Email steve@steveariens.com 502-938-2414
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It is claimed that we already spend > 100 billion/yr in fighting the war on drugs and we have spent collectively about TWO TRILLION since the Controlled Substance Act was signed into law in the early 70’s. So adding an additional couple of billion to fighting the war on drugs… is going to dramatically change […]
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Opioid Nudges of Perceptions https://www.daily-remedy.com/opioid-nudges-of-perceptions/ Optimizing Opioid Prescribing and Dosing Through Nudges Background: The opioid epidemic has incurred significant clinical and economic toll on the United States. The human impact from the epidemic has adversely affected communities and many employers. The patient-physician encounter is a microcosm of the social ramifications of the epidemic. Physicians are […]
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Why do “we” allow some groups to determine that a certain category of pts with valid medical issues be viewed as a group who is not worthy of receiving treatment. we opened out independent pharmacy in 1976 and in the early 80’s as the DRG pricing for hospitals came into play we saw a growing […]
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When Bob’s refers to “my kids”.. he is really referring to the END OF LIFE PEDIATRIC CANCER PTS in Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, TN. Nearly a year ago, Bob started advocating for proper pain treatment for these end of life pediatric cancer pts.. Apparently Vanderbilt is one of those “no opiate hospitals”.. These “kids” when […]
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Woman With Severe Chronic Pain Was Denied Medication for Being ‘Childbearing Age’ https://jezebel.com/woman-with-severe-chronic-pain-was-denied-medication-fo-1849569187 The woman, Tara Rule, told Jezebel she’s being blacklisted by local hospitals for sharing her story. A New York woman says she was denied highly effective medication for a chronic, painful condition that’s caused her to contemplate suicide because her neurologist told […]
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FTC Commissioner Bedoya calls out PBM games https://ncpa.org/newsroom/qam/2022/09/22/ftc-commissioner-bedoya-calls-out-pbm-games On Thursday, FTC Commissioner Alvaro M. Bedoya delivered remarks in Minneapolis calling out the unfair games PBMs play. Bedoya cited an example where a pediatric cancer patient in West Virginia was denied readily available, behind-the-counter medication as the PBM insisted that the medicine can only be dispensed […]
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It’s Time to Undo the Harm the CDC Has Done to Pain Patients | Opinion https://www.newsweek.com/its-time-undo-harm-cdc-has-done-pain-patients-opinion-1745057 After the U.S. Centers for Disease Control suggested dosage thresholds for patients receiving pain medication in 2016, 38 states rushed to pass legal limits on opioid prescribing and dispensing. Even though the CDC insisted the guidance was “voluntary, rather […]
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Looks like history is repeating itself…. the hyperlink below was the first version of Walgreen’s “good faith” dispensing checklist. I had not heard much about it lately but apparently the Purdue Pharma lawsuit caused Walgreen to update and reissue this policy in June 2022. https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/walgreens-pharmacists-now-turning-away-some-customers-who-need-pain-meds/531-44428a5d-edec-4b60-b4b6-855df6d04d15 looking at the form, they are only looking for C-II […]
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This is a new law that went into effect Aug 1, 2022 in Minnesota. It is designed to protect prescribers who are treating chronic pain pts. In reading this, it only prohibits the state’s commissioner of health from taking action against any prescriber in the state. This law also references the MME system – which […]
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NCPA Laments Decision Allowing UnitedHealthcare Merger https://ncpa.org/newsroom/news-releases/2022/09/19/ncpa-laments-decision-allowing-unitedhealthcare-merger Ruling is a setback for patients and independent pharmacies, says National Community Pharmacists Association The National Community Pharmacists Association today released the following statement on behalf of CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist, MBA in response to a federal court ruling clearing the way for insurance giant UnitedHealthcare to […]
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