(Reuters)—Kentucky’s attorney general on Monday accused drug distributor McKesson Corp. of helping fuel the opioid epidemic by failing to halt shipments of suspiciously large or frequent orders by pharmacies of prescription painkillers. The complaint by Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear was filed in a state court and was one of a flurry of lawsuits by… [Read More]
Search results for: opioid epidemic
Kentucky Accuses Endo of Contributing to Opioid Epidemic
(Reuters)—Kentucky accused units of Endo International Plc. on Monday of contributing to drug overdoses by deceptively marketing its painkiller Opana ER, in the latest lawsuit by state or local governments against the drugmaker amid an opioid epidemic. Kentucky Attorney General Steve Beshear said the lawsuit would seek to hold Endo responsible for illegally building a… [Read More]
Oversupply of Opioids after Surgery Helps Fuel Opioid Epidemic
(Reuters Health)—More than two-thirds of surgery patients in a recent study had prescription opioids left over after they recovered from their operations, and the vast majority failed to safely store or dispose of the often misused and abused pills, researchers say. “Unused opioids that have been prescribed for pain after surgery serve as an important… [Read More]
Would Legalizing Medical Marijuana Help Curb the Opioid Epidemic?
(Reuters Health)—In states that legalized medical marijuana, U.S. hospitals failed to see a predicted influx of pot smokers, but in an unexpected twist, they treated far fewer opioid users, a new study shows. Hospitalization rates for opioid painkiller dependence and abuse dropped on average 23% in states after marijuana was permitted for medicinal purposes, the… [Read More]
Delaware Sues Opioid Manufacturers, Distributors Over Epidemic
(Reuters)—Delaware on Friday became the latest state to file a lawsuit accusing corporations of helping fuel the national opioid epidemic, suing a wide range of companies involved in making, distributing and selling prescription painkillers.1 The lawsuit, filed by Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn in a state court, targeted drugmakers Purdue Pharma LP and Endo International… [Read More]
Chronic Opioid Use in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Prevalence & Predictors
Over the past decade, physicians, patients and policy makers have expressed increasing concern about the high frequency of opioids being prescribed and the association between opioid use and poor outcomes. Rates of opioid prescriptions in the general population rose considerably from the 1990s through 2010, with a plateau in the early 2010s. In 2015, 38%… [Read More]
Clinicians’ Use of ‘Safer’ Opioid-Prescribing Practices Spotty
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Many U.S. clinicians aren’t following risk-mitigation practices for opioid prescribing, new findings show. “In response to this national opioid crisis, consensus-based safer opioid prescribing guidelines have been published and state laws regulating opioid prescribing practices have been enacted,” Daniel P. Alford, MD, of Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues write in… [Read More]
Former Insys CEO Pleads Guilty to Opioid Kickback Scheme
BOSTON (Reuters)—The former chief executive of Insys Therapeutics Inc pleaded guilty on Wednesday to participating in a nationwide scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe an addictive opioid medication and has agreed to become a government witness. Michael Babich, who resigned as the Arizona-based drugmaker’s CEO in 2015, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to… [Read More]
Insys to Pay $150 Million to Settle U.S. Opioid Kickback Probe
(Reuters)—Insys Therapeutics said on Wednesday it had reached a deal to pay at least $150 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation into claims that the drugmaker paid doctors kickbacks to prescribe a powerful opioid medication. The tentative deal announced by the Arizona-based drugmaker marked a major step in Insys’ efforts to resolve an… [Read More]
Balancing Opioid Addiction Risk with Pain Management Needs
SAN DIEGO—During a session at the ACR/ARHP 2017 Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8, three representatives from the federal government described several of the government’s varied national strategies and agencies that are tackling pain. All of these strategies are affected by the current national epidemic of opioid overdoses and the need for safer analgesic prescribing. But the… [Read More]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 8
- Next Page »