PHARMACIST STEVE

GSK recalling nearly 600,000 Ventolin inhalers in U.S. http://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/gsk-recalling-nearly-600-000-ventolin-inhalers-u-s With sales of its respiratory drugs doing well, GlaxoSmithKline has been spending hundreds of millions of dollars to expand manufacturing of several kinds of inhalers. But a glitch at one of its Ventolin inhaler plants has resulted in recalling nearly 600,000 units in the U.S. According to an FDA Enforcement […]

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Medicare Modifies Opioid Prescribing Plan www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2017/4/3/medicare-modifies-opioid-prescribing-plan April 03, 2017 By Pat Anson, Editor The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is moving ahead with plans to align its Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans with the CDC’s opioid prescribing guidelines. However, the agency has modified a policy to ensure that high doses […]

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Discovery of ‘mini-brains’ could change understanding of pain medication https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-04-discovery-mini-brains-pain-medication.html The human body’s peripheral nervous system could be capable of interpreting its environment and modulating pain, neuroscientists have established, after successfully studying how rodents reacted to stimulation.  Until now, accepted scientific theory has held that only the central nervous system – the brain and spinal […]

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Are People Being Misdiagnosed with High Blood Pressure? http://www.healthline.com/health-news/misdiagnosed-with-high-blood-pressure#1 Manual blood pressure measurements may not be as accurate as the automatic devices that take multiple measurements.  If your doctor still uses a manual device to check your blood pressure, you risk being misdiagnosed, experts say. This could lead to unnecessary treatment with medication for high […]

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AG Jeff Landry helps launch ‘End the Epidemic’ campaign against opioid abuse http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_1aa8d318-1a49-11e7-98ee-5788230bed3a.html Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has teamed up with the Louisiana Ambulance Alliance and a pharmaceutical company to raise awareness about the growing opioid epidemic. Landry on Wednesday announced the launch of the “End the Epidemic LA” campaign, which will include a […]

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Congress Subpoenas Drug Enforcement Administration for Informant Policy http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/40110-congress-subpoenas-drug-enforcement-administration-for-informant-policy In a dramatic display that stretched across two committee hearings on Tuesday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) subpoenaed the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration for documents on its confidential sources program. Members of Congress have been seeking copies of the DEA’s informant guidelines since last year, […]

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Drug Middlemen Have Slim Profit Margins — Just Ask Them https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-31/drug-middlemen-have-slim-profit-margins-just-ask-them Companies of all kinds try to present their financial results in the best light possible to attract investors. One segment of the drug industry is bucking that trend, using an accounting method that narrows its profit margins. The three big middlemen for prescription drugs, known […]

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Statement of Chuck Rosenberg Acting Administrator Drug Enforcement Administration Before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Committee on the Judiciary U.S. House of Representatives Our mission is to identify, investigate, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking organizations responsible for the production and distribution of illegal drugs. We are responsible for enforcing the Controlled […]

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20 percent of patients with serious conditions are first misdiagnosed, study says https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/20-percent-of-patients-with-serious-conditions-are-first-misdiagnosed-study-says/2017/04/03/e386982a-189f-11e7-9887-1a5314b56a08_story.html More than 20 percent of patients who sought a second opinion at one of the nation’s premier medical institutions had been misdiagnosed by their primary care providers, according to new research published Tuesday. Twelve percent of the people who asked specialists at the […]

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CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has implemented a FIVE STAR RATING SYSTEM for all those providing care to those pts covered by Medicare/Medicaid/Medicare Advantage. More STARTS means that the vendor GETS HIGHER REIMBURSEMENTS. Pts file GRIEVANCES to CMS ( www.cms.gov or 800-MEDICARE) about poor/unacceptable service will lower the vendor’s star rating… They get […]

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