There are barriers to prescribers’ use of prescription monitoring programs (PMPs), according to researchers from the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT). In a June 21 New England Journal of Medicine Perspective article, Jeanmarie Perrone, MD, and Lewis Nelson, MD, found that PMPs, with some simple improvements, could be much more useful to physicians. The most … [Read more...] about PMPs Need to be More ‘User-Friendly’ for Physicians, Study Finds
2012
Federal Government Tests New PDMP Projects in Indiana and Ohio
A new pilot program launched by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will make prescription drug data available to prescribers and pharmacists in both ambulatory and emergency departments in Indiana and Ohio. The pilot projects, which will be run by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), will measure how expanding … [Read more...] about Federal Government Tests New PDMP Projects in Indiana and Ohio
Study Finds Methadone Take-homes Reduce Acute Care Hospitalizations
It’s been known that among patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) for opioid dependence, take-home privileges and methadone doses of at least 80 mg/day are associated with better treatment outcomes. But what hasn’t been known is whether patients with take-homes also have fewer acute care admissions, and consequently lower health care costs, or whether they … [Read more...] about Study Finds Methadone Take-homes Reduce Acute Care Hospitalizations
Injecting Someone Who ODs Called a Homicide in Maryland
There’s a difference between a drug overdose and a homicide, even if the drug was heroin and the person who died was injected by a friend. At least, that is the view of Maryland’s chief medical examiner, David R. Fowler, MD, as reported in The Baltimore Sun this spring. But now, Dr. Fowler has done just that: declared a homicide in which a person was injected by someone—a … [Read more...] about Injecting Someone Who ODs Called a Homicide in Maryland
Maine Plans to Cut OTP Rate, Limit Treatment to Two Years
Included in the massive cuts being proposed for MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program, are a rate cut from $72 a week to $60 a week per patient in an opioid treatment program (OTP), and a plan to limit medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with methadone or buprenorphine to two years. The plan has the united support of Gov. Paul LePage, Department of Health and Human Services … [Read more...] about Maine Plans to Cut OTP Rate, Limit Treatment to Two Years