Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Trump’s FDA Chief Cites Opioid Epidemic As Top Priority
Apr 7 2017 // Opioid painkillers that have led to thousands of deaths and new drug addicts should be the highest priority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Scott Gottlieb, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the...
Arkansas Health Plan Panel Recommends Limits on Coverage for Opioids
Apr 6 2017 // An Arkansas health panel has recommended limiting coverage of opioid prescriptions in health plans that cover tens of thousands of state employees and teachers. The recommendations, which are aimed at curbing drug...
Delaware Bill Aimed at Substance Abuse Insurance Coverage
Apr 6 2017 // House lawmakers have unanimously approved legislation aimed at ensuring that people struggling with drug addiction get the help they need. Supporters of the bill say denial of insurance coverage for substance abuse...
West Virginia One Step Closer to Legalizing Medical Marijuana
Apr 6 2017 // West Virginia’s House voted Tuesday to legalize doctor-prescribed marijuana to treat certain medical conditions following Senate passage of a similar measure last week. The bills approved 76-24 by the House and 28-6...
California Workers Comp Medical Review Volume Hit a Record in 2016
Apr 3 2017 // The California workers’ compensation independent medical review process used to resolve medical disputes found that in 2016 IMR physicians once again upheld about 90 percent of utilization review (UR)...
West Virginia House Passes Bill to Aid Opioid Addiction Treatment Facilities
Mar 31 2017 // The number of beds available at state-run substance abuse treatment facilities would increase in drug-ravaged West Virginia under a bill passed Wednesday by the House. The bill passed on a 99-0 vote. It now moves to the...
10 More Facts on How Employee Substance Misuse Impacts Businesses
Mar 22 2017 // More than 70 percent of U.S. employers are feeling the direct impact of prescription drug misuse in their workplaces, according to a recent survey by the National Safety Council. The survey also found that although 71...
California Workers Comp Medical Review Volume Hit a Record in 2016
Mar 21 2017 // The California workers’ compensation independent medical review process used to resolve medical disputes found that in 2016 IMR physicians once again upheld about 90 percent of utilization review physician’s...
Patients’ Pre-Surgery Opioid Use Contributes to Higher Costs, Complications
Mar 20 2017 // Surgery patients often go home from the hospital with a prescription for painkillers to take as they recover. But a new study suggests that doctors should also focus on patients who were taking such medicines before their...
Prescription Drug Crisis Fueling Robberies of Georgia Pharmacies
Mar 20 2017 // A wave of break-ins and robberies of Georgia pharmacies is being fueled by a drug epidemic, authorities said. In June, a thief with a sledgehammer broke into a Snellville pharmacy and stole thousands of dollars worth of...
Prescription Drugs in the Workplace
Mar 20 2017 // More than 70 percent of United States employers are feeling the direct impact of prescription drug misuse in their workplaces, according to a survey from the National Safety Council. The survey, How the Prescription Drug...
Massachusetts and Rhode Island Doctor Pleads Guilty for Overprescribing Opioids
Mar 17 2017 // At Dr. Fathalla Mashali’s pain management clinics, the waiting rooms were often so packed with patients that people sat on the floor, leaned against walls and spilled into the hallways. That’s because, federal...
Mississippi Gov. Nominates Rep. Formby to State Workers Comp Commission
Mar 17 2017 // Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is nominating a longtime Republican lawmaker to the three-member Workers Compensation Commission. Rep. Mark Formby of Picayune has served in the House since 1993 and helped push a 2012 law that...
Employers Struggle to Manage Benefits Covering Specialty Drugs
Mar 10 2017 // Twenty-seven percent of employers are offering their employees a high deductible plan with co-insurance as part of their specialty drug benefit, and although this strategy helps to lower insurance premiums, it can also...
70% of Employers Say Prescription Drug Abuse Affects Workplace
Mar 10 2017 // More than 70 percent of United States employers are feeling the direct impact of prescription drug misuse in their workplaces, according to a survey from the National Safety Council. The survey, How the Prescription Drug...
Louisiana Woman Pleads Guilty in Texas in Opioid Pill Mill Case
Mar 9 2017 // Carolina Giselle Berrio, a/k/a “Carolina Slocum Berrio,” “Karrie,” 37, of Lafayette, Louisiana is the latest defendant to plead guilty to being involved in a large opioid “pill mill”...
Current, Ex-Kentucky Governors Battle Over Health Law Legacy
Mar 8 2017 // As Republicans in Congress prepare to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law, Kentucky’s current governor and his predecessor are wrestling over the law’s legacy – and...
Stressed? Unfocused? Pop a Marijuana Mint and Get Back to Work
Mar 8 2017 // When Jeffrey Zucker needs to get a lot done at work, he eats half a weed gummy. Far from putting him at risk of a Maureen Dowd-level stupor, the 5-milligram dose of THC he gets gives him just a slight buzz that makes him...
Here Is a Section-by-Section Summary of Republicans’ Health Care Act
Mar 7 2017 // The following summary of the American Health Care Act, meant as a repeal and replacement for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), has been prepared by the Republican staff of the House Committee on Ways and Means. A copy...
New DEA Program Targets West Virginia Opioid Traffickers
Mar 6 2017 // The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will spend $500,000 on a program that aims to curb prescription drug and heroin abuse across the state. DEA special Agent Karl Colder tells the Charleston Gazette-Mail the project,...
