Georgia Experts Concerned About Loopholes in Prescription Drug Bill
Georgia lawmakers have reached a compromise on a bill that would require doctors to log into a pill-tracking database before prescribing painkillers and other high-risk drugs. The goal is to curtail...
View ArticleStrictest Opioid Prescribing Law in Nation May be Softened
Lawmakers concerned about the plight of residents with chronic pain are considering softening a tough law that puts limits on how much opioid painkillers a doctor can prescribe. Maine has the nation’s...
View ArticleHospitals Rethink Use of Opioids
A car crash shattered Stuart Anders’ thigh, leaving pieces of bone sticking through his skin. Yet Anders begged emergency room doctors not to give him powerful opioid painkillers – he’d been addicted...
View ArticleBreaking Doctors of the Habit of Prescribing Opioids
Even doctors can be addicted to opioids, in a way: It’s hard to stop prescribing them. Melissa Jones is on a mission to break doctors of their habit, and in the process try to turn the tide of the...
View ArticleHandwritten Opioid Scripts More Prone to Mistakes
In a small study of opioid prescriptions filled at a Johns Hopkins Medicine outpatient pharmacy, researchers found that handwritten orders for the drugs contribute heavily to a trio of prescribing and...
View ArticlePanel Calls on FDA to Review Opioid Safety
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should review the safety and effectiveness of all opioids, and consider the real-world impacts the powerful painkillers have, not only on patients, but also on...
View ArticleTiger Woods Had Marijuana, Painkillers in System at DUI Arrest
Tiger Woods had the active ingredient for marijuana, two painkillers and two sleep drugs in his system when he was arrested on a DUI charge earlier this year, a report released Tuesday by prosecutors...
View ArticleMany Opioid Addicts Hoping for Recovery Relapse, Turn to Insurance Fraud
The Reflections treatment center looked like just the place for Michelle Holley’s youngest daughter to kick heroin. Instead, as with dozens of other Florida substance abuse treatment facilities, the...
View ArticleOpioid Crisis Cost the Nation $504B in 2015
President Donald Trump said Monday that the opioid epidemic is “ravaging so many American families and communities.” It also appears to be more expensive than previously thought, according to a...
View ArticleChronic Pain Sufferers Plead for Nuanced Approach to Opioids
Will Michele Jacobovitz get out of bed today? That depends on how many painkillers she has left in her monthly prescription, which sometimes she’s forced to ration. Some mornings are harder than...
View ArticleFDA Approves Powerful Opioid Pill as Alternative to IV Painkiller
U.S. regulators on Friday approved a fast-acting, super-potent opioid tablet as an alternative to IV painkillers used in hospitals. The decision by the Food and Drug Administration came over objections...
View ArticleStates Seek $2.2 Trillion From Oxycontin Maker Purdue Pharma
NEW YORK — U.S. states claimed they are owed $2.2 trillion to address harm from OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP’s alleged role in America’s opioid epidemic, accusing the drugmaker in new filings of...
View ArticleNevada Announces $45M Settlement With McKinsey Over Opioids
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada has struck a $45 million settlement deal with McKinsey & Company for the global consulting firm’s role in advising opioid makers how to sell more prescription painkillers...
View ArticleKentucky AG Sues CVS Health Over State’s Opioid Problems
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s attorney general on Wednesday sued CVS Health, accusing its pharmacy chain of flooding the state with prescription opioids that contributed to the state’s addiction...
View ArticleOhio Supreme Ct: Insurer Has No Duty to Defend Drug Distributor Against...
An insurer has no duty to defend a drug distributor against lawsuits filed by cities and counties that allege it failed to take proper steps to prevent abuse of prescription opioids, the Ohio Supreme...
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