DEA LOST !!!

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Pharmaciststeve

fedexdea With Evidence Lacking, FedEx Ducks Illicit Drug-Shipment Case

http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/06/17/with-evidence-lacking-fedex-ducks-illicit-drug-shipment-case.htm

     SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – The government dropped all criminal charges in its “novel prosecution” of FedEx on Friday.
     U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who signed the order, noted the lack of evidence against the global courier, which was accused of conspiring with two online pharmacies to ship controlled substances over a ten-year period.
     “FedEx is and has always been innocent. The case should never have been brought,” lead FedEx defense attorney Cristina Arguedas said outside the courtroom on Friday. “The dismissal today is an acknowledgement that there was no wrongdoing by FedEx.”
     The government’s motion comes after a day of blistering opening statements and two days of initial brief testimony involving a D.E.A. agent and a FedEx employee in its credit department, where Arguedas shredded the government’s theory that FedEx knowingly and intentionally delivered millions of packages containing prescription drugs that had not been properly prescribed, in many cases to known drug addicts.
     But FedEx had not conspired with the Internet pharmacies, Arguedas argued. In fact, it had actually helped the Drug Enforcement Administration in its investigation into the growing problem of shady Internet pill mills.
     The bench trial was scheduled to extend into mid-August, though Breyer, skeptical of the prosecution from the beginning, said it would not last as long as projected.
     Breyer thanked Arguedas and her team for their competence and professionalism, and commended Assistant U.S. Attorney John Hemann, who joined the case shortly before the trial began Monday, for seeking dismissal in the interest of justice “even at the expense of some embarrassment.”
     Addressing the court briefly, Breyer said, “I’m quite familiar with this industry. I’m deeply concerned by tragic consequences caused by sales of toxic substances to individuals, including children, who have not had a direct consultation with a licensed physician”
     But this case was “entirely different,” Breyer said. “The court has been asked to determine if defendant should be held criminally liable as a co-conspirator. As a result of detailed opening statements by the government and defense and accepting factual assertions as uncontested, the court concludes the defendants are factually innocent. They did not have criminal intent.”
     Breyer emphasized that FedEx repeatedly offered to help the government, asking officials to identify a particular customer shipping illegal substances, so that it might stop picking up its packages.
     “The DEA was unwilling or incapable of providing that information to FedEx,” Breyer said. “Rather the government decided to pursue this novel prosecution.”
     Arguedas told reporters Friday, “The government should take a very hard look at how they made the tremendously poor decision to file these charges. Many companies would not have the courage or the resources to defend themselves against these false charges. The power of the government was greatly misused when the case was brought. But the integrity of the government was redeemed with the decision to dismiss the charges today.”
     Before adjourning for the day, Breyer said, “I’m going to take the summer off. I advise you to do the same.”     

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What is Patient Abandonment?

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Pharmaciststeve

When a doctor doesn’t end the provider-patient relationship properly, it could amount to malpractice.

Need Professional Help? Talk to a Lawyer.

Please answer a few questions to help us match you with attorneys in your area.

 
 
Injury from malpractice can be short/long term loss of Physical ability . This website is suppose to  help someone find an attorney. One must ask what is “loss of physical ability”.. is the reduction of opiate therapy which causes the pt to no longer to routinely do personal care tasks?  If your prescriber has reduced your dose and claims that they are going to follow the CDC guidelines.. these guidelines end goal is to eliminate all pts from taking pt’s opiates long term. It is important to audio/video all interactions with practitioner and the office staff. Because you may never know what they have documented in your medical records that are untruths.
 

Patient abandonment is a form of medical malpractice that occurs when a physician terminates the doctor-patient relationship without reasonable notice or a reasonable excuse, and fails to provide the patient with an opportunity to find a qualified replacement care provider.

In this article, we’ll look at the elements that typically define patient abandonment, and we’ll explore a few scenarios that could qualify as patient abandonment in the health care setting.

The Elements of Patient Abandonment

Let’s start by pointing out that whether or not patient abandonment has occurred is a very fact-specific issue, and a doctor’s potential legal liability can vary from state to state. Having said that, there are certain common elements among patient abandonment cases:

  • First, the doctor-patient relationship must be established. This means that the physician must have agreed to treat the patient, and treatment must be underway.
  • Second, the abandonment must take place when the patient is still in need of medical attention — this is known as a “critical stage” of the treatment process.
  • Third, the abandonment must have taken place so abruptly that the patient did not have enough time or resources to find a suitable replacement physician to take over treatment.
  • Finally, the patient must suffer an injury as a direct result of the patient abandonment.

Examples of Patient Abandonment

There are many real-world situations in which a doctor might terminate a relationship with a patient without a reasonable excuse.

For example, if a doctor intentionally refuses to treat a patient who has failed to pay his or her medical bill, that is often considered unjustified. And if a doctor is unavailable for an unreasonable amount of time when a patient needs medical care — and so is the backup (or “on call”) doctor — that could amount to patient abandonment if the patient ends up suffering harm as a result.

It should be noted that patient abandonment can also occur between other kinds of health care providers and the patient — not just between the physician and the patient. For example, if a nurse-patient relationship has been established, and the same legal elements we discussed above are present, then the patient may have a valid medical malpractice claim based on patient abandonment.

Patient abandonment can also occur when:

  • the hospital has inadequate staffing
  • the medical staff fails to reach out to a patient who has missed an important follow-up appointment
  • the medical staff fails to communicate an urgent question from the patient to the doctor, or
  • the medical staff schedules an appointment too far in the future, resulting in preventable harm to the patient as their condition worsens.

When It’s Not Patient Abandonment

Not every situation where a doctor stops treating a patient leads to an actionable claim for medical malpractice. Most don’t, in fact.

Valid reasons to end a doctor-patient relationship include:

  • the doctor has insufficient skills to provide adequate treatment to the patient
  • If the pt has been seeing the practitioner for a while this could be considered a LAME EXCUSE
  • there are insufficient supplies or resources to provide adequate treatment to the patient
  • ethical  or legal conflicts arise during the treatment process
  • If the practitioner has been treating a pt’s chronic pain.. did the practitioner’s ethics change ?
  • the patient violates the physician’s policies
  • Is the physician’s policies unethical or illegal – like mandating services that have proven of no benefit to the pt which is insurance fraud
  • the patient has numerous cancelled or missed appointments
  • the patient refuses to comply with the physician’s recommendations
  • Is the physician’s policies unethical or illegal – like mandating services that have proven of no benefit to the pt which is insurance fraud
  • the patient demonstrates inappropriate behavior, such as making sexual advances or engaging in verbal abuse.
  • It may be important for the pt to audio/video visits with the practitioners to prove/refute what is being claimed

If a valid reason exists, then the physician can take steps to terminate the relationship in an appropriate manner, and attempt to avoid liability. That means, the physician should provide the patient with written notice of the termination along with a valid reason for the decision. The physician should continue to treat the patient for a reasonable period of time to allow the patient to arrange for alternative care from another competent physician. The physician should also recommend another qualified physician. Finally, once the patient has secured another physician, and has signed an authorization, the physician must transfer the patient’s medical records to the new physician in a reasonable and timely manner.

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You have one less excuse !

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Pharmaciststeve

opiatebillcombopharmaciststeve.com/?p=15347

I have put in one place all the contacts of all the members of Federal House of Representatives and Senate.  To find this link it is under the RESOURCE tab at the top of the front page.

This link will lead you to the Representative or Senator website that represents your area and typically on their website you can find Face Book, Twitter and other contact information.

The more that reach out to them the better… few contacts from constituents… they will presume there is little/no concern one way or the other concerning a particular bill under consideration and could become law.

 

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List of Congressional Contact

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Pharmaciststeve

http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/

http://www.house.gov/representatives/

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Send a Simple message to your member of Congress – share your pain !

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Pharmaciststeve

opiatebillcombo

 

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Is keeping opiate abuse a crime helping to fund TERRORISM ?

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Pharmaciststeve

REUTERS/Ali HashishoFormer DEA Chief: Hezbollah ‘Moving Tons of Cocaine’ Out of Latin America

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/06/12/former-dea-chief-hezbollah-cocaine-latin-america/

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah is generating hundreds of millions from a “cocaine money laundering scheme” in Latin America that “provides a never-ending source of funding” for its terrorist operations, a former DEA operations chief recently told U.S. lawmakers.

The official comments came nearly a week after the U.S. State Department reported that Latin America and the Caribbean “served as areas of financial and ideological support” for the Sunni Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), Shiite Hezbollah, and other Islamic terrorist groups from the Middle East and South Asia.

Michael Braun, the former federal law enforcement official, was one of three terror financing experts who told the House Financial Services Committee on June 8 that Hezbollah’s narco-terrorism operations in the Latin American region were flourishing.

“The global drug trade generates hundreds of millions of dollars each year in contraband revenue for Hezbollah and it provides a never-ending source of funding for their war chest,” he testified in his prepared remarks. “Hezbollah uses cocaine, other drugs and other contraband as an alternative form of currency. And they have used drugs as payment for information and to successfully corrupt Israeli Defense Force personnel, as well as soldiers in other militaries.”

A recent DEA investigation revealed that the Lebanese-Canadian Bank alone was “facilitating a [Hezbollah] cocaine money laundering scheme involving as much as $200 million per month,” added Braun, who now serves as the managing partner of the government contractor SGI Global that he co-founded.

The international relationships established by Hezbollah, which has been linked to Colombian and Mexican drug cartels trafficking to Europe and laundering money through Lebanon, would make other major Islamic terrorist groups jealous, suggested the narco-terrorism expert.

Hezbollah evidence that has already been subjected to the judicial test in U.S. federal courts shows that the Shiite terrorist group has smuggled “hundreds of tons of cocaine from the Andean Region of South America into Venezuela where they then ship the drugs to emerging European markets via West and North Africa.”

The recent State Department report noted that Venezuela’s “permissive environment” has allowed Hezbollah to thrive in the region.

Braun described the Shiite group as “the most sophisticated drug trafficking, criminal and terrorist organizations we have ever faced,” adding that the organization has “metastasized into a hydra with international connections that the likes of [the Islamic State] and groups like al-Qaeda could only hope to have.”

Hezbollah has also been linked to networks in the Western Hemisphere that support the trafficking of wildlife, bulk cash, weapons, humans, and are involved in illegal logging and mining.

U.S. military officials have told Breitbart News that Iran proxies Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are recruiting in the Latin America region.

Both Shiite and Sunni Islamic extremists are radicalizing recent converts and other Muslims in the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. military has reported, adding that Islamic terrorist groups, such as ISIS, could exploit Latin American trafficking networks to infiltrate the United States.

“Adding to concerns about security threats from Central and South America, intelligence reports have also tracked how smugglers managed to sneak illegal immigrants from the Middle Eastern and South Asia straight to the doorstep of the U.S. — including helping one [Taliban-linked] Afghan who U.S. authorities say was part of an attack plot in North America,” reports the Washington Times.

Hezbollah is reportedly using the proceeds from its illicit activities in Latin America to purchase weapons and finance the group’s terrorist operations in Syria, where it is fighting on behalf of dictator Bashar al-Assad.

The Iran-allied Shiite organization has been described as the most prominent Islamic terrorist group in Latin America.

Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow on Iran and illicit finance with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who testified alongside Braun, told lawmakers that Hezbollah has developed a “vast network of support” in the region, namely in Brazil where an estimated 7 million people of Lebanese descent reside, including about 1 million who follow Shiite branch of Islam.
Mr. Ottolenghi declared:

Hezbollah generates loyalty among the local Shiite communities by managing their religious and educational structures. It then leverages loyalty to solicit funds and use business connections to its own advantage, including, critically, to facilitate its interactions with organized crime.

 

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OMG… someone used drugs to commit SUICIDE and not an ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Pharmaciststeve

Prosspiderwebecutor: FedEx Knew Suicide Linked to Illegal Pharmacy

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/drug-trafficking-allegations-fedex-head-trial-39809950

Who else can the DEA blame for a drug related death… prescriber… pharmacy…. drug wholesaler… FedEx… maybe the INDIVIDUAL who is taking/abusing the substance ?

FedEx delivered packages containing illegal prescription drugs for internet pharmacies even after it noticed that authorities were cracking down on the businesses and was told that one had shipped drugs to a woman who committed suicide, prosecutors said Monday as a trial began over drug trafficking charges against the shipping giant.

FedEx knew that drugs in millions of packages it delivered over a decade were illegally prescribed but shipped them anyway because it did not want to lose millions of dollars in revenue to rival UPS, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Hemann said during his opening statement.

“They faced a choice, and the choice is to stop or go, and time and time again, they went,” Hemann said at the trial in San Francisco.

The government plans to rely on FedEx’s emails to make its case.

FedEx has denied the charges and says it only shipped what it believed were legal drugs from pharmacies licensed by states and registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

In her opening statement, FedEx attorney Cristina Arguedas said the company helped investigators crack down on the two pharmacies that prosecutors say were involved in the scheme and that it was never told by the DEA not to ship for a customer.

“If FedEx was picking up from a pharmacy that was shut down by the DEA and reopened, it had a registration issued by the DEA,” she said.

Arguedas contended that a DEA agent who emailed FedEx in 2006 about the suicide did not want the company to do anything about the pharmacy that shipped the drugs, citing an ongoing investigation of the business.

The exchange was “emblematic” of the partnership between the DEA and FedEx, Arguedas said.

The trial — nearly two years in the making — is unusual because of the government’s decision to bring drug charges against a package delivery company and for the lack of a settlement.

UPS paid $40 million in 2013 to resolve similar allegations that arose from a yearslong government crackdown on internet pharmacies that ship drugs to customers without valid prescriptions.

The stakes are high for Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx. No FedEx officials are facing prison time, but the charges carry a potential fine of $1.6 billion.

In the early 2000s, prosecutors say, FedEx began conspiring with two internet pharmacy organizations to ship powerful sleep aids, sedatives, painkillers and other drugs to customers who had not been physically examined by a doctor.

The crux of the government’s case is that FedEx knew the drugs were illegal and headed for dealers and addicts but delivered them anyway. Company drivers expressed safety concerns that FedEx trucks were being stopped on the road by online pharmacy customers demanding packages of pills, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

“It was like ‘The Walking Dead’ your honor in some places,” Hemann said, describing the customers.

FedEx is charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder money and other counts.

The trial could last into August before a ruling by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer, who will decide the case.

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Warm fuzzy abt our Fed government not tolerating any pt discrimination what so ever ?

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Pharmaciststeve

warmfuzzyNondiscrimination: New HHS regulation affects pharmacies

http://www.pharmacist.com/nondiscrimination-new-hhs-regulation-affects-pharmacies

Final rule is effective July 18, with additional deadlines later this year

A final rule issued by the federal government may allow civil lawsuits against pharmacies that deny language assistance services to patients with limited English proficiency or refuse to treat patients in a manner consistent with their gender identity. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) rule is aimed at advancing health equity and reducing disparities in health care.

The rule, which implements Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), requires health care entities receiving federal financial assistance—such as those that accept Medicaid and Medicare—to engage in certain practices to prevent discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, nationality, or gender, including gender identity. It also applies to programs that HHS itself administers and health plans sold in the marketplace.

The rule’s effective date is July 18, 2016, and includes additional deadlines in October and December.

The heart of the rule

Section 1557 has the distinction of being the first federal rule to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity in federally funded health programs. Previous civil rights laws enforced by HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) broadly barred discrimination only if based on race, color, national origin, disability, or age. Gender identity discrimination includes refusal to dispense transition-related medications.

HHS clarifies that, in addition to gender identity, discrimination based on pregnancy and sex stereotyping qualifies as sex discrimination.

At the heart of the rule are requirements that pharmacies take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to individuals with limited English proficiency or a disability, particularly people who are blind or deaf. The rule includes a requirement that pharmacies display posters informing patients that the pharmacy will offer language assistance to patients who need it. HHS will make the notices translated into several languages available online to ease costs and facilitate compliance.

Individuals who pursue civil actions based on Section 1557 can now use the rule’s requirements to help prove that a health care entity discriminated against them, which could expose pharmacies to liability for actions that previously may not have been found discriminatory. The burden is on the plaintiff, however, to prove that services were denied due to discrimination—not simply that the pharmacy failed to provide them. Patients also have the option to submit reports of civil rights violations to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at www.hhs.gov/ocr.

Next steps for pharmacies

The rule suggests—but does not require—that pharmacies develop language access plans to improve compliance and increase access to language services. It’s not safe harbor from the rule, but having such a plan will weigh favorably in the event of a discrimination complaint or an investigation into whether the entity has taken reasonable steps to provide meaningful access.

“APhA strongly encourages pharmacists to develop a language access plan and discuss cost-saving strategies with their colleagues,” said Jenna Ventresca, JD, APhA Associate Director for Health Policy. “Doing so will help satisfy the rule’s requirements and improve health equity, which will improve patient care.”

 

For more information, visit www.pharmacytoday.org for the full article in the upcoming July 2016 issue of Pharmacy Today.

Rachel Balick, Assistant Editor

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How to get your Rx paid for

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Pharmaciststeve

maze1Your Drug Formulary: How It Works and What to Know

www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/drug-formularies-and-prescriptions/

If you’ve ever had to jump through hoops to get a prescription covered by your health insurance, you have some firsthand knowledge of drug formularies.

When it comes to health coverage, drugs are different from other medical costs. Insurers don’t pay for prescriptions through coded billing, the way they pay for doctor visits, exams or hospital services. Instead they have formularies, or lists of approved drugs that they agree to help cover, so when you fill your prescription you don’t pay full price.

The formulary process is supposed to save money for you and your insurer, but it’s often a hassle. To get an expensive drug covered you may first have to try a similar one, or have your doctor prove you need it, and that can take weeks.

Even if you’re not facing such a situation right now, take a few minutes to learn about how drug formularies work. It might save you an arm and a leg, and a headache, down the road.

How drug formularies are determined

Medications on a formulary are chosen by a panel of experts independent of your insurance company, known as a pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) committee. These panels include doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other clinical experts.

The P&T committee develops, manages and updates the formulary it works on. The group meets regularly to discuss new drugs, safety data, FDA-approved prescribing information, clinical trial results and doctors’ recommendations in order to keep the formulary up to date. As a result, medications on the formulary may change at any time.

The committee typically leaves cost decisions up to the insurer or pharmacy benefits manager, which is a third-party company that operates the formulary. When two or more drugs are equally effective and safe, and similarly priced, both may be included in the formulary, though other factors may come into play.

How drug formularies work

Drug formularies are often defined as lists of drugs your health insurer agrees to pay for, at least partially, for any given disease or indication. While that’s true, it’s a complicated list that also includes a process for getting you the right drug for your condition, which may not be the first one your doctor prescribes.

Formularies are split into two to five groups based on price, called tiers. Each tier is typically associated with a copay, which is a flat rate you pay for the drug at the pharmacy. Here’s an example of a common four-tiered formulary, though yours may be slightly different:

  • Tier 1, $20 copay: very low-cost drugs, mostly generics.
  • Tier 2, $40 copay: higher-cost generic drugs and low-cost brand name drugs.
  • Tier 3, $60 copay: brand name drugs for which there is no generic.
  • Tier 4, $100+ copay: highest-cost drugs or specialty drugs like chemotherapy.

In some health plans, you have to pay full price for drugs until you meet your deductible before you can drop to paying only copays — that’s most common in a high-deductible plan. Instead of copays, other formularies may use coinsurance, in which you pay a percentage of the drug’s cost, typically 10% to 40%.

In addition, drug formularies vary by insurer and may have one of the following restrictions:

  • Prior authorization: Your doctor may be required to get permission from your insurer to prescribe a specific drug.
  • Step therapy: Before you are able to use a new or costly drug, you must first try a lower-priced drug for the same indication.

These processes can take awhile, but they are intended to keep costs low for your insurer and you. In many cases, “there are newer and more expensive medications that, while innovative and helpful for certain patients, are not necessary for the larger population of patients,” says Jennifer Luddy, spokeswoman for Express Scripts, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits manager. In many cases, a similar drug that works as well and costs less is available.

Working within your formulary

Your portion of drug costs will depend on what kind of insurance plan you have and which tier the drug is on. In a more guided health plan, such as an HMO or EPO, your doctor likely has a working knowledge of your formulary and knows which drugs to prescribe, or can easily look it up. If you have a PPO or point of service (POS) plan, you may find it useful to bring a copy of your formulary to your visits, whether you print it from your insurance portal or bring an electronic copy.

If a drug you’re taking is removed from the formulary, your insurer should give you written notice. If you’re a Medicare beneficiary and your drug becomes non-formulary, you may also be provided with 60 days worth of medication so you have time to switch to a different drug.

As part of your pharmacy benefits, you may be able to save money by changing how you get your drugs. Most formularies have an option for you to receive your drugs by mail rather than going to a brick-and-mortar pharmacy. If you have questions about your drugs, you can call the mail-order service and ask its pharmacists, just as you would if you went to a pharmacy in person.

You may not know that, like doctors and hospitals, pharmacies can also belong to a provider network. Insurers often have preferred network pharmacies that offer lower prices to both you and your insurer for certain drugs. “Some plans offer broad networks, but others also may offer a ‘preferred pharmacy network,’ ” Luddy says. “If your plan has a preferred network, you likely will have a lower copay if you use a pharmacy in that preferred network.”

Check your health plan’s website to see if there is a preferred or mail-order pharmacy listed. And while you’re on the site, you might find other cost-saving tips, too.

Lacie Glover is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: lacie@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @LacieWrites.

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STAND UP….or…. BEND OVER….

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Pharmaciststeve

headsand2HEADS UP!!

HERE IS OUR CHANCE TO GET A CLASS ACTION SUIT GOING! Please share this and let everyone know what’s going on!!
‪#‎PatientsNotAddicts‬

Human Rights Watch is collecting letters from pain patients impacted by the CDC, DEA guidelines. They say inadequate pain care is torture and a violation of our right to medical care.

Their address is:
350 5th Ave.
34 th floor
New York, NY 10118-4700

NY Office telephone # 1-212- 216-1832

noopiatesforyou

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