Soon, pharmacists will offer more help to patients

http://www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article59390669.html

Since Oct. 1, California and Oregon have been in the process of implementing a law allowing women to obtain birth control directly from pharmacists. This law is taking effect during a controversial time for pharmacists.

In Cosmopolitan magazine last year, writer Haley Potiker detailed being denied the abortion pill by a CVS pharmacist. Potiker called the pharmacist’s behavior cold, quoting her saying, “There’s nothing I can do” and walking away “without a word.”

The pharmacist, Potiker explains, “didn’t feel like giving (me) the medication” despite a doctor’s prescription that included a warning that failing to take it in time would be risky.

There have been many similar documented instances of women being “reprimanded” by pharmacists for requesting oral contraceptives. It happened to me.

I attended Beyer High School. At 16, I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and my pediatrician prescribed Yaz, both a birth-control pill and the main treatment for my condition. I will never forget when my mother tried to get the prescription filled and the pharmacist asked, “Do you even know what this is for?” then, “Why are you trying to get this for your daughter?”

At the time, I never considered that I might one day be in that pharmacist’s shoes.

Some people outside the health-care community are encouraging a few pharmacists to refuse to fill certain prescriptions. This is not good for future interactions between pharmacists and patients.

The National Women’s Law Center, which advocates for women’s rights, has written a “Pharmacy Refusals 101” guide in which it advises women to “file a complaint with the state’s pharmacy board to get sanctions against the pharmacist or pharmacy.”

Others have recommended not returning to the pharmacy and telling the community of such negative experiences. In reality, few patients seek media attention or other remedies.

Actually, judgment calls by pharmacists can be extremely useful in many instances – from preventing life-threatening medication errors to fighting the battle against prescription drug abuse. Only a small minority of pharmacists refuse to dispense medications for religious or moral reasons.

As a member of the pharmacy community, it is disheartening whenever a pharmacist is portrayed as not exhibiting commitment or compassion or violating the codes of ethics and evidence-based practices that govern our profession. To get our white coats, all pharmacists take an oath to embrace and advocate changes that improve patient care.

In Gallup polls, pharmacists have been ranked among the nation’s most trusted professionals – ahead of doctors and behind only nurses. Honesty and adherence to the highest ethical and moral standards have always been a cornerstone of our profession. In recent years, one of our highest priorities has been patient-centered care.

The future of community pharmacies encompasses medication therapy management, which optimizes drug therapy and improves therapeutic outcomes.

Despite our training, expertise and trustworthiness, pharmacists are not recognized as health-care providers under federal law. The American Pharmacists Association is campaigning to gain “provider” status, allowing pharmacists to prescribe medications in some cases.

Pharmacists possess the training and knowledge to support women’s health through education and providing medication, particularly in areas where access to primary health care is limited. Pharmacists are often the first health-care professionals to whom people turn for advice. Because they’re available in retail establishments, pharmacists have a higher degree of accessibility. Our training on reproductive issues, safety and proper use of contraceptives is comprehensive, and our communication skills have been honed for quick and convenient intervention.

Under the FDA’s watchful eye since 2006, pharmacists have been successfully providing emergency contraceptives and crucial counseling. With new laws, pharmacists will be able to provide services once restricted to doctors’ offices without increased costs to consumers.

Oregon and California pharmacists will have to complete supplemental training. Though care might be more generalized, it will meet the needs of a vast majority. Our basic protocol will dictate that those requiring specialized care and screenings will be referred to gynecologists. As medication experts on a community’s front lines, pharmacists have the ability to educate on health issues and to clarify commonly misunderstood medical terms.

One area of concern is abortion, one of the most commonly performed medical procedures in America. A “medical” abortion uses medications instead of surgery and is only available during the first nine weeks of pregnancy. The “abortion pill” is a two-step medication regimen.

At Planned Parenthood centers, the first medication is administered on-site. For the second medication, patients are given a prescription to be filled at a pharmacy. It must be taken from 24 to 48 hours after the first.

The “abortion pill” is different from “emergency contraception.” Emergency contraception is a broad term for medications that might prevent pregnancy by either preventing ovulation, preventing an egg from being fertilized, or preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall. Such medication is often called the “morning-after” pill – but that can be misleading.

Any pharmacist will tell you the morning after, or Plan B, pill should be taken immediately after unprotected sex or the failure of other birth-control measures; waiting until the “morning after” can be too late. Emergency contraception is not only available as a pill; it also can occur with an IUD containing copper, which is an effective emergency and long-term contraceptive.

It is estimated there are 6.6 million unintended pregnancies annually. The abortions that often follow are preventable and costly. The economic impact of abortion since 1970 has been estimated at $35 trillion to $70 trillion. Pharmacists can make an enormous economic and social impact by making contraception and health education more accessible.

Regardless of personal opinions on unplanned pregnancy, reducing the abortion rate is worthy of our attention and efforts. Women should not have to resort to invasive or inconvenient options.

Pharmacists and patients will soon be able to work hand-in-hand to achieve desirable goals for women’s health. This is a strong relationship that will stand the test of time as pharmacists make judgment calls to help and protect Americans.

Even when put in the shoes of that Modesto pharmacist, we are ultimately committed to what is in the patient’s best interests.

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Pharmacist Explains Prescription-Filling Process

This comes after a Marianna mother claimed another pharmacy’s negligence injured her daughter.

Source: Pharmacist Explains Prescription-Filling Process   VIDEO LINK

http://www.arkansasmatters.com/news/local-news/pharmacist-explains-prescription-filling-process

Does anyone recognize this work environment ?… no drive thru, no ringing phones, no interruptions, no dozens of basket stacked up ?

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Questions continue to roll in after a Marianna mother claimed a pharmacy’s negligence injured her daughter. 

The prescription bag showed the four-year-old girl’s information, but the bottle and pills belonged to another patient.

Many asked on Facebook how the pharmacy and mother did not notice.  

After a Little Rock pharmacist showed KARK 4 News the prescription-filling process Monday, it seemed it would be difficult for a mistake to make it to a customer.  

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Hello everyone! Well, we made it past Monday! I hope you are all doing ok (for those of you who are pain sufferers, I pray that your pain is tolerable). I have another important question for you to answer. You all remember that I had to renew my driver’s license back on the 11th of Jan. I tried to do it online and answered a question incorrectly because I read it wrong and was trying to be honest. It said do you have any disabilities, conditions, medications that could affect your ability to drive. I answered yes, thinking I am being honest about my spinal cord injury. Well, I got this lady at the DMV who gave me a hard time and wouldn’t let me change the answer. My disability does not interfere with my driving ability unless it has to do with getting my wheelchair in the car, etc. She made me (for the first time ever…Ca never did this), to get a doctor’s certification. The doc I used was my primary care who is closer to home and not in Vegas. Well, he filled it out and answered all of the boxes that I was able to drive. The DMV and everyone else thought everything was filled out ok and I got my license renewed. The day my license came in the mail, so did a letter from Carson City asking me to surrender my license. The local DMV and everyone involved missed something that the doc wrote out and that was my ability to drive with my disability. He said no. He wrote this in on a second sheet. When we asked him to fix it, he said no. Well, I have an appointment at the end of the month to see my pain doctor in Vegas. I will have them do the paperwork because they have known me longer. Even though there is an appointment scheduled, I had to surrender (voluntarily) my driver’s license yesterday! I have never had an accident and 2 tickets in my life since I started driving at 16 years old. They would not wait until the end of the month when the forms hopefully will clear me to drive. If I feel medicated or unable to drive, I don’t. I just wanted to have it in case there was an emergency! Ass hats! This is a crock! Has this happened to any of you?

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Deaths Resulting from the War on Opioids

https://www.facebook.com/DeathsFromWarOnOpioids/?fref=nf

As a society, we keep track of  successful suicides and attempted suicides.. 40,000 suicides and ONE MILLION attempts every year. It appears that all  deaths that can be in the least associated with a opiate has been declared as a “accidental drug overdose” and it would seem that the increase the numbers in that column… all those deaths… are being declared as a “opiate related death”..

Likewise, the term of “addict/junkie” is being retired in favor of a any person taking/using a opiate .. legally or illegally… has a “opiate use disorder”.

This new Face Book page is an attempt to create a repository of the names of those unfortunate pts that have been thrown into cold turkey withdrawal and died or could not tolerate their under/untreated pain any longer and resorts to “the final solution” to put a end to their pain and suffering.

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Fewer pharmacy robberies in Indy but problem has moved to ‘soft targets’

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/fewer-pharmacy-robberies-in-indy-but-problem-has-moved-to-soft-targets

INDIANAPOLIS — The record number of pharmacy robberies in Indianapolis is dropping, but the problem may be moving elsewhere.

154 robberies were reported at pharmacies in Indianapolis in the first five months of 2015.

RELATED | Indiana leads the nation in pharmacy robberies

Only 12 were reported In the last quarter of the year.

Police credit the dramatic decline to the arrest of 40 people who investigators say were responsible for more than 100 robberies.

“We started aggressively working with our federal partners, making good arrests. And at that time, CVS and Walgreens were targeted exclusively. So we formed some great partnerships with them,” said Lt. Craig McCart, Metro Police Robbery.

PREVIOUS | IMPD arrests 4 in connection with CVS attempted robbery  | IMPD: 11-year-old held up pharmacy with gun

The city continues to see a decline in robberies. Just ten in the first 38 days of 2016, compared to 18 during the same time period in 2015.

But investigators say robbers have shifted tactics and are going after pharmacies in large grocery chains and retail stores.

One reason for the shift to the so-called softer targets is that CVS and Walgreens are now hiring off-duty IMPD officers for security.

“We’re ready to get ahead of the new trend and we’ll work closely with all these chains as well, the Krogers, the Marshes and the Meijers and do the same things we did before,” said McCart. If you want to improve the security of your pharmacy or retail shop, you may visit sites like https://fortknoxsecurity.com.au to install cctv cameras.

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A look at the Mexican drug cartel pipeline from southern California to Kentucky

http://www.wdrb.com/story/31172522/a-look-at-the-mexican-drug-cartel-pipeline-from-southern-california-to-kentucky

Now we can see why the bureaucrats/politicians in Lexington are going after the prescribers and pharmacies/Pharmacists in fighting the war on drugs.. when is the last time that you heard of a prescriber or Pharmacist getting violent when confronted ? Just like the school yard bully.. they pick on the kids who don’t fight back…but.. the politicians in Lexington can thump their chests and point to laws that they have passed to address the opiate epidemic.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Mexican cartels are controlling the streets of Louisville and other Kentucky cities with a pipeline of drugs running through southern California, according to DEA officials.

More than 2,000 miles from Louisville, under picturesque skies, you’ll find a place called the Inland Empire. There are mountains, palm trees and one of the largest hubs of illegal drugs in the United States.

There, in Riverside California, you’ll find evidence of the one of the most dangerous drug cartels in the world, but you’ll also find links to Kentucky.

“They are there to pedal the poison, and if they’re confronted, they’ll get violent,” Riverside DEA Asst. Special Agent in Charge Frank Pepper said.

Pepper is in charge of the Riverside DEA office and worked with us to track how cartels get drugs get from Mexico to the streets of Kentucky.

“They’re capable of some very heinous acts, things that would absolutely rival any terrorist organization,” Tim Massino, with the Los Angeles DEA, said.

Officials say the Sinaloa Cartel uses thousands of semi-trucks to transport drugs all over the country. From the freeways of Los Angeles, the drug pipeline runs north and east to Kentucky, the East Coast and everywhere in between. It’s like an invisible network of large amounts of drugs — mostly driven, but sometimes flown — making their way to local communities.

Massino took us on a ride-along to show us the drug hot spots. We traveled along Interstate 10 just a couple hours north of the southwest border. As we drive, Massino explains how meth, cocaine, heroin and marijuana come across the border and into southern California first.

The rural areas are a hot bed for drug transportation because it’s off the interstates and there are so many distribution centers. Massino says rural remote areas make it hard for drug surveillance, so criminals set up in the area and dump the drugs at stash houses temporarily, before being divided up and sent to different cities.

The narcotics from Mexico are more pure and go for higher prices. They are cheapest in the LA area and the prices go up the farther they are transported, which also means a higher risk.

Investigators say a kilogram of cocaine in LA sells for about $25,000, but by the time it gets to the Louisville area, it sells for about $34,000.

Meth ranges from $12,000-$16,000 per pound in Kentucky, but sells for just $3,500 per pound in LA.

“This area is rife with seizures,” Massino said. “Guesstimating — we’re seeing daily seizures of significant quantities; 25 pounds of meth, 50 kilos of cocaine.”

Investigators say the Sinaloa Cartel runs like a business and truck drivers have a creative way of transporting the drugs.

“Some of these organizations will actually hollow out portions of the vehicle — for instance, a rear axle — and manage to fit several pounds of black tar heroin in it,” Massino explained.

But what about when police catch a trucker who has a large amount of drugs and cash? What does that do to the cartel?

“It sets them back, if we can cut into their profits, it does hurt them financially, that is a goal,” Massino said.

Officials showed us a Range Rover with a removable panel in the cargo area. A remote could be used to unlock the hidden latch to hide the drugs. There was also a panel in the back seat.

“What you have with couriers coming from California into Kentucky, what is affiliated with that, is violence,” Pepper said. “These folks are moving a lot of dope. There is a lot of money behind that, there is a lot of threat of death, if the couriers are crossed by rival competition.”

The DEA uses wiretaps to find and track the key drug traffickers. The organization has a map that shows where Mexican Drug Cartels have the most influence in the United States. There are several Cartels, but the Sinaloa Cartel is the strongest.

The map shows two cartels have a presence in Louisville.

“If you have two competing cartel organizations, the violence can spill into the streets,” Pepper said.

The DEA map shows the Sinaloa and the Knights Templar Cartels in Louisville. The Knights Templar is considered to be just as dangerous as the Sinaloa Cartel.

Louisville Metro Police say its Narcotics Unit has not arrested anyone from those cartels and is declining to discuss any specifics, saying it could have an adverse effect on any current investigations.

The DEA map also shows the Sinaloa Cartel in Lexington and London, Kentucky.

“The cartel doesn’t care about the size of the city,” Pepper explained. “They care about peddling their poison, whether it’s Manhattan or you’re sitting in Louisville, it’s a customer to the cartels and they don’t care how they peddle their poision they don’t care who they peddle their poison to.”

The drugs take different paths into Kentucky. Investigators say many of them make their way to our streets through the National Turnpike area on semi-trucks. The DEA says the Cartels work with the Mexican Mafia and gangs, then it goes to retail and street level distributors.

The Sinaloa Cartel’s leader “El Chapo” has made headlines for his escapes from prison and his recapture, which has had some effect on the operation of the Cartel, according to officials.

“It’s made the Cartel re-evaluate who their leader is,” Pepper said.

Even still, the DEA says it’s too early to tell what his arrest will mean for drug distribution. The U.S. government wants to have him extradited to this country to face charges.

The Sinaloa Cartel’s extensive networking in Mexico and the U.S. has helped it solidify its power and spread into places like Kentucky, officials said.

“They have established that networking with shear violence affiliated with their organizations; murders, kidnappings, some instances torture of people who have gone the wrong way against Sinaloa Cartel,” Massino said.

The DEA says the goal is to dismantle the Cartels and if people stop using the drugs, the Cartels would be out of business.

“It’s getting harder and harder to get away with anything. We are out there. We are watching,” Massino said. “We are going to enforce the law and we’re going to protect those who aid us in doing so. I think ultimately, we’re going to win this.”

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State says painkiller prescriptions continue to fall in Ohio

http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/state-says-painkiller-prescriptions-continue-to-fall-in-ohio-1.660540

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Was that really an ad for junkies who can’t shit? America, I luv ya but I just can’t keep up

— Bill Maher (@billmaher) February 8, 2016

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Opiate abuse at top of New Hampshire voters’ minds

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Since the passage of The Harrison Narcotic Act 1914 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Narcotics_Tax_Act  when medications such as Heroin , Morphine and others were no longer sold OTC… we have had 1%-2% of the population who were serious substance abusers. Of course, in 1914 the USA’s population was abt 100,000,000.. abt 30% of what our population is today.

We have had an equilibrium of new people becoming substance abuser/addicts and those who have been abusing substances for a period of time… and dying off.

We have all heard of addicts who have supposedly went thru a rehab process only to revert back to their old substance abuse habits..  I have heard of certain people going thru rehab a dozen or more times.

I have read statements from ER nurses of being accosted when they give a catatonic pt from a opiate overdose and they are “snapped” out of their “high” and immediately thrown into cold turkey withdrawal.

From what I have read.. it would appear that bureaucrats seem to believe that Naloxone is going to be a “miracle cure” of opiate OD’s. What happens when all of this Naloxone nearly in every pocket… saves untold number of lives that continue on their substance abuse path.. and we end up with 3%-4% of the population as serious substance abusers..

How much increased criminal activity is this going to cause… these addicts seeking funds to continue their habit.. From house break-ins, pharmacy robberies, forged prescriptions and what ever else they can do to get their next fix.

These “addicts” are suffering from the mental health issue of addictive personality disorder… If you threw a drunk out of a bar when they had had too much.. would you expect them to stop drinking because you had stopped them drinking that one time ?

Another bureaucratic action without forethought of unintended consequences ?

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