$1.3 trillion federal appropriations bill loaded with new health care spending Last Friday, President Trump signed a massive $1.3 trillion federal spending bill—the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. It is loaded with new spending for health care programs that were supported by the California Medical Association (CMA). Unfortunately, it did not include two bills that CMA was strongly promoting – the Affordable Care Act (ACA) market stabilization bill and a permanent solution for the nearly 700,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program recipients. A brief summary of the federal spending bill is below. Bipartisan ACA Market Stabilization: CMA, the American Medical ... April 5, 2018 General Affordable Care Act, Drug Abuse, Federal Budget, Federal Legislative Advocacy, Firearms, Graduate Medical Education, Guns, Mental Health, Opioids 0 0 Comment Read More »
Free CME: Medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorders The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is offering two free training sessions on the use of medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorders. The training, “The Effective Use of Medication Assisted Treatment in an Opioid Dependent Population,” will be held in Sacramento on July 18 and repeated in Orange County on July 20. Registration is first-come, first-served. Attendance is capped at 100 participants – you must register by July 3. Physicians can receive up to 7 continuing medical education (CME) credits. To register, click on the links below: ... June 22, 2017 General Continuing Medical Education, Drug Abuse, Medical Solutions to Drug Abuse, Opioids, CME 0 0 Comment Read More »
FDA wants opioid pulled from market due to risk of abuse Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested that Endo Pharmaceuticals remove its opioid pain medication, reformulated Opana ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride), from the market. After careful consideration, the agency is concerned that the benefits of the drug may no longer outweigh its risks. This is the first time the FDA has taken steps to remove a currently marketed opioid pain medication from sale due to the public health consequences of abuse. The FDA’s decision is based on a review of all available data and follows a March 2017 ... June 21, 2017 General Food and Drug Administration, Prescription Drugs, Drug Abuse, Opioids 0 0 Comment Read More »
DHCS gets federal grant to increase access to opioid treatment in California The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has received a $90 million grant from the federal government to expand drug treatment services in California, primarily in counties and tribal communities that have higher rates of opioid-related overdose deaths. One key initiative will target those areas with an innovative approach to increase access to medications used to treat opioid addiction. DHCS will use a large portion of the grant from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to expand Californians’ access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders, ... May 22, 2017 General Drug Abuse, Medical Solutions to Drug Abuse, Opioids, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day April 29, 2017 Saturday, April 29, 2017, is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. On this day, hundreds of locations throughout California will be accepting and properly disposing of unused prescription drugs, including controlled substances. Proper disposal of unused prescription drugs helps prevent diversion and misuse associated with these medications. This one-day event will provide patients with free, anonymous collection of unwanted and expired medicines. In addition to providing a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposal, the event also aims to educate the general public about the potential for abuse of these ... April 19, 2017 General Drug Abuse, Drug Prescribing, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
No cost online buprenorphine waiver courses available Physicians must obtain a federal waiver if they wish to prescribe buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder. Across the country, many people suffering from opioid use disorder are unable to access medication-assisted treatment for their condition due to a lack of nearby physicians with waivers to prescribe buprenorphine. California is no different. In 2013, there were only 1,460 waivered physicians actively prescribing buprenorphine in California, which amounts to approximately 3.9 physicians per 100,000 people, particularly impacting rural and underserved areas in the state. To help physicians obtain waivers, the American ... September 22, 2016 General Opioids, Drug Abuse, Medical Solutions to Drug Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
Surgeon General enlists nation's physicians to help end opioid abuse The U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, M.D., has asked the nation’s physicians to pledge their commitment to solving a health crisis facing America—opioid misuse, abuse and overdose. “We will educate ourselves to treat pain safely and effectively,” Dr. Murthy said in a letter to physicians. “We will screen our patients for opioid use disorder and provide or connect them with evidence based treatment…We can shape how the rest of the country sees addiction by talking about and treating it as a chronic illness, not a moral failing.” In the letter, Dr. ... September 12, 2016 General Drug Prescribing, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Drug Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
Opioid bill passes in Congress, but remains unfunded Congress broke a months-long stalemate this past week with the Senate’s passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which authorizes the federal government to award state grants for opioid-related initiatives around education, prevention, treatment and recovery efforts. However, the efforts will not be fully realized until there are resources applied to fund the bill. The legislation authorizes, but doesn't appropriate funding, for programs to combat opioid misuse, in addition to increasing the availability of naloxone, a drug to treat overdoses. The medical community and the American Medical Association (AMA) ... July 18, 2016 General Drug Prescribing, Federal Legislation, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Drug Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
Opioids: CMA publishes safe prescribing resources for physicians The California Medical Association (CMA) has published a members-only resource page to provide physicians with the most current information and resources on prescribing controlled substances safely and effectively to relieve pain, while simultaneously reducing the risk of prescription medication misuse, addiction and overdose. The page includes both of CMA’s white papers on prescribing opioids, links to CMA’s health law library resources on the topic, the Medical Board of California’s "Guidelines on Prescribing Controlled Substances for Pain," a listing of continuing medical education courses and webinars on pain management and safe ... June 8, 2016 General Drug Prescribing, Opioids, CURES, Drug Abuse, PDMP, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
Senate passes opioid addiction treatment measure Last month, the U.S. Senate voted 94-1 to fund opioid education and prevention initiatives, improve treatment programs and expand the availability of the overdose prevention drug naloxone. The bill, known as the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA; S 524), would increase opioid abuse and prevention education efforts to the public, veterans, and incarcerated individuals; expand the availability of naloxone; identify and treat incarcerated individuals (as well as develop alternatives to incarceration); expand drug take-back efforts and disposal sites for unwanted medications; and create prescription opioid and heroin treatment intervention ... April 4, 2016 General Federal Legislation, Medical Solutions to Drug Abuse, Opioids, Drug Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
