Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Colorado county sues drug companies over opioid crisis

Denver Business Journal-6 hours ago
A rural southern Colorado county has filed suit in federal court against several drugmakers and distributors, accusing them of contributing to the opioid-overdose crisis. The suit is novel for Colorado, but follows complaints filed by other local governments elsewhere in connection with prescription opioids, generally seeking ...
County blames drug firms for opioid epidemic in lawsuit
Seattle Times-3 hours ago
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The lawsuit says citizens were falsely induced to take opioids

The Denver Post-Jan 29, 2018
The lawsuit is the first of its kind filed by a local government in Colorado. It claims that Huerfano residents were falsely induced to take highly addictive opioids for pain management. The lawsuit claims the opioid epidemic was caused by drug manufacturers engaging in fraudulent and deceptive marketing and by distributors ...

FDA asks drugmakers to limit amount of opioid drug in packaging

Reuters-7 hours ago
It is also influencing doctors to prescribe shorter-duration opioids. The actions come amid reports of serious heart problems and death in patients who have taken higher-than-recommended doses of the drug or have misused it, the FDA said. They are also part of the agency's efforts to reduce patients' exposure to opioids, ...

As opioid crisis grows, judge aims for solutions, settlement

ABC News-2 hours ago
FILE - This Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017 file photo shows an arrangement of pills of the opioid oxycodone-acetaminophen, also known as Percocet, in New York. Cities and counties of all sizes have sued companies that make and distribute prescription opioids. Among the plaintiffs so far: Philadelphia; the state of Ohio; Princeton ...

The opioid crisis and why Australia is cracking down on codeine

The Guardian-59 minutes ago
The imminent change to regulations for codeine products has prompted renewed praise for the Therapeutic Goods Administration for taking action to address Australia's growing opioid crisis, though some health experts are concerned the move may have unintended consequences, such as pushing people towards illicit ..

Teen opioid crisis has high schools stocking up on Narcan to ...

CNBC-9 hours ago
President Donald Trump swore in Alex Azar, the newest Health and Human Services Secretary, on Monday, charging him with the task of combating the nation's opioidepidemic. Meanwhile, high schools aren't waiting. Joseph Occhino, principal of Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, New Jersey, said ...
Doctors' habits affect opioid abuse
Fort Worth Star Telegram (blog)-1 hour ago

Small number of pharmacies diverting prescription medicines to ...

Pharmacy Business-12 hours ago
An investigation by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has uncovered a criminal network involving “a small number” of registered pharmaciesand wholesalers who have diverted prescription-only drugs on to the black market. More than 40 arrests have been made following extensive investigations ...

Senate Panel Considers Bill to Outlaw Handwritten Prescriptions

Iowa Public Radio-1 hour ago
A three-member Senate panel is delaying a decision on a bill that would require all medical providers to electronically submit drug prescriptions to pharmacies. Sen. Tom Greene, (R-Burlington), who worked as a pharmacist, says the bill would help curb the abuse of opioids and other controlled substances. “I've so blatantly ...

Boardman pharmacist pleads guilty in court

Youngstown Vindicator-6 hours ago
YOUNGSTOWN — A Boardman pharmacist pleaded guilty to illegally processing drug documents to hide the fact he diluted intravenous antibiotics. Ernest Perrin, 28, of Youngstown, pleaded guilty in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to 10 charges in his 20-count indictment. Perrin worked for a hospital pharmacy in .

Opinion: New law allows you to refill all prescriptions at once

Tallahassee.com-4 hours ago
Medication synchronization, which went into effect January 1, will provide assistance in the often chaotic lives of individuals and caregivers dealing with chronic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. The new law, which authorizes pharmacies to coordinate refill dates for prescription medications, is an important measure ...

Drug companies flooded West Virginia town of 2900 with 20.8M pain ...

Fox News-9 hours ago
Another regional drug wholesaler, H.D. Smith, was subject to questions of why it distributed 3,000 pain pills a day in 2008 to Family Discount Pharmacy in another West Virginia town, population 1,800. The committee said it was a 10-fold increase compared to 2007, the newspaper reported. “The committee's bipartisan ...

Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan partner to cut US healthcare costs

Reuters-9 hours ago
Investors in the sector see Amazon becoming a major disruptor of healthcare, just as it has done in the retail industry, fueled by media reports in recent months that the company was considering entering the pharmacy business. Teaming up with JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank, and Berkshire, the third largest public ...

Oops! Is this a HIPAA Violation?

Pharmacy Times-7 hours ago
A recent Facebook discussion I found very interesting occurred in a chain pharmacy. Apparently, that day, the staff was filling quite a few antidepressant prescriptions and a pharmacy staff member joked something along the lines of 'it must be depression day.' In the waiting area one of the patients filling an antidepressant ...

United States: Capitol Hill Healthcare Update - January 29, 2018

Mondaq News Alerts-10 hours ago
The House last fall defeated an attempt to block the FDA from finalizing a congressionally mandated but long-delayed draft memorandum of understanding on the interstate sale of compounded drugs. That issue pitted 503A compounding pharmacies against 503B outsourcing facilities, with each group known for a section ...

American Academy of Ophthalmology Asks Congress To Help ...

PR Newswire (press release)-7 hours ago
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Ophthalmology today testified before Congress that more must be done to ensure the supply of compounded treatments. The Academy believes that shortages of these drugs are preventing patients from receiving immediate treatment ...

California's new lethal injection plan already faces hurdles: Drugs ...

Los Angeles Times-2 hours ago
"The state cannot lawfully procure either of those drugs through a reputable channel," she said. Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the pro-death penalty Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, agreed that drug availability remained a potential obstacle. He said compounding pharmacies could make the drugs if the ingredients ...

Consumer Health Nonprofit Demands Removal Of Conflicted ...

PR Newswire (press release)-12 hours ago
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jim Turner, Board Chair of Citizens for Health, a D.C. based consumer-health non-profit, issued a letter to the FDA Commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, demanding the removal of Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) from FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) due ...

Compounding: making a difference

Australian Journal of Pharmacy (blog)-16 hours ago
This is the difference the compounded medication made! Whether it is a patient with chronic pain, or a young child who needs a melatonin suspension to sleep at night, compounding pharmacists are making a difference in how patients live their lives with their families. Although nowadays my role is liaising with pharmacists ...

Congressman Griffith Discusses Compounding With Doctors - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IzWx0uaOAE
2 hours ago - Uploaded by RepMorganGriffith
Congressman Griffith Questions FDA Commissioner Gottlieb on Compounding - Duration: 6:12 ...

House holds hearing on drug compounding law | AHA News

https://www.aha.org/news/.../2018-01-30-house-holds-hearing-drug-compounding-la...
3 hours ago - The act updated federal requirements for drug compounding facilities after a 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that was associated with a contaminated compounded steroid medication distributed to patients and providers in 23 states.