The Opioid Crisis Is Still a National Threat

Once again Congress is GIVEN A PASS over their contributions to the opiate crisis in the early 2000’s.  In 1999-2000 Congress passed the DECADE OF PAIN LAW… and The Joint Commission (JC) got involved and declared that pain was THE FIFTH VITAL SIGN – on par with the importance of  a pt’s Body Temperature, Pulse […]

If you sit on the sidelines… sitting on your hands… if nothing changes… if you are not part of the solution… you may be part of the problem

Just have to follow the $$$ trail

Posted by Steve Ariens on Sunday, October 30, 2022

‘Pill Mill’ Docs, You May Be in for a Big Scare

What has changed in the short time since the Ruan case faced the Supreme Court is that the opioid epidemic has gotten even worse. This puts pill mills and the doctors who fuel them firmly in the crosshairs of the media and the law. Whether, if a physician’s good faith is a complete defense to […]

The Medicare Advantage Trade-Off: Saving Money, Losing Access

Medicare Advantage Prgms. (Medicare Part C) is provided by FOR PROFIT INSURANCE COMPANIES – who get so many $$/pt/month IF they spend less per pt per year they make money… if they spend more $$ per pt per year… they lose money…  the more expensive the cost to provide treatment to a pt’s particular health […]

TRICARE changes force 15,000 pharmacies out of network

TRICARE changes force 15,000 pharmacies out of network https://www.legion.org/veteransbenefits/257335/tricare-changes-force-15000-pharmacies-out-network Nearly 15,000 independent pharmacies are no longer in the TRICARE retail pharmacy network, as of Oct. 24. This is due to a change in the contract with Express Scripts, the Department of Defense TRICARE pharmacy contractor. TRICARE says that over 90% of beneficiaries will still have […]

Ketamine Linked to Reduced Suicidal Thoughts, Depression, Anxiety

While this study involved using Ketamine as a IV infusion with pts that state they are suicidial.  I know at least one pt that is using Ketamine that is being prescribed by a Psycharitist and a compounding pharmacy is making Ketamine Troche.  A Troche is like a cough drop and is designed to be put […]

Medical breaches accounted for 342 million leaked records from 2009 to 2022

Medical breaches accounted for 342 million leaked records from 2009 to 2022 Medical breaches accounted for 422.7 million leaked records from 5,478 data breaches Since 2009, medical organizations in the US have suffered nearly 5,000 data breaches, affecting over 342 million medical records. Our team of researchers analyzed data from 2009 to June 2022 to […]

Long-term Antidepressant Use Tied to an Increase in CVD, Mortality Risk

Long-term Antidepressant Use Tied to an Increase in CVD, Mortality Risk https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/981951 Long-term antidepressant use is tied to an increased risk of adverse outcomes, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), cerebrovascular disease (CV), coronary heart disease (CHD), and all-cause mortality, new research suggests. Investigators drew on 10-year data from the UK Biobank on over 220,000 adults and […]

DOJ sues Cigna for exaggerating patient illnesses

DOJ sues Cigna for exaggerating patient illnesses https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/doj-sues-cigna-healthcare-fraud-patient-diagnoses/634340/ The Department of Justice is suing Cigna over allegations it defrauded the Medicare program out of tens of millions of dollars by exaggerating patient illnesses to obtain increased monthly payments. The exaggerated diagnoses were based on in-home assessment forms — not the testing or imaging required to […]