists.

The registry tracks medications that are prescribed and dispensed within the state or to Montana residents. It had been voluntary until the most recent state Legislature passed a bill to require every person who is licensed to prescribe or dispense prescription drugs to register. That takes effect this fall. Previously, the registry had been used by about 54% of those who were eligible.

The registry is mainly used by medical providers and pharmacists to search a patient’s medical history to learn about their past and current prescriptions. It has a secondary use by law enforcement officers, who obtain subpoenas.

The registry could also be used to flag people who are shopping around for multiple doctors and pharmacies in order to obtain and potentially misuse or divert medications.

Auditors, however, found the Board of Pharmacy does not review or analyze the data in the registry to find those potential abuses. State law allows for that type of proactive use, but does not require it.

The system instead relies on doctors and pharmacists to “make their own conclusions” about a patient’s records, according to the audit.

Auditors tended to qualify their findings in the report by saying that other problems within the registry — such as a lack of oversight or review of the accuracy of information put into the system — could skew outcomes.

Still, they raised concerns about records showing 4,410 patients who went to four or more pharmacies or prescribers in a 30-day window, and 8,814 who did the same in a 60-day period. That type of behavior could indicate doctor or pharmacy shopping to misuse or abuse prescription drugs.

In one example, a patient got nine prescriptions for high-strength opioids from four doctors in a 30-day window, and filled the prescriptions at four different pharmacies in Kalispell, Helena, Spokane and Whitefish. In a single day, the person had two prescriptions written for OxyContin from two different doctors.

In another case, a person got 11 prescriptions from nine prescribers in a 30-day stretch and filled them at five pharmacies.

Auditors also found concerns with missing and nonsensical data, as well as inconsistencies in data reporting. The department disputed some of how auditors interpret their findings.

In some cases, the auditors found more than 1,000 dates of birth for patients in the registry that were “unreasonable.” Four records had dates listed in the future, 231 had invalid dates like 01/01/0001, 50 had birthdays before 1900 and the rest had dates before 1912, which the auditors found unlikely to be accurate.

Marcie Bough, executive officer of the Board of Pharmacy, told lawmakers on the Legislative Audit Committee that met Tuesday not all those incorrect dates represent something wrong. Pharmacists, Bough said, would use nonsensical birth dates for things like animal prescriptions, which can be distributed from regular pharmacies.

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Opioid-related ER visits decline in Massachusetts

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Opioid-related ER visits decline in Massachusetts

https://www.boston25news.com/news/opioid-related-er-visits-decline-in-massachusetts/961737773

BOSTON – A state panel says the number of emergency department visits by people with opioid-related issues dropped by nearly 6 percent in Massachusetts from 2016 to 2017.

The report released Wednesday by the Health Policy Commission is based on a state database of hospital discharges up to 2017, the most recent year available.

The HPC says even though opioid hospitalization rates are down the opioid epidemic is still hitting Massachusetts harder than some other states. And it may be hitting some unintended targets. 

Until recently, professional musician Ellie DeOrsey was able to perform with a Rhode Island Orchestra thanks to the use of oral fentanyl. 

But when she was forced to change doctors because hers moved away, her treatment changed. 

“It didn’t affect my judgment, my thinking, it just took my pain away,” Ellie told Boston 25 News. “And my first office visit with this doctor, his first thing was: I will not prescribe you fentanyl.”

Ellie, like many patients with chronic pain, believes the opioid epidemic is forcing doctors to sometimes turn away from pain-killing drugs that work in favor of ones that won’t draw the attention of the DEA. 

The commission analyzed emergency department visits, and inpatient hospital stays, for people who have an “opioid-related diagnosis,” such as opioid dependence, misuse, or overdose.

Nearly 68,000 opioid-related hospital visits occurred in 2017, a little more than 2 percent of all discharges.

The drop came after years of increases.

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Meth cases up 233% in EIGHT YEARS in WISCONSIN

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Attorney General Josh KaulAG: Addiction Treatment, Trafficker Arrests Key To Fighting Wisconsin’s Growing Meth Epidemic

https://www.wpr.org/ag-addiction-treatment-trafficker-arrests-key-fighting-wisconsins-growing-meth-epidemic

In Wausau Stop, Attorney General Josh Kaul Also Advocated Medical Marijuana As Alternative To Opioids
By Rob Mentzer
Published:
  • Tuesday, June 25, 2019, 4:35pm
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Wisconsin’s growing meth epidemic presents new challenges to law enforcement, state Attorney General Josh Kaul said Tuesday in Wausau.

Twenty percent of 2018 drug cases at state crime labs involved methamphetamine, up from only 6 percent in 2010, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Kaul called methamphetamine use a growing problem across the state, where authorities have spent years working to combat an epidemic of addiction to heroin and other opioids. 

“When you enforce the laws that relate to one particular narcotic, it’s true that other dangerous ones can pop up,” Kaul said.

Kaul spoke to news media after a visit to an addiction treatment center. He said state law enforcement would need to target traffickers of both drugs. He noted opioid overdoses claimed 900 lives in Wisconsin in 2017. Expanded addiction treatment options, he said, are a necessary part of the solution. 

“There are people who have addictions to opioids, to meth and other drugs, and we need to make sure we are doing what we can to get those people substance abuse treatment so that there aren’t the worst possible consequences that result, and instead people are able to beat their addictions and get back on their feet.” he said.

Kaul also spoke in favor of medical marijuana, saying he’d rather see patients dealing with chronic pain be prescribed marijuana than opioid drugs. As attorney general, Kaul joined four other states in filing suit against two Purdue Pharma entities and against Richard Sackler, the company’s former president. The states claim Purdue’s advertising strategy was intentionally deceptive.

“One of the things we’ve alleged in our complaint … is that there was a concerted effort to mislead the public and prescribers about the dangers of opioids — to overstate the benefits of opioids and to downplay the harms that they cause,” Kaul said.

Part of efforts to counter the epidemic, he said, is to ensure the public has accurate information about the risks of any drug they are prescribed.

I wonder who they are going to try and blame this CRISIS on.. Methamphetamine is a legal C-II legend med… but it cost abt $3,000 for a month’s supply and very seldom prescribed. So what drug or issue are they going to try an blame this abuse crisis on ?

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