PHARMACIST STEVE

CVS Health is standing up for Louisianans https://www.cvshealth.com/news-and-insights/articles/cvs-health-is-standing-up-for-louisianans “By inserting themselves in the state’s process of selecting a firm to manage prescription drug coverage for the Office of Group Benefits, special interest groups representing Louisiana’s independent pharmacists attempted to line their own pockets at the expense of the state’s taxpayers, employees and retirees. “Following a […]

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This is a video about ONE HOUR LONG… normally, I don’t sit thru such a long video.  This is a VERY INTERESTING presentation put on by Dr. Jennifer Alva – an attorney with a very broad legal background. She talks about how the various state PDMP who has apparently turned their data collecting responsibility over […]

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CDC Just Changed Its Opioid Prescribing Guidelines. Here’s What to Know https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/opioids/101559 Guidance covers acute, subacute, and chronic pain and replaces 2016 guidelines Hard thresholds for pain medication doses and duration are no longer promoted through the CDC’s new Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain. The new guidance — which covers acute, subacute, […]

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CMS releases final payment rules for 2023: 15 takeaways https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/cms-releases-final-payment-rules-for-2023-15-things-to-know.html CMS has published its annual payment updates for physicians, the Medicare shared savings program and outpatient and home health services for 2023.  Here are 15 takeaways from the final rules, published Oct. 31 and Nov. 1:  Physician Fee Schedule rule 1. The conversion factor used […]

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Once again Congress is GIVEN A PASS over their contributions to the opiate crisis in the early 2000’s.  In 1999-2000 Congress passed the DECADE OF PAIN LAW… and The Joint Commission (JC) got involved and declared that pain was THE FIFTH VITAL SIGN – on par with the importance of  a pt’s Body Temperature, Pulse […]

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Posted by Steve Ariens on Sunday, October 30, 2022

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What has changed in the short time since the Ruan case faced the Supreme Court is that the opioid epidemic has gotten even worse. This puts pill mills and the doctors who fuel them firmly in the crosshairs of the media and the law. Whether, if a physician’s good faith is a complete defense to […]

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Medicare Advantage Prgms. (Medicare Part C) is provided by FOR PROFIT INSURANCE COMPANIES – who get so many $$/pt/month IF they spend less per pt per year they make money… if they spend more $$ per pt per year… they lose money…  the more expensive the cost to provide treatment to a pt’s particular health […]

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TRICARE changes force 15,000 pharmacies out of network https://www.legion.org/veteransbenefits/257335/tricare-changes-force-15000-pharmacies-out-network Nearly 15,000 independent pharmacies are no longer in the TRICARE retail pharmacy network, as of Oct. 24. This is due to a change in the contract with Express Scripts, the Department of Defense TRICARE pharmacy contractor. TRICARE says that over 90% of beneficiaries will still have […]

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