Ameritox » Industry News

ER docs don’t recognize signs of fake marijuana in teens (USA Today)

Ameritox — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:23:54 +0000

From USA Today: As use of synthetic versions of marijuana such as “K2,” “Spice,” and “Blaze” becomes more common, a growing number of teens are showing up in hospital emergency (…)

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Pharmacies Take Action On Oxycontin (Delmarva Now)

Ameritox — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:34:46 +0000

From Delmarva Now: A new sign hanging inside the door of The Community Pharmacy alerts customers — and more importantly, those who may not be customers — that the pharmacy (…)

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Opioid Use After Minor Surgery Can Create Problems (Los Angeles Times)

Ameritox — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:30:04 +0000

From The Los Angeles Times: Opioid medications such as codeine and oxycodone often are prescribed after surgery to relieve post-operative pain. The availability of such drugs is also well known to be a major factor in increasing rates of addiction and addiction-related overdose deaths. A new study suggests that giving opioid prescriptions after simple operations may create some of those problems.

VA Study: PTSD Patients More Often Prescribed Potent Opioids (Stars and Stripes)

Ameritox — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:27:34 +0000

From Stars and Stripes: eterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with mental health diagnoses, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder, were significantly more likely to receive prescriptions for oxycodone, hydrocodone and (…)

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Prescription Drug Abuse Battle in Nassau County Turns Deadly, Reaches Epidemic Proportions (Salem-News.com)

Ameritox — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:26:10 +0000

From Salem-News.com: Nassau County, New York has sounded the alarm — they are experiencing a prescription drug abuse problem and are “taking the lead” in the nation and are forming (…)

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FDA approves shared system REMS for TIRF products (FDA.gov)

Ameritox — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:58:23 +0000

From FDA.gov: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a single shared Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for the transmucosal immediate-release fentanyl (TIRF) products. This new shared system will replace the individual REMS and allow prescribers and pharmacies to enroll into just one system, easing the burden on the health care system.

New powerful painkiller has abuse experts worried (Associated Press)

Ameritox — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:03:19 +0000

From the Associated Press: Drug companies are working to develop a pure, more powerful version of a highly abused medicine, which has addiction experts worried that it could spur a (…)

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Stratify Patients for Opioid Misuse and Abuse Risk (Family Practice News)

Ameritox — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:05:51 +0000

From Family Practice News: Do you know which of your patients is likely to misuse or abuse opioid medications?

More help sought to fight opioid abuse (amednews.com)

Ameritox — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:39:45 +0000

From amednews.com: At November’s Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association, the House of Delegates directed the AMA to increase attention to efforts aimed at curbing prescription drug abuse.

Georgia trying to control pill mills (AJC)

Ameritox — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:31:10 +0000

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The number of “pill mills” is growing in Georgia and deaths from opioids are rising. Some in the state are seeking a new law to impose regulations (…)

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Panel advances bill aimed at stemming tide of prescription drug abuse (Boston Herald)

Ameritox — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:15:06 +0000

From the Boston Herald: For the second time in as many years, lawmakers are targeting prescription drug abuse, this time with a comprehensive bill that would require doctors to participate (…)

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States target prescriptions by ‘pill mills’ (USA Today)

Ameritox — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:31:09 +0000

From USA Today: States are trying to outsmart the criminals by tracking prescriptions through statewide databases and by toughening their laws to make it more difficult for unscrupulous clinics to dispense large numbers of prescription pain pills. And in the latest move against drug tourists, states are linking their databases to try to stop dealers from roaming state to state.

York Daily Record: Admitted drug dealer sues doctor who prescribed him painkillers, seeks $43 million in damages

Ameritox — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:17:19 +0000

From the York Daily Record: A York man who pleaded guilty to illegally selling prescription drugs is suing the doctor who prescribed the painkillers to him for medical malpractice and (…)

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Tulsa World: Experts: State’s prescription drug abuse problem lacks simple solution

Ameritox — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:04:23 +0000

From Tulsa World: There’s no simple solution to Oklahoma’s extensive prescription drug abuse problem, state lawmakers were told Wednesday.

For seniors, addiction often begins with prescription drugs (Miami Herald)

Ameritox — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:17:23 +0000

From the Miami Herald: Approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population is 65 years old or older. Yet they constitute a third of the population using prescription drugs, according to (…)

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Why should we use UDT in our pain practices? (Emerging Solutions in Pain)

Ameritox — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:19:51 +0000

From Emerging Solutions in Pain: Steven D. Passik, PhD, discusses the need for uring drug monitoring in pain practices.

National survey shows a rise in illicit drug use from 2008 to 2010 (SAMHSA)

Ameritox — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:19:23 +0000

From SAMHSA: The use of illicit drugs among Americans increased between 2008 and 2010 according to a national survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) shows that 22.6 million Americans 12 or older (8.9-percent of the population) were current illicit drug users. The rate of use in 2010 was similar to the rate in 2009 (8.7-percent), but remained above the 2008 rate (8- percent).

A Diet for Patients With Chronic Pain (Practical Pain Management)

Ameritox — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:48:09 +0000

From Practical Pain Management: Many serious conditions and diseases, including hyperlipidemia, obesity, congestive heart failure, and renal failure, have their own recommended diet. Considerable scientific information and clinical observation have accumulated in recent years that chronic pain, particularly the debilitating, severe form that requires opioid treatment, needs a “chronic pain” diet.

Reducing the Risk of Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Noncancer Pain (MD News)

Ameritox — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:41:35 +0000

From MD News: In the past decade, opioid analgesic abuse, addiction and overdose have skyrocketed in the United States. During this time, deaths from opioid analgesic overdose have increased four-fold (…)

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Florida Shutting ‘Pill Mill’ Clinics (NY Times)

Ameritox — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 15:35:56 +0000

From The New York Times: Florida has long been the nation’s center of the illegal sale of prescription drugs: Doctors here bought 89 percent of all the Oxycodone sold in the country last year. At its peak, so many out-of-staters flocked to Florida to buy drugs at more than 1,000 pain clinics that the state earned the nickname “Oxy Express.”