In the absence of a national PDMP system, people are able to cross state lines to try to get prescription drugs via doctor-shopping or visiting pill mills. That’s why Kentucky, which has a model PDMP, is joining forces with bordering states Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia to create the Interstate Prescription Drug Task Force. “Our ultimate goal is for a provider to be able … [Read more...] about Kentucky Heads up Interstate Prescription Drug Task Force
2011
People on Methadone Can Succeed on Hepatitis C Treatment
Opiate users on methadone maintenance therapy can be successfully treated for chronic hepatitis C and can achieve outcomes similar to those of people not on methadone, according to data presented at the 13th European AIDS Conference in Belgrade. Shared use of injection drug equipment is a major risk factor for both HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection; an estimated 30% of … [Read more...] about People on Methadone Can Succeed on Hepatitis C Treatment
U.S. Drug Strategy Focuses on Prescription Drug Abuse
The federal government has proposed a 19-percent increase in funding for domestic prevention, treatment, and enforcement dealing with the abuse of drugs, including prescription drug misuse. The increased availability of pain medications and the misconception they are safer than illicit drugs, even if taken improperly, have led to a dramatic rise in prescription drug abuse, … [Read more...] about U.S. Drug Strategy Focuses on Prescription Drug Abuse
Florida Pill-Mill Crackdown Increases the Need for OTPs
The 2011 national drug strategy singled out South Florida as the epicenter of the Nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic, due to a tremendous growth in “pill mills.” Between January and June of 2010, Florida practitioners purchased more than 40 million oxycodone pills, compared with only 4.5 million bought by practitioners in the rest of the country (see chart below). When … [Read more...] about Florida Pill-Mill Crackdown Increases the Need for OTPs
Why Primary Care Doctors Are Walking Away From Buprenorphine
Primary care physicians in Vermont are walking away from prescribing Suboxone, saying that they are ill-equipped to treat the many problems of the opioid-addicted, the Burlington Free Press reported this fall. One physician, John Matthews, MD, with the Health Center in Plainfield, summed it up by saying the eight-hour course required by the federal government to be listed as a … [Read more...] about Why Primary Care Doctors Are Walking Away From Buprenorphine