Organization for the prevention of intense suffering
www.preventsuffering.org/pain/
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New organization fighting for the chronic pain community
Posted on January 16, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
Walmart Inc. pharmacies will no longer be part of the networks where most consumers with CVS Health Corp
Posted on January 16, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
Walmart Inc. pharmacies will no longer be part of the networks where most consumers with CVS Health Corp. drug plans can pick up their prescriptions, after a dispute between the two giant companies over pricing.
http://www.ncpanet.org/home/find-your-local-pharmacy
CVS is one of the largest administrators of prescription-drug plans in the U.S., covering more than 93 million people. While known mostly for its drugstores, CVS’s pharmacy-benefits management division, CVS Caremark, has come to account for most of its revenue. It administers drug coverage for many large employers as well as numerous Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is also one of the largest pharmacy operators in the U.S. The company was demanding higher reimbursements from CVS for its pharmacies, CVS said in a statement announcing the split.
Walmart indicated it was resisting efforts by CVS to steer consumers to certain pharmacies to have their prescriptions filled. A company spokeswoman said in an emailed statement that the retailer was committed to giving customers access to affordable health care, “but we don’t want to give that value to the middle man.”
“This issue underscores the problems that can arise when a PBM can exert their unregulated power to direct members on where to fill their scripts, disrupting patients’ health care,” the statement said. “Walmart is standing up to CVS’s behaviors that are putting pressure on pharmacies and disrupting patient care.”
Amid a larger debate in the U.S. over drug prices, pharmacy-benefit managers like CVS have come in for criticism from consumers, lawmakers and regulators for a lack of transparency about prices and rebates they negotiate with drugmakers, as well as how the construct their formularies, or lists of covered medicines.
CVS said the rates Walmart was seeking would have led to patients paying more for their medicines.
“Walmart’s requested rates would ultimately result in higher costs for our clients and consumers,” CVS Caremark President Derica Rice said in the statement. “We simply could not agree to their recent demands for an increase in reimbursement.”
CVS shares were down 2.8 percent at 9:40 a.m. in New York. Shares of the company, which is merging with health insurer Aetna Inc., have declined about 24 percent since hitting a 52-week high in January 2018.
CVS is one of the U.S.’s biggest pharmacy chains, with almost 10,000 locations. Walmart dispenses drugs in about 4,700 locations, and has flirted with getting more involved in the health-care industry. It has looked at offering wellness services and other offerings that will become a key part of CVS’s business with its takeover of health insurer Aetna last year.
Walmart has been looking to expand its health business for years. It recently hired a former senior executive of insurer Humana Inc. to lead its health-care arm, leading to speculation that the companies could forge closer ties. Walmart and Humana have explored ways to deepen an existing health-care alliance, a person familiar with the matter said in March. The companies already work together on prescription plans for Medicare patients.
The split won’t affect Medicare beneficiaries in CVS’s Part D drug plans. It also won’t apply to Walmart’s Sam’s Club stores, CVS said in the statement. CVS said the move won’t materially impact its 2019 results.
News of the split was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.
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Montana has become a wasteland for pain management
Posted on January 16, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
Montana has become a wasteland for pain management
Why would we be sycophants for the Attorney General, who misrepresents the facts for political gain, so he can claim a “victory” in a drug war (against people) that is 50 years old, costing $2 trillion?
AG Fox is featured in the Montana Medical Association bulletin this month, supporting added mandates for physicians and others who provide prescription medications. “Know your Dose” is a program right out of American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, not scientifically based, and holds a prominent ad buy in the bulletin.
The surge in back pain in Montana is directly related to the surge in procedures.
Drs. Bender and Danaher testified under oath in Dr. Christensen’s trial, in order to take out their competition.
Dr. Christensen took on opiate refugees from Missoula Spine, as the plan, now successful, was to eliminate opiates, so as to enable more procedures. Did you know that epidural steroids are NOT approved by FDA? That ESIs can cause adhesive arachnoiditis, and Intractable Pain?
That .01 percent of patients metabolize opiates so rapidly that they require very large doses (similar to diabetics who require huge insulin doses)?
That Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, a group of addiction doctors, claim that opiates for pain are heroin pills, and never should be used, and they claim this without evidence?
There is another side to this whole story that has yet to be told, or is being told by doctors and patients who have been marginalized, and that includes myself. The Board Of Medicine took me out, in coordination with DEA. It worked.
But the DEA, regulators and legislators are practicing medicine without a license, always mindful of: “we cannot tell you what to do, we are not doctors.”
It is well known that the board of medicine deprived me of my due process rights, had “experts” that were found to be lying (not credible) and ignored the findings of their own hearing officer, David Scrimm. The intimidation of doctors in this state has worked. It worked on me.
The consequences, intended or not, are that Montana has been turned into a wasteland for pain management. We have become a Third World state, with people in such misery that they kill themselves.
Let’s have an open debate about the terror that doctors have been feeling.
Let’s look at the tribalism and shaming happening around pain and addiction.
Let’s interview patients who were taken from their familiar primary care MD, and forced to see a mid level NP or PA, who took them off their stable regimen.
It’s nasty.
Follow the money.
But remember FEAR: false evidence appearing real.
In a letter to the Statesman Journal, Dr. Darryl George wrote: “I have seen providers misread drug tests and dismiss patients with rapid or no tapers. They fail to do confirmation testing to ensure the office test is accurate. They look for any excuse to fire the patient. Many of these patients will become unable to work, become less functional at home, and personal relationships become strained. Some patients end up divorced or contemplate suicide when their pain is uncontrolled.
The “ugly” happens when federal and state agencies blame the opioid epidemic on providers and patients.”
The facts are coming out. Montana leads the nation in suicides. Pain mismanagement and malfeasance have created a hostile regulatory environment for doctors.
I’m a member of The Montana Medical Association.
MMA could start standing up for patients who have been abandoned and physicians who try to help them.
Of course, the message and messengers were not welcomed.
Truth will come out.
Where will we be standing when it does?
Mark Ibsen, MD, is the former owner of Urgent Care Plus in Helena.
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The lawsuits on cpp’s behalf are being filed!
Posted on January 15, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
The lawsuits on cpp’s behalf are being filed! The cost to add your name to the suit is a postage stamp!! We need numbers! You are encouraged to cross-file with other states that have a file# even though you do not live in that state. Steve Ariens, if you could kindly share this information. Unity is “key”. Thank-you sir. More states will be filing as the days go by.
If you are a chronic pain patient and you are losing life-saving medications and would like to join the lawsuit…here you go! Ok friends, I’ve heard back from Robert regarding how to join the lawsuit. The instructions are as follows:
Go to sickofsuffering.com
Click on Find Out More, then
Click on Motion to Join.
The states are represented by their state’s flag 🇺🇸
Follow the instructions on the page
Fill out the paperwork
Please join ALL states, so that we can get to the forty people needed for a class action lawsuit.
Drop the finalized paperwork in the mail.
We do not have to go to any courthouses to join any of the lawsuits. It’s that simple. No money is necessary.
If you have any questions, let me know! I will find the help you need!
Thanks to everyone, and please remember to try to spread the word to all of the other states that have yet to file. If we get to 34 states filing, the law is automatically overturned. That’s our ultimate goal.
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Why California pharmacies are rejecting some prescriptions for pain medications
Posted on January 15, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
Why California pharmacies are rejecting some prescriptions for pain medications
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article224524420.html
Doctors around California are complaining that the state did not send them notice of a Jan. 1 change in prescription forms and that pharmacies are rejecting prescriptions for controlled substances on forms they used just last year.
Dr. Richard Buss, a family practice physician in Jackson, said this is the second year the state made changes to prescription requirements without notifying doctors directly. He said he was unaware of the change until Jan. 2 when a pharmacy told him it wouldn’t fill a prescription. He was unable to get new prescription forms that meet state requirements until Monday.
“Nobody told the doctors about it — until like now — when the change is required,” Buss said. “Pharmacies are already refusing to accept our prescriptions for controlled substances. One of the doctors at our hospital is trying to send a patient home who just had knee surgery, and he can’t get pain medication ordered for her because these (prescription forms) became out of date at the end of the year.”
The California Medical Association has been hearing from physicians up and down the state about this issue, said Anthony York, a spokesperson for the organization, and CMA is working with the Medical Board of California, the California State Board of Pharmacy and the California Department of Justice to ensure that providers can serve their patients effectively.
Assembly Bill 1753, sponsored by Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Silicon Valley, went into effect on Jan. 1. It limits the number of printers authorized to produce prescription pads for controlled substances and requires the forms have tamper-proof measures to make them easier to track and harder to use if stolen. The measures were intended, Low said, to help stem the opioid crisis.
On Monday, Low issued a statement acknowledging there have been some problems with how the law is being implemented. In the statement, he said he has communicated his “grave concerns” in a letter to the Department of Justice, and is “committed to seeing that any legislative solution is signed into law immediately.”
The Medical Board of California issued a memo Dec. 28 to physician prescribers, alerting them to the change. But that was too late, according to the board, which said on its web site that it still received a number of inquiries from providers complaining that their prescriptions were being rejected.
The Medical Board memo quotes the enforcement committee at the California Board of Pharmacy saying it will “not make any action or investigation a priority” against a pharmacist who believes it’s in the best interest of public health to fill a prescription with the old form and does so. Pharmacists also could ask for an electronic prescription or seek an oral prescription if laws allow that for the specified drug.
Buss, who has been practicing since 1987, said that old prescription forms will work for blood pressure medications or penicillin, but they are being declined for controlled substances such as pain medications containing opioids.
“This is an example of total bureaucratic and legislative bumbling, to not be able to make arrangements for a transition,” Buss said.
Lisa Folberg, the chief executive officer of the California Academy of Family Physicians, said her organization has not yet fielded calls from providers on this issue. The CAFP included an article on the subject in its Jan. 8 publication for members.
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Clinical info available YEARS before CDC guidelines and apparently IGNORED by them .. because they had an agenda ?
Posted on January 14, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
Need for High Opioid Dose Linked to CYP450
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/771480
September 25, 2012 (Phoenix, Arizona) — Patients with chronic pain who require high doses of opioids to achieve pain relief show exceptionally high rates of defects of the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzyme system compared with the general population.
The CYP450 enzyme system is known to play an important role in the metabolism of opioids, and recent advances in genetic testing allow for the easy detection of defects to the enzymes.
“We’ve known for years that among patients with the exact same pain conditions one may need 500 mg of morphine a day while the other may need only 50 mg, but we’ve always wondered why,” lead author Forest Tennant, MD, told Medscape Medical News.
“It turns out that among high-dose patients, about 85% have these defects in 1 or more of their CYP450 enzymes.” In the general population, only about 20% to 30% of people have CYP450 defects, he said.
His findings were presented here at the American Academy of Pain Management (AAPM) 23rd Annual Clinical Meeting.
Emerging Frontier
To evaluate patterns among his own patients with intractable pain, Dr. Tennant tested 66 patients attending his clinic in West Covina, California, who required more than 150 mg equivalence of morphine a day for pain relief.
The patients were tested specifically for the CYP2D6, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 enzymes. The results showed that 55 (83.3%) of the 66 patients had 1 or more CYP450 defects, 21 (31.8%) had 2 defects, and 6 (9.1%) had 3 defects.
According to chronic pain management expert Gary M. Reisfield, MD, genetic research is poised to reveal expansive new insights into the mechanisms of why some patients respond to medications whereas others don’t.
“Pharmacogenomics represents the emerging frontier for understanding interindividual variability in opioid efficacy and toxicity, and in guiding safe and effective opioid pharmacotherapy,” said Dr. Reisfield, an assistant professor and chief of Pain Management Services in the University of Florida College of Medicine’s Divisions of Addiction Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry and Department of Psychiatry in Gainesville, Florida.
“With regard to opioid response, the mu-opioid receptor, the ATP [adenosine triphosphate]-binding cassette subfamily B, and other genes are believed to play significant roles,” he explained.
With CYP450, a “superfamily” of enzymes responsible for the metabolism of most opioids, various polymorphisms and variables in activity can have clinical significance.
The enzymes, for instance, have been implicated as playing a role in the overactive metabolism of codeine. In a recent case, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in fact issued a warning about the risks associated with codeine after 3 children died and a fourth child nearly died after having been administered codeine following tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.
“Once in the body, codeine is converted to morphine in the liver by an enzyme called cytochrome P450 isoenzyme 2D6 (CYP2D6) (and) some people metabolize codeine much faster and more completely than others,” the FDA wrote in a statement.
“These people, known as ultra-rapid metabolizers, are likely to have higher-than-normal levels of morphine in their blood after taking codeine. These high levels can lead to overdose and death,” the agency said. “The three children who died after taking codeine exhibited evidence of being ultra-rapid metabolizers.”
Conversely, some people are “poor” metabolizers of codeine, meaning that they have few, one, or no copies of the gene or CYP2D6, Dr. Reisfield added.
“Such individuals are incapable of metabolizing codeine morphine, and thus incapable of deriving analgesia from administration of the medication. Both genetic defects would be detected through CYP2D6 genotyping.”
Drug Seeker or Higher Requirement?
That being said, Dr. Reisfield suggested that the new study’s findings, although intriguing, leave many unanswered questions.
“The study adds to a nascent literature on pharmacogenomics in opioid therapy,” Dr. Reisfield said. “Dr. Tennant demonstrates an association between CYP ‘defects’ and requirements for high opioid dosages. He has not, however, established a causal association.”
The study’s limitations include that “the most frequent defects were in CYP2C19, which plays an inconsequential role in methadone metabolism, but plays no role in the metabolism of other opioids,” Dr. Reisfield said.
Meanwhile, CYP3A4, an important enzyme for the metabolism of most opioids, was not genotyped in the study, Dr. Reisfield said.
In addition, the specific opioids used were not identified, which is important because some opioids, including hydromorphone, oxymorphone, and morphine, are not metabolized by CYPs, he added.
It’s not known whether subjects were receiving other medications that could have affected CYP metabolic activity.
Dr. Tennant acknowledged that the study would have benefited from more information from a control group of patients with chronic pain who did not require the high doses.
No one should be called a drug-seeker these days until you’ve done the CYP450 testing.
“It is unknown just how prevalent severe intractable pain patients with CYP 450 defects who require high dose opioid therapy may be compared to the general, chronic pain population, but it is probably a small percentage,” he wrote.
“This study makes it clear, however, that some severe chronic pain patients have major CYP defects that affect opioid metabolism and dosage.”
At the very least, the findings suggest that CYP450 testing can represent an important starting point for evaluation when high doses of opioids are required, Dr. Tennant asserted.
“No one should be called a drug-seeker these days until you’ve done the CYP450 testing to see if that patient simply needs an awful lot more medication than someone else.”
Dr. Tennant and Dr. Reisfield have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
American Academy of Pain Management (AAPM) 23rd Annual Clinical Meeting. Abstract 5. Presented September 21, 2012.
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Ohio: Gov John R. Kasich .. keeps claiming that Ohio has a opiate OD problem..little did he know ?
Posted on January 14, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
Mount Carmel doctor, nurse and pharmacist accused of administering lethal doses of fentanyl
COLUMBUS – A Mount Carmel West doctor, nurse and pharmacist have been accused of ordering and providing lethal doses of fentanyl to an Ohio woman and as many as 26 other patients, according to a civil lawsuit filed Monday and statements made by the hospital.
The physician, Dr. William Husel, has been fired, according to a hospital statement, and 20 other hospital staff have been removed from providing further patient care while the hospital investigates.
Reached by phone Monday, Husel declined to comment 10 Investigates. An email and voice message were left for his attorney.
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According to a copy of the complaint, Mount Carmel hospital administration reached out to former patient Janet Kavanaugh’s family on Monday, January 14, 2019 and alleged that the “actions described in the lawsuit are not an isolated incident, but rather, a repeated course of conduct by the Defendants with respect to at least 26 other patients at Mount Carmel.”
Mount Carmel released a statement to 10 Investigates that read in part:
“During the five years he worked here, this doctor ordered significantly excessive and potentially fatal doses of pain medication for at least 27 patients who were near death. These patients’ families had requested that all life-saving measures be stopped, yet the amount of medicine the doctor ordered was more than what was needed to provide comfort. On behalf of Mount Carmel and Trinity Health, our parent organization, we apologize for this tragedy, and we’re truly sorry for the additional grief this may cause these families…”
The statement went on to say: “We’re working hard to learn all we can about these cases, and we removed 20 hospital staff from providing further patient care while we gather more facts. This includes a number of nurses who administered the medication and a number of staff pharmacists who were also involved in the related patient care.
Mount Carmel provides compassionate care that takes into account the decisions of patients and their families. We believe in helping patients who are near death die peacefully and naturally.
The actions instigated by this doctor were unacceptable and inconsistent with the values and practices of Mount Carmel, regardless of the reasons the actions were taken. We take responsibility for the fact that the processes in place were not sufficient to prevent these actions from happening. We’re doing everything to understand how this happened and what we need to do to ensure it never happens again. We’re joined in this effort by leaders of Trinity Health and we’ve asked outside experts to assist us.”
Two other people named in the lawsuit, nurse Tyler Rudman and pharmacist Talon Schroyer, also declined to comment when reached by phone Monday evening. They also declined to say if they’re still working for the hospital.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, alleges that Dr. William Husel ordered 1,000 micrograms of fentanyl be administered to an Ohio woman, Janet Kavanaugh, through her IV.
“Defendant Husel’s order of a grossly excessive and inappropriate dosage of Fentanyl was reviewed and approved by Mount Carmel’s pharmacist – Defendant Schroyer – and the medication was made available to Defendant Rudman, Janet’s nurse,” the lawsuit states. “Defendant Schroyer knew that the ordered dosage of Fentanyl was grossly inappropriate, served no therapeutic purpose or function, and would only serve to hasten the termination of Janet Kavanaugh’s life.”
The lawsuit goes on to allege that Rudman administered the lethal dose of Fentanyl to Kavanaugh on December 11, 2017 and that she died within minutes of receiving the injection.
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If you want Congress to listen to you… this is how it is done
Posted on January 14, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
Dems Are Partying With Lobbyists In Puerto Rico While Government Employees Are Losing Their Homes
Spotted: Sen. Bob Menendez on the beach at a resort in Puerto Rico on Day 22 of the partial government shutdown. Reports say dozens of Dems are in PR for the CHC BOLD PAC winter retreat — including meetings on Maria cleanup, and a party with PR’s “Hamilton” cast.
We’re currently in the midst of the longest government shutdown in American history. President Donald Trump said he would stay in the White House all weekend, in hopes that Democrats would be willing to negotiate a budget that included funding for his highly-anticipated border wall. That definitely won’t happen now that it’s known that at least 30 Democrats are partying in Puerto Rico with hundreds of lobbyists. It’s all part of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC winter retreat, The Washington Examiner reported.
Apparently Democrats decided to hold the retreat in Puerto Rico to help draw attention to the destruction Hurricane Maria caused back in 2017. They brought 250lbs of donated medical supplies. But the trip is lavish. BOLD PAC chartered a 737 for members, their families, and chiefs of staff to attend for the weekend.
No one knows exactly which members are in attendance. Speaker Pelosi was rumored to be in attendance but one of her staffers said she was unable to make the trip.
Organizers must have realized how horrible the optics are: Here are Democrats, who claim to be the champion of the worker, partying in Puerto Rico while 800,000 federal employees are worrying about how they’re going to pay their bills and keep a roof over their heads.
Bold PAC Chair Rep. Tony Cardenas released the following statement about the shutdown and their “important weekend” in Puerto Rico:
House Democrats voted to open the government multiple times; sadly, Senate Republicans and President Trump are continuing to put partisan politics ahead of our country, forcing the government to remain shut down. As our Bold PAC members make their way to Puerto Rico for this important weekend — the largest contingency of House Democrats to visit Puerto Rico where they’ll be hearing from Commonwealth and local elected officials about the ongoing recovery efforts — we will be closely monitoring the situation in Washington. If there is any progress by Senate Republicans or the White House to reopen the federal government, then we will act accordingly.
This gathering was planned months before Trump decided to shut down the federal government for his unnecessary and costly border wall. The purpose of hosting Bold PAC’s retreat in Puerto Rico is to see and hear from the more than 3.5 million American citizens who have been working tirelessly to rebuild their lives on the Island after Hurricane Maria. This remains a national priority, and it is necessary for us to be there and honor our fellow American children, seniors, veterans, men and women.
So now it’s President Trump’s faults that Democrats flee? Come on now. They could have easily canceled the trip if they truly cared about working people.
Because nothing says “I represent the American people” like sitting on a warm sandy beach while people are fighting to put food on their tables, clothes on their backs and roofs over their heads because politicians can’t agree on anything.
Great job representing your constituents, Democrats. Job well done.
It is simple, charter a large plane to take 30 members of the House, their spouses and their chief of staff. Mix in a HUNDRED OR SO lobbyists all funded by a half dozen or so large companies. Take them all to a warm Caribbean Island and put them up in a luxury beach hotel for the weekend..
Those poor members of Congress, this 115th Congressional session started way back on Jan 3rd, 2019… no wonder they needed a “warm weather vacation”
If any of you are stilling wondering why all of your emails, faxes, letters, phone calls, signing petitions and other attempts in contacting members to share your concerns about something/anything… this should demonstrate just why your efforts may seem to have fallen on deft ears…
Apparently there is no published list of which 30 members of Congress are on this “vacation” except for Sen. Bob Menendez got his picture taken on the beach. Of course, Senator Menendez has been under investigation for corruption for the past 5 yrs and was just dismissed a year ago. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/01/bob-menendez-federal-prosecutors-dismiss-corruption-charges
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quote of the day: each of the 169,936 PREVENTABLE deaths recorded in 2017 were PREVENTABLE
Posted on January 14, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
Report: Americans Are Now More Likely To Die Of An Opioid Overdose Than On The Road
For the first time in U.S. history, a leading cause of deaths — vehicle crashes — has been surpassed in likelihood by opioid overdoses, according to a new report on preventable deaths from the National Safety Council.
Americans now have a 1 in 96 chance of dying from an opioid overdose, according to the council’s analysis of 2017 data on accidental death. The probability of dying in a motor vehicle crash is 1 in 103.
“The nation’s opioid crisis is fueling the Council’s grim probabilities, and that crisis is worsening with an influx of illicit fentanyl,” the council said in a statement released Monday.
Fentanyl is now the drug most often responsible for drug overdose deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in December. And that may only be a partial view of the problem: Opioid-related overdoses also have been undercounted by as much as 35 percent, according to a study published last year in the journal Addiction.
The council has recommended tackling the epidemic by increasing pain management training for opioid prescribers, making the potentially lifesaving drug naloxone more widely available and expanding access to addiction treatment.
While the leading causes of death in the U.S. are heart disease (1 in 6 chance) and cancer (1 in 7), the rising overdose numbers are part of a distressing trend the nonprofit has tracked: The lifetime odds of an American dying from a preventable, unintentional injury have gone up over the past 15 years.
“It is impacting our workforce, it is impacting our fathers and mothers who are still raising their children,” said Ken Kolosh, manager of statistics at the National Safety Council. Kolosh said that those accidental deaths usually affect people in the “core of their life,” with greater financial and emotional ramifications than deaths of those in their later years.
Vehicle crashes remain a leading danger as well. Kolosh said half of people who died in crashes they analyzed were not wearing seatbelts. Meanwhile, the frequency of pedestrian deaths has increased, led by a jump in fatalities in urban areas.
Pedestrian deaths have been at a 25-year high, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. A 2017 study found that an average of 13 people a day were killed by cars between 2005 and 2014, and that people of color and the elderly are disproportionately at risk.
“Historically, roadways have been designed to make it as efficient as possible for the vehicle,” Kolosh said, noting that bicyclists and pedestrians have been shortchanged. “We now have to do a far better job of building our infrastructure to accommodate all road users.”
Kolosh said he hopes the council’s analysis will allay unfounded fears, and remind people of more common dangers.
“As human beings, we’re terrible at assessing our own risk,” Kolosh said. “We typically focus on the unusual or scary events … and assume that those are the riskiest.”
He said data show the opposite is true.
For example, an American’s likelihood of dying in a “cataclysmic storm” is just 1 in 31,394.
Dying as an airplane passenger? 1 in 188,364.
In a train wreck? 1 in 243,765.
Falling? 1 in 114.
Kolosh said the probability of dying in a fall has increased (it was 1 in 119 last year), driven by more recorded falls among older adults as the U.S. population ages. Experts say the best way to prevent that risk is exercise. It’s a reminder, Kolosh said, that each of the 169,936 preventable deaths recorded in 2017 were preventable.
“Your odds of dying are 1 in 1,” Kolosh quipped. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do something. If, as a society, we put the appropriate rules and regulations in place we can prevent all accidental deaths in the future.”
My math may be wrong… but we have about 320 million people in this country and if we have 1 in 119 chances of dying from a fall… would that mean that you divide 320 million by 119 ? That comes out to 5.8 million will die from a fall..
Use the 1 in 96 chance of dying of a opiate overdose … comes out to 3.3 million dying from a opiate overdose.. where the last I saw the CDC reported some 70,000 deaths from ALL DRUG OVERDOSES…
Maybe they are using the “new math” and I am still using the “old math ” ?
Using these numbers and the reports out yesterday that the USA’s birth rate is at a THIRTY YEAR LOW… between the two… the population of USA could be totally EXTINCT in a few generations ?
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The “bad” happens when patients are forcibly tapered off their medications, leaving them with no way to adequately address their pain
Posted on January 13, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
Oregon’s illegal drug users rewarded as chronic pain patients suffer
As a general practitioner, I have seen the “good,” the “bad,” and the “ugly” of the “opioid epidemic.”
The “good” happens when patients are stabilized on their analgesics and able to return to work or volunteer and regain a better quality of life.
Clinically proven questionnaires are available and I use them in my practice to pre-screen and continually rescreen all patients, which helps significantly with identifying and addressing any areas of concern.
I review Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) data every morning on every patient that I will see that day. Unfortunately state law doesn’t require that level of review, so many providers fail to use this benefit, but at times it’s an inaccurate resource. There are time considerations in utilizing the PDMP, and some providers say they don’t have time, but when they can assign a staff member to do it, there’s no excuse for not using this valuable tool.
The issue: Two Views: Is Oregon abandoning those living with chronic pain?
A different perspective: Chronic-pain patients suffer as agencies try to regulate addiction
The “bad” happens when patients are forcibly tapered off their medications, leaving them with no way to adequately address their pain. Only recently have some insurers started providing more physical therapy, chiropractic, and other treatments, but unfortunately with limitations to the number of visits or total overall costs, they fall short of even a complimentary treatment.
I have seen providers misread drug tests and dismiss patients with rapid or no tapers. They fail to do confirmation testing to ensure the office test is accurate. They look for any excuse to fire the patient. Many of these patients will become unable to work, become less functional at home, and personal relationships become strained. Some patients end up divorced or contemplate suicide when their pain is uncontrolled.
The “ugly” happens when federal and state agencies blame the opioid epidemic on providers and patients.
They are easy targets because the provider has an office and the patient uses a pharmacy. They have tried unsuccessfully for decades to arrest the street dealers and buyers who hide in the shadows.
The government’s own data shows that the vast majority of “opioid” deaths occur as a combination of illicit drugs that were never prescribed to the deceased. But patients who have been using their drugs properly are attacked and degraded.
Patients are dismissed from their providers for doing nothing wrong, all because the provider fears the government will take away their license if they continue prescribing pain medications.
The illegal drug users get rewarded with lighter sentences, safe injection places to use their illegal drugs, and disability or unemployment benefits because they’re too busy doing drugs to do anything else.
They are not dismissed or tapered, and continue getting their Methadone or Suboxone medications from treatment centers even when they fail their drug tests.
Many of today’s opioid opponents were once prescribers themselves making a living off patients’ pain. Then public opinion shifted. So those prescribers changed their tune. They went where the government’s money flows.
That’s how sharks congregate.
Dr. Darryl George is with Affordable Integrative Medicine in Roseburg, Oregon. Reach him at office@doctor-george.net.
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