PHARMACIST STEVE

CVS/Aetna’s $9 billion in profits paid for a lavish party and stock buybacks. Not patients’ medical claims. https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/cvsaetnas-9-billion-in-profits-paid CVS/Aetna’s spending included trips to Disney and a John Legend concert for employees. A few days after executives of CVS/Aetna won a resounding thumbs up from Wall Street last week, they headed south (many undoubtedly on private […]

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

CDC: Few Insured Patients With Hepatitis C Get Timely Treatment — Not even one-third received curative drugs within a year of diagnosis https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/hepatitis/100158 Although hepatitis C infection is a highly curable disease, few insured patients diagnosed received direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment during 2019-2020, while disparities contributed to treatment delays, according to new CDC data appearing […]

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advancing-syringe-services-in-the-us-the-untapped-role-of-the-ada-tickets-339958243257 Please join us to discuss “Advancing Syringe Services in the United States: The Untapped Role of the Americans with Disabilities Act”. About this event   The United States is facing an unprecedented set of public health challenges. Now killing nearly 1000 people daily, the COVID-19 pandemic is also compounding the ongoing crisis of addiction […]

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

Here’s who Democrats’ drug pricing bill will actually help https://www.statnews.com/2022/08/09/democrats-drug-pricing-bill-will-help-medicare-patients/ WASHINGTON — Millions of patients in the Medicare program could eventually see lower prescription drug costs if Democrats pass their latest drug pricing plan into law. The plan, which cleared a major hurdle Sunday when the Senate very narrowly approved it, has four major policies — […]

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

Disney Epcot. LOTS of Disney photos floating around social. Reddit says some CVS ‘leadership experience’ attendees were given spending money for Epcot because it was a ‘team building exercise’. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/R5Iev9RIAp — Beth Joyner Waldron (@BethWaldron) August 8, 2022 The most recent quarter CVS reported abt a 3 BILLION net profit (pretax)… the above apparently […]

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

Pain Management in Breast Cancer Outpatients https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/pain-management-in-breast-cancer-outpatients Pain is reported by 25% to 89% of breast cancer (BC) patients during the disease process. This pain, which may be due to disease progression, surgery, or drug treatment, can range from mild to severe and can be of short or long duration. Little is known about how […]

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

HHS, DOJ Issue Guidance to Eliminate Telehealth Discrimination https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/hhs-doj-issue-guidance-to-eliminate-telehealth-discrimination The federal agencies’ guidance provides examples of discrimination during telehealth visits and actions to ensure virtual care remains accessible to all.  In honor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) anniversary, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) worked with the US Department of […]

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

7 healthcare takeaways from Senate Democrats’ newly passed $739B landmark bill https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/7-healthcare-takeaways-from-senate-democrats-newly-passed-739b-landmark-bill.html With a 51-50 vote, Senate Democrats passed a sweeping $739 billion bill Aug. 7 that furthers some of the largest changes to healthcare in years. Titled the Inflation Reduction Act, the bill touches energy, tax reform and healthcare. The House is expected to […]

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

  Minnesota is among the first states to address the unintended consequence of CDC opioid guidance from 2016 https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/breaking-the-news/law-could-be-life-saving-for-chronic-pain-patients/89-b22f2aba-667d-42cb-877d-20c3eb70efd3 LAKEVILLE, Minn. — On August 1, a change to a Minnesota state statute regarding opioid prescribing quietly ushered in a change that could be life-saving for people who suffer of severe, chronic pain.  The change addresses […]

Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »

AITA for Pointing Out to the Insurance Company That I’m the Expert on My Patient? https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/976690 I (48, F) had to do one of those “peer-to-peer” calls with an insurance physician (undisclosed-age, M). I know, it’s a commonplace task now, what’s the big deal, etc., but let me explain. From the start of the conversation, […]

Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »