Industry News

• February 24, 2010
  Sedation team helps patients manage pain
  

  Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines has created a way to keep patients, especially young ones, less anxious during certain diagnostic tests, enabling the medical staff to get clearer and more accurate results.

  Mercy is using a team approach to help children and adults ease through painful or unfamiliar medical tests and procedures. The sedation team is the only one in central Iowa and has been offering its services since 2007, said Deb Fatino, a registered nurse who specializes in sedation.
  The team consists of two registered nurses, a child-life specialist and an anesthesiologist. They work with patients who are receiving in- and out-patient services and need moderate sedation, she said.

  
  

  Tagged with: Pain Management, State & Local

  
  
• February 24, 2010
  Insight HD with Host Hugh Downs probes Pain Management in Migraines
  

  Over 26 million Americans suffer from the neurologic disorder of migraine, according to the American Medical Association. No medical test exists for migraine, so the diagnosis is based on having some or all of the following symptoms: About 20 percent of migraine sufferers experience visual and other disturbances about 15 minutes before the head pain. These symptoms, collectively known as “aura,” may include flashing lights, zig-zag lines, bright spots, loss of part of one’s field of vision, or numbness or tingling in the hand, tongue, or side of the face. Migraines preceded by an aura are called classic migraines; all others are referred to as common migraines.

  
  

  Tagged with: National, Pain Management

  
  
• February 24, 2010
  West Palm Beach bans new pain clinics for 1 year; working on rules to regulate existing ‘pill mills’
  

  Following the county’s lead, West Palm Beach commissioners passed a moratorium on new pain clinics at second reading Monday, making the one-year ban official.
  The commission didn’t even debate the topic, passing the ban unanimously. Commissioner Kimberly Mitchell, who said she has a family member addicted to pain medication, later called it a no-brainer.
  “Those clinics are bad news,” said Mitchell, who hopes that authorities will continue to target existing pain clinics that aren’t affected by the moratorium. “I would love to see more undercover agents going after this legitimate form of drug dealing.”

  
  

  Tagged with: Legislation, Pain Management, State & Local

  
  
• February 24, 2010
  Illegal prescription-drug trade now epidemic
  

  Ohio pharmacists filled 2.7 million prescriptions in 2008 for high-powered painkillers such as OxyContin and Percocet, narcotics that contain oxycodone; that’s nearly one for every four people in the state.
  They also filled 4.8 million prescriptions for hydrocodone medications such as Vicodin, one for every 2 1/2 people in the state.
  And county sheriffs say their jails are full of people who illegally sold or abused those drugs, underscoring what’s quickly regaining attention as a national epidemic.

  
  

  Tagged with: Drug Enforcement, State & Local, Substance Abuse

  
  
• February 24, 2010
  Mother organizes drug forum to ‘fight back’ after three teen deaths
  

  After three Lake Zurich High School alumni died of heroin overdoses in the past 14 months, Lake Zurich mom Michelle Hines organized a forum about drug use in the community.
  Hines, who facilitates Willow Creek Community Church’s Christian 12-Step Program, said the stories are so heartbreaking that she feels an urgent need to educate people about the dangerous drug that’s become trendy in the suburbs.
  “When I found out about all the kids dying, I thought, ‘Enough already.’ Someone’s got to do something. We’ve got to fight back,” Hines said. “Heroin is in our town and kids are dying. If parents don’t know it’s here, then they can’t educate their kids. We’re doing the best we can to let them know.”

  
  

  Tagged with: State & Local, Substance Abuse