Tag: opioid
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Just What the Doctor Ordered: An Alabama Perspective on the Opioid Epidemic
Sometimes, Alabama is No. 1. In 2012, Alabama was the highest per capita painkiller prescribing state, with an average of 143 prescriptions written per 100 people — almost three times the rate of the lowest prescribing state.1 Alabama has been home to other No. 1s, too. In 2012, Dr. Shelinder Aggarwal, a former Huntsville-area pain…
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FDA Classifies Kratom as Opioid
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has officially classified the plant kratom, originally seen as an opioid alternative, as an opioid itself, stating that compounds in kratom act like prescription-strength opioids. Found in Malaysia, the leaves of the kratom plant are traditionally crushed and made into a tea to treat pain as well as heroin…
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State of Alabama Files Lawsuit Against Purdue Pharma
MONTGOMERY – The State of Alabama has joined other states in filing a complaint against opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma, LP, one of the largest opioid manufacturers in the country. The complaint alleges Purdue’s marketing of these drugs contributed to the creation of the opioid epidemic in Alabama. The lawsuit comes on the heels of a…
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Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council Issues Formal Report
MONTGOMERY — Co-chairs of the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council, Attorney General Steve Marshall, Commissioner Lynn Beshear of the Alabama Department of Mental Health, and Acting State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, announced the issuance of the Council’s formal report of its findings. The Council was created in August 2017 by an executive order…
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New Research Shows Americans with Mental Illness use Opioids at Alarming Levels
More than half of all opioid medications distributed each year in the United States are prescribed to adults with mental illness — patients diagnosed with depression and anxiety — according to new research by Dartmouth-Hitchcock and the University of Michigan. The study, published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Board of…
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The New Department of Justice Initiative: Aggressively Investigating and Prosecuting Opioid-Related Cases
Before joining Burr & Forman, LLP, I was a federal prosecutor for a little over a decade specializing in health care fraud and general white collar matters. In that role, I was the member of a prosecution team that secured guilty verdicts earlier this year against two pain management doctors in Mobile, Ala., following a…
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UPDATE: BCBS New Opioid Management Strategy Effective April 1
UPDATED MARCH 21, 2018 — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is launching an opioid management strategy in an effort to battle the growing opioid epidemic in Alabama, as well as a response to concerns for customers’ care and safety and the rising costs of health care. The new requirements will be effective April…
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An Overlooked Epidemic: Older Americans Taking Too Many Unneeded Drugs
Consider it America’s other prescription drug epidemic. For decades, experts have warned that older Americans are taking too many unnecessary drugs, often prescribed by multiple doctors, for dubious or unknown reasons. Researchers estimate that 25 percent of people ages 65 to 69 take at least five prescription drugs to treat chronic conditions, a figure that jumps to nearly…
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Medical Association’s 2018 State and Federal Agendas
The Medical Association Board of Censors has met and approved the Association’s 2018 State and Federal Agendas. These agendas were developed with guidance from the House of Delegates and input from individual physicians. As the Alabama Legislature and U.S. Congress begin their work for 2018, additional items affecting physicians, medical practices and patients may be…
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Study: Range of Opioid Prescribers Play Important Role in Epidemic
A cross-section of opioid prescribers that typically do not prescribe large volumes of opioids, including primary care physicians, surgeons and non-physician health care providers, frequently prescribe opioids to high-risk patients, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The findings suggest high-volume prescribers, including “pill mill” doctors,…