PHARMACIST STEVE

Druggie parrots plunder poppy fields to feed opium addictions http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/24/druggie-parrots-plunder-poppy-fields-to-feed-opium-addictions.html Junkie parrots are plundering poppy fields to feed their opium addictions. They have learned not to squawk and fly silently into fields to nab the drug-laden pods. Video shows them retreating to high branches to gorge on the plants, grown under state control. Farmers now […]

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TV documentary on pain treatment funded by doctor with industry ties www.statnews.com/2017/03/24/pain-documentary-public-television/ Public television stations across the country have begun airing a documentary about pain treatment produced by a doctor with significant financial ties to the manufacturers of opioid medications — a fact not disclosed in the program. “The Painful Truth” chronicles the plight of several patients […]

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Opioid & Heroin Town Hall in the Skype Live Studio www.youtube.com/watch?v=99ZT94iu9gU  

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DEA Approves Syndros, a Pharma Cannabis Solution, for Schedule II Status http://www.westword.com/marijuana/dea-approves-syndros-a-cannabis-solution-from-insys-for-schedule-ii-status-8904122 The Drug Enforcement Administration has awarded a Schedule II classification for a cannabis solution. Cannabis itself is classified under Schedule I, the same classification as heroin, and marijuana advocates have long hoped that the DEA would lessen the drug’s classification to a Schedule II. While […]

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Lawsuit blames improper marketing of potent opioid for woman’s death IMO.. this family will probably win this lawsuit.  This drug allows the pt to administer the Fentanyl via a sublingual route. Which allows the drug to be absorbed at a rate similar to a IV injection.  Fentanyl administered like this has a rapid onset and […]

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The disease killing white Americans goes way deeper than opioids https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/24/the-disease-killing-white-americans-goes-way-deeper-than-opioids/?utm_term=.7cef4bba53e2 In rich countries, death rates are supposed to decline. But in the past decade and a half, middle-aged white Americans have actually been dying faster. Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton first pointed out this disturbing trend in a 2015 study that highlighted three “diseases of despair”: drugs, […]

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An End to PBM Pick-Pocketing https://morningconsult.com/opinions/end-pbm-pick-pocketing/ Usually when your pocket has been picked, you discover the loss pretty quickly. But many of America’s more than 22,000 independent community pharmacies are finding their reimbursements for prescription drugs reduced well after the patient hands over the co-pay and leaves with their medicine. The technical term for this […]

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Palm Beach County and Martin County leaders ask Governor Scott to declare public health emergency  

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I got a phone call today from a pt on the west coast This particular 50 y/o pt has been on a substantial benzo dose for a couple of decades to treat anxiety/panic attacks and this pt also has some cardiac arrhythmia issues. This pt has been patronizing a particular CVS store for all these […]

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An Opioid Quality Metric Based on Dose Alone? 80 Professionals Respond to NCQA    https://medium.com/@StefanKertesz/an-opioid-quality-metric-based-on-dose-alone-80-professionals-respond-to-ncqa-6f9fbaa2338#.tyao6j7cx   Stefan Kertesz, MD, MSc I am a primary care doctor and researcher at University of Alabama at Birmingham who focuses on how to deliver high quality care for vulnerable populations. 17 hrs ago Introduction: As the US comes to grips […]

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