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Drug overdose deaths, prescriptions for opiate treatment drugs rising, worrying state officials
Despite measures to discourage prescription drug abuse, Kentucky health officials report overdose deaths continue to rise and opioid treatment drugs are being prescribed “at alarming rates,” Kevin Wheatley reports for cn|2′s Pure Politics.
Opioids prescribed by doctors led to 92,000 overdoses in ERs in one year
A new analysis of 2010 data from hospitals nationwide found that prescription painkillers, known as opioids, were involved in 68% of overdoses treated in emergency rooms. Hospital care for those overdose victims cost an estimated $1.4 billion. (Lawrence K
Prescription Painkillers Fueling Overdose Cases in Emergency Rooms
A new report estimates more than two-thirds of emergency department visits for overdoses of narcotic drugs involve prescription medications. The study was published online Oct. 27 in JAMA Internal Medicine. - See more at: http://www.hcplive.com/articles/P
Drug-monitoring program a prescription for privacy loss, ACLU argues
State lawmakers are on the verge of establishing an expanded prescription monitoring program that would allow law enforcement to obtain sensitive medical information without a search warrant. Doctors and pharmacists also would have access.
#14 Days: Dying for pain relief in the opioid epidemic
In our attempt to relieve our pain, the U.S. is leading the world in popping prescription painkillers, and more and more people are dying. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the U.S. accounts for five percent of the world's population, yet
Police address prescription drug abuse
The non-medical use of prescription drugs ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in America, according to a press release from Lieutenant Michael Seale from the University Police.
The Conundrums of Chronic Opioid Therapy for Noncancer Pain Management
Inappropriate opioid prescribing is undertaken by a small percentage of prescribing physicians.
The Pain Drain - The Continuing Impact of Pain Management on Health-Care Providers
Over a hundred million Americans suffer from chronic pain. To combat this epidemic, health-care providers have increasingly turned to opioid analgesics.
PCMA: How Congress Can Fight Prescription Drug Fraud and Abuse
Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) President and CEO Mark Merritt today outlined policy solutions that could reduce prescription fraud and abuse in Medicare Part D at a Capitol Hill briefing, "Prescription Opioid Abuse: Fighting Back on Man
Large cities seek to combat prescription opioid abuse
WASHINGTON — Some of the nation’s largest cities are ratcheting up their criticism of prescription painkillers, blaming the industry for a wave of addiction and overdoses that have ravaged their communities and busted local budgets.
Stopping America’s Hidden Overdose Crisis
Fatal overdoses of prescription drugs are on the rise, but patchwork laws make them tough to stop
Taking the fight against the deadly prescription drug epidemic online
In its effort to tackle the growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse, the federal government has taken a couple of major steps in the past few weeks.
Prescription laws begin taking hold
Database, other requirements are having an impact on Tennessee’s drug war
U.S. drug agency expands drop-off sites for unused prescription drugs
The DEA’s new regulation will also provide residents at long-term health facilities with the option of turning in unused prescription drugs on-site.
Case of Large-Scale Opioid Diversion Puts Hospitals on Alert
The recent arrest of a former New York hospital pharmacy director for pilfering nearly 200,000 oxycodone pills underscores the need for facilities to shore up their operations,
One out of five adult orthopaedic trauma patients sought additional providers for narcotic prescriptions
"Doctor shopping," the growing practice of obtaining narcotic prescriptions from multiple providers, has led to measurable increases in drug use among postoperative trauma patients.
Protect My compounds - Keep personalized medicine accessible and affordable
Compounding is the art and science of creating personalized medicine for people who aren’t served by the “one-size-fits-all” approach of mass-produced drugs.
Texans enjoying more options with custom tailored medications prepared by pharmacists
As changes in the nation's healthcare system continue to pressure medical providers to be less generous with time and resources, Texas independent pharmacists are offering patients more through the practice of compounding.
How the Brain Creates a Dependence On Opioids
Opioids have been around for a very long time, and are used as painkillers to help patients cope with pain post-surgery.
Federal views diverge on proper use of painkillers
How do you have a conversation about prescription drugs that provide critical pain relief to millions of Americans yet also cause more fatal overdoses than heroin and cocaine combined?
The new face of opioids in America: 23-year-old white women
The opioid users of today are more likely to be women, whiter, and older than Americans who used opioids, including heroin, in the past.
Midwest leads country in increase of hospitalizations for prescription painkiller overdoses
Hospitalizations resulting from the overuse of prescription opioid painkillers have risen more than 150 percent during the last two decades, according to a new national report.
Efforts To Prevent Prescription Drug Misuse Should Focus on Peers, Not Peer Pressure
A new study found that campaigns to prevent prescription drugs misuse can be more effective by focusing on peers and not peer pressure.
Policy Impact: Prescription Painkiller Overdoses
Although many types of prescription drugs are abused, there is currently a growing, deadly epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse.
Suboxone: The New Drug Epidemic?
A drug increasingly being used to treat opioid addiction may be fueling a new epidemic of diversion, overdose, addiction and death in the United States.
Guidelines for ER doctors limit painkiller prescriptions
Pennsylvania announced new emergency room opioid prescribing guidelines Wednesday to stem the tide of prescription drug abuse.
A Look at Opioid Use During Pregnancy
According to NIH data, prescriptions for opioids have increased dramatically in the general population..
Drug Testing - Janaburson's Blog ALL ABOUT OPIOID ADDICTION AND ITS TREATMENT WITH MEDICATION
Every so often one of my established office-based buprenorphine (Suboxone) patients gets a little rebellious about being asked to take drug tests.
Opioid compliance checklist shows promise for chronic pain management
Researchers have developed a brief and simple checklist that clinicians can use to monitor opioid adherence among people with chronic pain.
Popping Pills in America: Can the DEA Fix This?
There's no doubt about it - the United States is a big consumer of prescription painkillers. In fact, in 2010 enough prescription painkillers were prescribed to medicate each American adult every four hours for an entire month.
Abuse of Prescription Painkillers on the Rise Among High School Athletes: Survey
Abuse of prescription painkillers is on the rise among high school athletes, and football players are among the worst offenders, a new study shows.
Practical Considerations in Urine Drug Screening: Compliance and Regulations for Office-Based Testing
Urine drug testing (UDT) is considered one of the mainstays of adherence monitoring, and, in conjunction with prescription monitoring programs and other screening tools promotes the safe and effective use of these potent medications.
Special report: The dangers of painkillers
Every year, Percocet, Vicodin, and other opioids kill 17,000 Americans and acetaminophen sends 80,000 people to the ER
Prescriptions for Powerful Painkillers Vary Widely Among States: CDC
Doctors in some states seem to wield a freer hand issuing prescriptions for powerful narcotic medications, leading to wide variations in narcotic drug use among states, health officials have reported.
Drug Overdose: Prescription Painkillers Poison 46 Americans Every Day
Poisonings through drug overdose have tripled in the U.S. in the past three decades and, according to a recent report published earlier this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 46 Americans die every day from an overdose of pres
State: Doctors must do more to fight abuse of pain pills
Pennsylvania physicians should consider giving powerful pain medications in trial doses and be ready to cancel prescriptions for patients who don’t seem to be making progress toward getting off them, according to new pain-pill prescribing guidelines for
CDC: Prescription drug abuse in America is an ‘epidemic’
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2000 and 2010, the number of new prescription painkiller users increased by 104%, with more than 12 million people reporting their abuse.
Limit abuse, not legitimate use, of prescription drugs
Prescription drug abuse is a national epidemic. According to a recent report by the Trust for America’s Health, prescription drug-related deaths now outnumber those caused by cocaine and heroin combined.
Risk of abuse with painkillers on the rise
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — I have just renewed my state pharmacy license – the one that allows me to prescribe controlled substances.
As drug deaths soar, doctors need to change prescriptions
Here’s a startling fact: Indiana has the 17th-highest drug overdose mortality rate in the United States, with 14.4 per 100,000 people suffering drug overdose fatalities.
Success in Fighting Opioid Abuse Demands Multifaceted Approach
Policy Changes, Education, Community Involvement Play Key Roles
60 Franklin County doctors sign on to prescriber pledge to date
Sixty Franklin County doctors, surgeons, dentists, psychiatrists and other health care providers have signed on to the Safe Prescriber Pledge to adopt practices that ensure safe prescribing practices for potentially addictive medications as the region bat
Painkiller Overdoses Kill More Than One American Every Hour
A new CDC report highlights America’s growing prescription opiate addiction (due in part to over-prescription), which causes 46 deaths each day. Are drug-monitoring programs a solution?
Southern States Have the Highest Painkiller Prescription Rates
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlight the urgent need for changes in prescription practices in a new report
Prescription Drug Abuse Kills More People Than Cocaine and Heroin
The dangers of prescription drug abuse has recently been given more weight through a new study by researchers from Canada’s McGill University.
Bitter Pill: Prescription rate for oxycodone soars
Prescriptions for the powerful painkiller oxycodone have spiked by nearly 30 percent over the last three years in the Bay State as other opiates drop — a trend experts are calling a frightening red flag in the scramble to control an exploding drug abuse
Techniques aid safe opioid prescribing
Emergency department visits attributable to opioids increased from 600,000 to more than 1.2 million from 2004 to 2010, and overdose deaths have quadrupled from 4,000 to more than 12,000 annually from 1999 to 2010, data from the Substance Abuse and Mental
How ‘carefrontation‘ can help treat North Carolina’s mentally ill
More doctors and clinicians should integrate urine drug monitoring into their practice
Bill targets prescription drug abuse
A bill aimed at curbing prescription drug abuse in the state gained the approval of the Senate Health Care Committee on Wednesday.
Drugs for treating heroin users: a new abuse problem in the making?
Evidence is mounting that certain drugs used to treat heroin users are themselves being sold on the streets – and may even be a 'gateway' to heroin or opioid use. As some experts herald their value for treating addiction, others ask if the 'cure' is mak
When Prosecution Replaces Prescription
Chances are that most of us know someone with disabling chronic pain. Spotting these people is not very easy. If she is in pain, for instance, you can bet she won’t share it with anyone. The stigma associated with chronic pain often produces a sense of
Federal views diverge on proper use of painkillers
How do you have a conversation about prescription drugs that provide critical pain relief to millions of Americans yet also cause more fatal overdoses than heroin and cocaine combined? The answer is: It depends.
DFW Providers Stay Ahead of Population Growth
Texas and the U.S. may have physician shortages. However, state data shows that Dallas-Fort Worth has done a stellar job of growing providers faster than its burgeoning population.
A Deadly Mix: Opioids and ‘Benzos’
Prescriptions for benzodiazepines have soared in the past decade, causing an alarming rise in overdose deaths when the tranquilizers are taken with opioid painkillers, according to a new study by Stanford researchers.
Pregnant drug users in TN face prosecution starting July 1
Starting next month, Tennessee’s pregnant women using illegal drugs will be prosecuted as a law criminalizing such act takes effect.
A Vegas Gamble: Doctor Builds a New Kind of Clinic in the Desert
On a Friday night in mid-May, part of Fremont Street in Las Vegas is shut down and converted into a skate park, with flanneled teens attempting tricks on ramps and rails.
The Sunshine Act: How to ensure the accuracy of your disclosures
The new law requires physicians to disclose certain financial transactions
Drugs for treating heroin users: a new abuse problem in the making?
Evidence is mounting that certain drugs used to treat heroin users are themselves being sold on the streets – and may even be a 'gateway' to heroin or opioid use. As some experts herald their value for treating addiction, others ask if the 'cure' is mak
Bill Clinton Works To Reduce Prescription Drug Abuse
Bill Clinton puts the influence of his presidency into reducing the abuse of prescription drugs.
Prescription Drugs More Deadly Than Car Accidents, Guns, and Suicide
America, we’ve got a problem: More than 100 people die each day in the U.S. because of prescription drugs.
Physicians, state health leaders spar over narcotics bill
Legislators still debating bill to require Prescription Monitoring Program database for narcotics
1 in 7 Pregnant Women Prescribed Opioid Painkillers
About one out of every seven pregnant women in the U.S. was prescribed opioids for pain at some time during their pregnancy, according to the results of a surprising new study published in the journal Anesthesiology.
TRACKING PRESCRIPTIONS TO REDUCE ABUSE OF OPIOIDS GAINS TRACTION
The number of people dying from overdoses linked to illicitly obtained opioids has been rising, prompting calls for stricter monitoring to stymie prescription “shopping” by patients.
Physicians caught in politics of ACA enrollment data
House Republicans estimate that 67% of healthcare exchange enrollees have paid premiums
Be proactive to avoid HIPAA violations
When it was first introduced in 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) aimed to make it easier for patients to transfer their health coverage from one carrier to another..
Pain Med Docs More Prone to Burnout
Doctors who specialize in pain medicine appear to be at greater risk of experiencing professional burnout than physicians in other specialties, researchers reported here.
5 things physicians need to know about ‘Heartbleed’
Heartbleed may sound like a medical term, but it is actually a flaw in computer software that has affected web operations for many businesses and consumers.
Doctors get new advice on prescribing painkillers
Amid an epidemic of overdose deaths from prescription drugs, the North Carolina Medical Board is revising and adding to its recommendations for doctors when it comes to prescribing painkillers.
Senate committee to vote on opioid overdose bills
The Health and Human Services Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on several of the bills it has assembled to help address the opioid overdose crisis in the region.
Physician groups cite major problems with the release of Medicare’s payment data
Medicare’s payment data dump has sparked backlash from physician advocate groups, including the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American College of Physicians (ACP), who argue that releasing the information without context is misleading.
Prescription monitoring data can reduce abuse, deaths
The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Center of Excellence at Brandeis University has issued a ground-breaking report recommending that medical insurers use prescription monitoring data to reduce the overdoses, deaths and health care costs associated w
USP Proposes New General Chapter Addressing Compounding of Hazardous Drugs
In an effort to protect health care providers and personnel who handle hazardous drugs, United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has proposed new General Chapter <800> Hazardous Drugs – Handling in Healthcare Settings.
APS To Co-Sponsor Primary Care Pain Conference
To help primary care physicians treat chronic pain more safely and effectively, the American Pain Society (APS) will host a three-day educational conference, “Pain Care for Primary Care,” in collaboration with the Journal of Family Practice. The confe
American Medical Association Provides Resources to Aid Physicians' Collections
The American Medical Association (AMA) has released resources to help doctors confront policy jumpers who may pose a financial risk to physicians during the Affordable Care Act's 90-day premium grace period, according to an article published March 25 in M
FDA Looks to Technology to Help it Get a Handle on Opioid Abuse
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has had no shortage of critics of its regulation of opioid analgesics, including a controversial decision in 2013 to approve Zohydro (hydrocodone bitartrate), a pure hydrocodone product notable for its lack of eit
Opioid Prescriptions Common for Pregnant Women
More than 14% of pregnant women in a recent study received an opioid prescription for pain at some point during their pregnancy. The study results, posted in the online version of the journal Anesthesiology, left its researchers “surprised” and callin
Pain Management Education in Long-term Care
Acute and chronic pain management for persons residing in long-term care settings is a serious problem. In an effort to change practice in pain management and improve resident outcomes, the Campaign Against Pain education program was instituted at Beatitu
FDA STATEMENT: FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg Statement on Prescription Opioid Abuse
For more than a decade, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been working to address the important public health problems associated with the misuse, abuse, addiction and overdose of opioid analgesics, while at the same time working to ensure continu
Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy for Extended-Release And Long-Acting Opioids: Clinicians Weigh In
ERs Dispensing More Narcotic Painkillers: Study
More and more Americans are being prescribed powerful narcotic drugs when they visit the emergency department for problems such as low back pain or a pounding headache, a new study finds.
Dramatic Rise in Emergency Department Opioid Scripts
The past decade has seen a striking rise in opioid prescriptions for patients visiting US emergency departments (EDs), but only a modest increase in pain-related complaints in this setting, new research shows.
21st Century National Pain Registry Could Change Culture and Practice of Pain Management
Based on early testing, the future looks bright for the creation of a technologically advanced national registry to collect data on the experience of pain sufferers and their responses to treatment, according to Stanford scientists who presented data at t
Pain management: Looking ahead
Those involved in pain management speak highly of the steps the state has taken so far, but look to do more. Several groups have made recommendations that include increasing access to Narcan, which reverses opioid overdoses, establishing permanent drop bo
The dilemma of prescription opioids: Shifting attitudes towards the pain patient
Shortly after a 48-hour bout of immobilizing back pain and a visit to the emergency room where he received Percocet, my husband went to his primary care doctor to discuss managing the continuing pain and numbness
AAOS Opens in NOLA With Joint Repair Topping Agenda
NEW ORLEANS -- An appearance by Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal (R) is among the highlights of this year's annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which begins here Tuesday and runs through Saturday.
FDA Approves First ER Oxycodone Acetaminophen Combo
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an extended-release combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen
Benzodiazepine, Opioid Prescribing Rises in Primary Care
Benzodiazepines are being prescribed alone and in combination with opioids in increasing rates at primary care practices across the nation, according to new research.
Attorney Gen. Holder Gets on Board With Naloxone to Prevent Fatal Overdoses
Today, overdose prevention advocates and drug policy reformers are feeling some wind beneath their wings as a result of a statement by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder encouraging expanded access to the overdose reversal medicine naloxone.
Experts Weigh in on Recent FDA Opioid Changes
In recent months, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took some major steps in addressing troubling concerns of opioid abuse, misuse, addiction, and overdose deaths.
Opioid prescribing by multiple providers in Medicare: retrospective observational study of insurance claims
Use of prescription opioids by elderly people in the United States has grown considerably
Those at high overdose risk more likely to use prescribed opioids than borrowed drugs: researchers
Frequent nonmedical uses of opioid painkillers by those at highest risk for overdose are more likely to result from drugs obtained through a doctor's prescription than drugs from a friend or relative, government researchers say.
FDA to overhaul over-the-counter regulations
Agency: Decades-old process is not flexible enough to keep pace with modern medical developments.
ACP Issues Wake-up Call on Prescription Drug Abuse
The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued a policy position paper on prescription drug abuse in an effort to stem the "epidemic" of deaths from prescription drug overdose that is occurring.
Referrals and Word of Mouth Trump Online Doctor Ratings
Patients increasingly use physician rating Web sites such as Vitals and Healthgrades, but word-of-mouth
No Easy Definition for ‘Abusive’ Prescribing
As Medicare considers banning doctors who pose a “threat to the health or safety” of patients, it plans to consider an array of factors.
Are Doctors Being Exploited?
Physicians have seen their incomes fall, their clout with insurers shrink, and their practices weighed down by a plethora of new requirements.
Prescription Drug Abuse: Strategies to Stop the Epidemic
Strategies to Stop the Epidemic finds that 28 states and Washington, D.C. scored six or less out of 10 possible indicators of promising strategies to help curb prescription drug abuse
Prescription Drug Abuse Policy Recommendations
There is not a neighborhood or demographic left unaffected by the abuse of controlled prescription medications.
Methadone or Buprenorphine for Maintenance Therapy of Opioid Addiction: What's the Right Duration?
How long should patients with opioid addiction be treated with methadone or buprenorphine?
Acetaminophen, Opioids, and Safety - The View From the FDA
On January 14, 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a recommendation that healthcare professionals discontinue prescribing and dispensing prescription combination-drug products that contain more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per tablet.
Top 10 Physician Challenges of 2014 Discussed
The top 10 challenges for physicians in 2014 relate to payment for medical services and government mandates, as well as adapting to a changing patient population and the need to improve work-life balance, according to an article published Dec. 25 in Medic
Florida prescription database has curbed abuse, backers say, but privacy fears linger
In the two years since authorities started tracking controlled-substance prescriptions handed out in Florida..
Why America Has a Prescription Drug Epidemic: To Regulate Or Educate? No Question -- You Do Both
The Global Drug Survey grew out of my interest in the use of drugs within the rave scene in the 1980s and 90s. Since that time GDS has evolved into the biggest annual survey of drug use in the world
Opioid Use Common After Spine Surgery
NEW ORLEANS -- One year after surgery to relieve back pain, about of third of patients still were using narcotic painkillers, according to a study that raised new concerns about the long-term use of opioids.
Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits
In 2010, ED visits resulting from the misuse or abuse of pharmaceuticals occurred at a rate of 434.9 visits per 100,000 population compared with a rate of 378.5 visits per 100,000 population for illicit drugs.
Pain Management and Opioid Abuse: A Public Health Concern - AAFP
Chronic nonmalignant pain is a health care condition that affects a significant number of Americans and is associated with significant morbidity. In addition to the physical discomfort, chronic pain causes significant work absenteeism, family disruption,
By the Numbers: Pain Management and Primary Care
According to the CDC,\"Most prescription painkillers are prescribed by primary care and internal medicine doctors and dentists, not specialists.
Abuse of Opiates Soars in Pregnant Women
The fast-growing abuse of prescription drugs has reached maternity wards in hospitals across the country, with the number of pregnant women addicted to opiate drugs — and the number of babies born experiencing withdrawal symptoms — rising sharply over
Need for High Opioid Dose Linked to CYP450
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.
