PHARMACIST STEVE

How scammers have sunk to a new low with an AI obituary scam targeting the grieving Don’t fall for this heartless trick by crooks trying to take advantage of your time of sadness https://cyberguy.com/scams/how-scammers-have-sunk-to-new-low-with-ai-obituary-scam-targeting-the-grieving/ As if scammers couldn’t sink any lower, there’s a new online scam taking advantage of grieving people. It’s a strange pirate […]

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HHS OIG Toolkits for Calculating Opioid Levels and Identifying Patients At Risk of Misuse or Overdose https://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/all-reports-and-publications/hhs-oig-toolkits-for-calculating-opioid-levels-and-identifying-patients-at-risk-of-misuse-or-overdose-2/ WHAT ARE THE TOOLKITS? OIG has developed two toolkits that provide detailed steps for using prescription drug claims data to analyze patients’ opioid levels to identify certain patients at risk of opioid misuse or overdose. The first toolkit […]

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Abt 15 yrs ago, I was working only as a “temp/locum” Pharmacist as an independent contractor. I had signed up with several Pharmacist temp services and I was working in all kinds of community pharmacies from independent pharmacies to Big Box stores. The technician brought to me a refill for a Suboxone, which was a […]

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Has anyone ever reached out to ACLU about denial of care at the Emergency Dept concerning your pain? I got this from ACLU this AM.  Apparently, according to this ACLU email, only pregnant females who are denied care at a ED with long-standing protections to access necessary emergency care at hospitals are being discriminated against. […]

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If you are patronizing any pharmacy that has/will close, expect to start getting emails, letters, etc.. communication(s) from your insurance/PBM promoting moving your meds over to their mail-order pharmacy. They will tell you how convenient their mail-order service is – they won’t tell you that your medications will often be subjected to temperatures that are […]

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CMS finalizes 2025 Medicare Advantage rule: 11 key updates https://www.beckerspayer.com/policy-updates/cms-finalizes-2025-medicare-advantage-rule-11-key-updates.html CMS issued its final 2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D rule April 4, setting new standards around marketing, broker payments, and prior authorization. Here are 11 things to know about CMS’ final rule:  CMS set a fixed amount that agents and brokers can be compensated […]

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Hospitals Cash In on a Private Equity-Backed Trend: Concierge Physician Care https://www.medpagetoday.com/hospitalbasedmedicine/generalhospitalpractice/109518 Pricey membership fees for easier access to doctors becoming more common Nonprofit hospitals created largely to serve the poor are adding concierge physician practices, charging patients annual membership fees of $2,000 or more for easier access to their doctors. It’s a trend that […]

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The War on Drugs Is Also a War on Pain Patients https://www.cato.org/blog/war-drugs-also-war-pain-patients In a March 22 opinion column in the New York Times entitled “The DEA Needs to Stay Out of Medicine,” Vanderbilt University Medical Center associate professor of anesthesiology and pain management Shravani Durbhakula, MD, documents powerfully how patients suffering from severe pain—many of them […]

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Be cautious in signing up for Medicare-c (Advantage) prgms,  These programs are provided by FOR PROFIT INSURANCE COMPANIES. An increasing number of large healthcare corporations are canceling their contracts with Medicare-C programs. Patients in these programs may find themselves having to change primary healthcare providers, hospitals, and other providers that they have a relationship with. […]

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