Trumping En Masse Through the Revolving Door - the Trump Advisory and Transition Teams
We have frequently posted on therevolving door as a type of severe conflict of interest, if not corruption, affecting health care. Our posts have covered various cases of people going from influential positions in or related to health care and some anti-health corporations, and government positions that make health care policy or regulate health care. Donald J Trump, the president elect, has pledged to " drain the swamp, " that is, to generally reduce crony capitalism, conflicts of interest, the revolving door, and government corruption (e.g., lookhere.) However, it appears that his campaign advisory/ tran...
Source: Health Care Renewal - November 18, 2016 Category: Health Management Tags: Altria Celgene Cerberus conflicts of interest Donald Trump Pfizer PhRMA Purdue Pharma revolving doors Source Type: blogs
The fuzzy line between medication use and abuse
Opioid painkillers, such as Vicodin (hydrocodone) and OxyContin (oxycodone), are crucial medical tools that are addictive and widely abused. Tranquilizers and sleeping pills of the benzodiazepine class, like Xanax (alprazolam), Ativan (lorazepam) and Klonopin (clonazepam), are safe and effective in limited, short-term use, but are often taken too freely, leading to drug tolerance and withdrawal risks. Stimulants such as Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Adderall (amphetamine) ease the burden of ADHD but are also widely used as college study aids as well as recreationally. All of these medications are available only by prescrip...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 16, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/steven-reidbord" rel="tag" > Steven Reidbord, MD < /a > Tags: Meds Patients Source Type: blogs
There is something wrong with a system that punishes legitimate patients in pain
Overwhelmed by the insanity of the bureaucratic bungle surrounding the dispensing of narcotic pain medication, I’m not sure where to begin. So I will begin with my experience.
I am a licensed physician in the state of Nevada. I retired from full-time practice in California and moved to Las Vegas, where I work part time. I have a friend who recently underwent a nephrectomy. She was discharged with a prescription phoned in for oxycodone, which was filled at her local pharmacy.
I accompanied her to an urgent care facility today because of a cough. She took her last oxycodone this morning. I asked the doctor seei...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 13, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/judy-salz" rel="tag" > Judy Salz, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Pain management Source Type: blogs
A New Study Tests Marijuana's Potential to Replace Opioid Painkillers - The Atlantic
Emily Lindley's stash of marijuana is going to be very, very secure.Lindley, a neurobiologist, is about to begin the first study ever to directly compare cannabis with an opioid painkiller (in this case, oxycodone) for treating people with chronic pain. She got a grant for this research two years ago, but it has taken that much time to meet all the requirements for working with a drug the federal government still considers highly dangerous.Before it's given to patients, the marijuana will be kept inside steel narcotics lockers bolted to the wall in a room with surveillance cameras and a combination keypad on the do...
Source: Psychology of Pain - November 12, 2016 Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: blogs
Why painkillers sometimes make the pain worse | Science | AAAS
Mark Hutchinson could read the anguish on the participants' faces in seconds. As a graduate student at the University of Adelaide in Australia in the late 1990s, he helped with studies in which people taking methadone to treat opioid addiction tested their pain tolerance by dunking a forearm in ice water. Healthy controls typically managed to stand the cold for roughly a minute. Hutchinson himself,"the young, cocky, Aussie bloke chucking my arm in the water," lasted more than 2 minutes. But the methadone patients averaged only about 15 seconds."These aren't wimps. These people are injecting all sorts...
Source: Psychology of Pain - November 6, 2016 Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: blogs
Cases: Use of Steroids as Adjuvants for Pain Management
Conclusion:Although there is no definitive, absolute proof that use of dexamethasone as an adjuvant agent for symptom management does not confer a potential increased risk of infection, we do have literature indicating that steroids are used to help manage and treat certain infections, and that there has not been evidence of increased new infections when used in a single dose post-operatively. The clinical take away here is that it okay to consider the use of a steroid, especially in a low dose for a short period of time, in managing pain of an inflammatory etiology (such as pleurisy), and when compared to the potential ri...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - October 31, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Tags: cancer hematology opioids pain riegel steroids Source Type: blogs
Physicians and patients must work together to halt the rise in opioid use
Opioids are common pain medications that are used for the treatment for mild to moderate pain. These medications are highly addictive and bind to particular receptors in the brain and spinal column that produce a feeling of euphoria along with the relief of chronic pain.
However, in the U.S. they are becoming a leading cause of death due to overdoses. Opioids — such as oxycodone, Percocet, and others — are now gateway drugs to heroin and other narcotics. They are also becoming a drug of choice for those who have not abused drugs in the past. Now they are gaining increased in popularity due to ease of access ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 5, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/kevin-r-campbell" rel="tag" > Kevin R. Campbell, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Pain management Source Type: blogs
The Opioid Abuse Crisis Is A Rare Area Of Bipartisan Consensus
The U.S. is experiencing political polarization over many issues, including health. There are few examples where Democrats and Republicans in Congress, as well as those among the public who identify with the two parties, agree on a set of policies. One of these exceptions involves policies to address the opioid abuse crisis facing the country today.
Public opinion polls conducted in 2015 and 2016 examine this unusual bipartisan consensus. The two obvious questions are (1) why is such a consensus possible in an otherwise highly polarized political climate? And (2) what are the areas of bipartisan consensus on policies to ad...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - September 12, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: Robert Blendon, Caitlin McMurtry, John Benson and Justin Sayde Tags: Drugs and Medical Technology Featured Public Health bipartisanship Congress Democrats opioid epidemic opioids Republicans Source Type: blogs
We must face some unpleasant truths about opioids
Over the past year I’ve lost track of how many times the opioid epidemic has, in one incarnation or another (Prince, naloxone, fentanyl, newborns in agonizing withdrawal and so on) found its way onto the front page news. What distinguishes this epidemic is not only its catastrophic toll — hundreds of thousands dead, uncountable millions harmed — but also the fact that, unlike SARS, Ebola or influenza, this epidemic has no end in sight. The “why” is complicated, but it relates in part to prevalent beliefs about the role of these drugs in medical practice.
This is the greatest drug safety crisis of our time...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 11, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/david-juurlink" rel="tag" > David Juurlink, MD, PhD < /a > Tags: Meds Medications Source Type: blogs
Dementia Care, Which Drugs Increase the Risk of Falling
Medications can increase the risk of falls and falling; and, are a major cause of injuries and death in older adults.By Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading RoomDuring the entire 8 and a half years, 3,112 days, that I was taking care of my mother, I worried about her falling.Falls can result in hip injuries, head injuries, or something worse.If you loved one is falling, or complaining of "dizziness" check out the list of medications below; and then, consult with your personal care doctor.Problems with Balance, Walking, Falling an Early Sign of DementiaThe drugs older people take can make them more susceptible to falling.Research...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - September 7, 2016 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's care Alzheimer's Dementia dementia care dementia falls dementia help for caregivers family caregiving help alzheimer's help with dementia care memory care searches related to falling Source Type: blogs
Finding Pain Relief When There ’ s Potential for Addiction
I am a woman with a family history of addiction who is also in chronic pain. What if someday I need opioids to manage that pain?
First, two discs in my lower spine degenerated. Then, they herniated, both bulging out and impinging nerves, inciting an excruciating, sciatica-like pain that affected me around the clock. More than a year since my discs were damaged, pain has become my daily reality. I wake up stiff and sore as though I’ve just been hit by a car (having been hit by a car as a kid, I actually know what that feels like). The only thing I struggle with as much as the pain itself is finding the best way to treat i...
Source: World of Psychology - August 14, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Psych Central Staff Tags: Addiction Health-related Personal Publishers The Fix Chronic Pain Drug Addiction drug counseling Epidemic Family History Laura Kiesel Medication Methadone opiods opioid addiction overdoses Pain Relief prescription drug ab Source Type: blogs
Best Ways to Deal with Pain
“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.” – Mother Teresa
Pain is an equal-opportunity phenomenon. It strikes the rich and poor alike, is not dependent on age or gender or socio-economic status. Pain doesn’t care if you’re a college graduate or a high-school dropout or if you’ve never even gone to school. When you experience pain, however, you join the millions of others in one common thought: How can I deal with this and get it to go away?
Indeed, finding the best ways to deal with pain can be confounding. On the one hand, you’re likely to try hom...
Source: World of Psychology - August 11, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Suzanne Kane Tags: Addiction General Grief and Loss Health-related Inspiration & Hope Motivation and Inspiration Recovery Self-Help Alternative Medicine Chronic Pain Painkillers prescription drug abuse Substance Abuse Suffering support Source Type: blogs
FDA Supports Greater Access to Naloxone to Help Reduce Opioid Overdose Deaths
By: Karen Mahoney, M.D. Overdose deaths involving prescription opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine and illicit opioids such as heroin and illegally produced fentanyl have more than tripled since 1999 – with about 28,000 people dying in 2014 alone. … Continue reading → (Source: FDA Voice)
Source: FDA Voice - August 10, 2016 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
JAMA Forum: The Pain and Opioid Epidemics: Policy and Vital Signs
This post authored by Diana Mason first ran in the The Journal of the American Medical Association Forum on August 9, 2016.
Diana Mason, PhD, RN
Near the end of my tenure as editor-in-chief of AJN, theAmerican Journal of Nursing in 2009, I asked one of the coordinators of our pain column to write an article on opioid dependence and addiction. The diversion and misuse of drugs such as oxycodone, with a resultant spike in overdose deaths, had been widely reported in the news media. Her surprising response continues to resonate for me as we face the urgent public health problem of opioid abuse.
The column’s coordinators,...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - August 10, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Pain and Opiods Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Finding the right balance in pain relief: A physician ’s story
After surgery for my broken tibia, I realized that there were only four points on the pain scale that really mattered to me:
I’m OK. This acetaminophen/ibuprofen/whatever is enough.
I wouldn’t mind a little something more, preferably something that binds mu
Um, could you please hurry that up?
NOW! NOW! I need it NOW!
On the 0 to 10 pain scale, who really cares if you are at a 2 or a 3, a 3 or a 4? What does that really mean? Either we want or need additional drugs, or we don’t. Either I am OK with oral opioids, or please give me something faster, stronger, and better. As a patient, I answered with whatever number...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 7, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/rita-agarwal" rel="tag" > Rita Agarwal, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Pain management Source Type: blogs
