Posts Tagged 'prescription abuse'

Insys Therapeutics Allegedly Used Illegal Sales Tactics for Its Name-brand Fentanyl

Illegal tactics may have been used in fentanyl marketingThey are some of the strongest painkillers available and were developed for use in only the most extreme of circumstances, yet opioids are prescribed at an alarming rate in the United States. Their use – and misuse – represents a major and growing safety concern and has led many medical professionals to refer to the situation surrounding opioids as an “epidemic” of abuse. The use of such ...

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As Over-Prescription Concerns Grow, Doctors Explore Opioid Alternatives

alternative medicines getting attention in wake of opioid abuse epidemicIn many cases, when a patient comes into the emergency room with acute, severe pain, a doctor’s first instinct is to reach for an opioid pain reliever. Powerful and fast acting, they are widely regarded as an instant pain management win.

Unfortunately, they are also highly addictive. And, as the number of people killed by prescription painkiller overdoses every year inches closer to 20,000, doctors are finally ...

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West Virginia Attorney General Sues Over Prescription Drug Orders

mckesson sued for flooding west virginia with painkillersThe numbers just didn’t add up. For a state with 1.85 million residents, the number of prescription painkillers coming into West Virginia pharmacies was ridiculously high. It wasn’t “maybe a few extra boxes got shipped that shouldn’t have been shipped” high. Rather, it was “there might actually be something criminal going on here” high.

Between 2007 and 2012, McKesson – the largest prescription drug distributor in the United States ...

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Prescription Opioids to Receive Enhanced Warnings

fda moves to implement black box warnings on opioidsA recent piece of news posted to Time’s website sings the praises of recent FDA action to impose stronger labels on incredibly powerful narcotic painkillers like OxyContin. The technical name for these drugs is opioids and they have dominated medical news in recent months.

Most medical professionals in the United States will not hesitate to call the state of prescription opioid abuse in this country an ...

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West Virginia Senator Questions Independence of FDA

FDA independence questioned in OxyContin approvalA growing body of evidence seems to suggest that the FDA; the regulatory agency in charge of ensuring that the foods and drugs we ingest will not harm us, may not be as independent as the public may assume them to be.

One of the largest and most publicly visible hits to the agency’s credibility occurred earlier this year when the FDA issued a draft guidance which cleared the way for drug ...

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Congress to Look Into Veterans Affairs Whistleblower Reports

congress to look into prescription abuses at Veterans AffairsA Congressional field hearing is scheduled to take place on March 30 to look into whistleblower claims of prescription drug abuse at a Veterans Affairs medical center in Tomah, WI. The whistleblower report, which was at first hidden by the VA Inspector General, reveals a high rate of prescriptions for high-dose opiates like morphine. Several deaths are also under investigation at the medical center.

A clinical review ...

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