August 28, 2023
Rite Aid Corp. is preparing to file for bankruptcy in coming weeks to address lawsuits the drugstore chain is facing over its alleged role in the sale of opioids, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with …
April 8, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday wrestled with the circumstances under which doctors can be convicted of operating as drug dealers under the cover of their medical practices to illegally distribute opioid painkillers and other dangerous narcotics. The justices heard …
December 30, 2021
Doctors with the American Society of Anesthesiologists are calling for a new approach to fighting the opioid crisis, one that goes beyond current efforts at restricting opioid prescribing to reducing demand and addressing the “illicit” opioids in medicine cabinets. To …
June 4, 2020
The good news is that doctors are less likely to prescribe opioids to injured workers than they were years ago. They have come to recognize that the pain medications have been overprescribed, causing addictions and deaths including suicides. The bad …
June 7, 2019
In a common narrative of the path to opioid misuse, people become addicted to painkillers after a doctor prescribed them pills to treat an injury and then, later, switch to harder drugs, such as heroin. However, non-medical opioid users were …
January 11, 2019
Injured workers in mining and construction, those in rural counties or those who suffer fractures, carpal tunnel and neurologic spine pain are among those more likely to receive prescriptions for opioids than workers in other industries or locations or with …
May 9, 2018
Drug use by the American workforce remains at its highest rate in more than a decade, driven by increases in cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. However, prescription opiate positivity rates have declined. Nationally, the positivity rate for the combined U.S. workforce …
April 23, 2018
A pharmacy accused of dispensing millions of prescription pain pills in West Virginia has agreed to a $550,000 settlement with the state. In a news release, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey says the settlement of a lawsuit involving Larry’s Drive-In Pharmacy …
April 2, 2018
West Virginia’s governor has signed legislation to limit opioid prescriptions that doctors can prescribe to treat acute pain. Gov. Jim Justice signed the bill last week that would limit such prescriptions to supplies lasting three, four or seven days, depending …
March 28, 2018
Health insurer Cigna said it has achieved a 25 percent reduction in opioid use among its customers as a result of a partnership with more than 1.1 million prescribing physicians. The company said it reached this key metric one year …