Sun says FDA again faults plant that is its key launch site for U.S. drugs

https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/sun-says-fda-has-again-found-fault-plant-its-launch-site-for-u-s-drugs After more than three years of effort and a couple of reinspections, India’s Sun Pharma has been unable to satisfy the the FDA’s expectations for its key plant.   Sun Pharma, India’s largest generic drugmaker, said that at today’s conclusion of it the FDA’s latest reinspection of its Halol plant in Gujarat, India, it […]

House kicks off opioid legislative agenda, but appropriators will steer the money

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20180222/NEWS/180229964 The U.S. House of Representatives is launching an intense legislative push to try to stem the opioid epidemic as the last big healthcare initiative before the election cycle, but the priorities for the new $6 billion allocated to address the crisis will fall to Congress’ appropriators. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is kicking […]

IASP Statement on Opioids

https://www.iasp-pain.org/Advocacy/OpioidPositionStatement Opioids are indispensable for the treatment of severe short-lived pain during acute painful events and at the end of life (e.g., pain associated with cancer). Currently, no other oral medication offers immediate and effective relief of severe pain. Although opioids can be highly addictive, opioid addiction rarely emerges when opioids are used for short-term […]

Benzodiazepine Harms Overlooked, Especially in Older Adults

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/892983 As attention remains focused on opioid abuse, another drug epidemic rages outside the spotlight: inappropriate prescription of benzodiazepines. In an editorial published in the February 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Anna Lembke, MD, Jennifer Papac, MD, and Keith Humphreys, PhD, from Stanford University School of Medicine in California, point out […]

Lawmakers, Pharmacists Meet with CVS over Regulation of Pharmacy Benefit Managers

http://www.arkansasmatters.com/news/local-news/lawmakers-pharmacists-meet-with-cvs-over-regulation-of-pharmacy-benefit-managers/985681024 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Hundreds of pharmacists and patients from every corner of the state spilled out of the Old Supreme Court Room at the capitol Wednesday to fight for change.  The nearly 750 pharmacies in Arkansas noticed cuts to their drug reimbursement rates at the beginning of the year. They have been working […]

PETITION: Demand President Trump Stop the Criminalization of Kratom!

  https://www.americankratom.org/copy-of-petitions   I need your help and so do 3-5 million people. In some cases this is the difference between life and death. Please help me keep Kratom Legal. I don’t want to be in agony again 24/7. We can’t fight three agencies, all at once, without your help. Chronic pain eventually will reach […]

WALMART TECH: extra hassle they have to go through to fill C-II Rx each month… we’re not going to do it anymore

Hi, my name is XXX, I am 60yrs old and am located in Florida. I found the site “Drug Topics” while searching for help in getting my medications. Since the article I read was written in 2014 I am wondering if the same information still applies. I have been taking a prescribed medication for a […]

The Myth of What’s Driving the Opioid Crisis

Doctor-prescribed painkillers are not the biggest threat https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/21/the-myth-of-the-roots-of-the-opioid-crisis-217034 As an addiction psychiatrist, I have watched with serious concern as the opioid crisis has escalated in the United States over the past several years, and overdose deaths have skyrocketed. The latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show fatalities spiraling up to about […]

Patients, doctors struggle with new law aimed at reducing overdoses

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/news/patients-doctors-struggle-with-new-law-aimed-at-reducing-overdoses/985260112 LAS VEGAS – A state law barely two months old is wreaking havoc for doctors and their pain patients. AB 474 was designed to curb opioid overdoses. The violations carry stiff penalties and something as simple as a clerical error could threaten a physician’s license. 8 News NOW spoke with pain specialist Doctor Dan […]

Medicaid program limiting opioid prescriptions

https://www.news4jax.com/health/opioid-crisis/medicaid-program-limiting-opioid-prescriptions TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As lawmakers consider proposals to limit opioid prescriptions, Gov. Rick Scott’s administration is taking steps to do the same in the Florida Medicaid program. The Agency for Health Care Administration announced last week that, effective Monday, prescriptions for narcotics in the Medicaid program will be limited to a maximum seven-day supply. […]