Category Archives: Prescriptions

MALIBU, CA (KNBC/NBC) More celebrity rehab clients are abusing strong prescription drugs, according to the owner of a clinic. The Malibu Recovery Center is a rehab clinic for the rich and famous. Owner Joan Borsten said 60 percent of those looking for help are hooked on prescription meds. It is not only anti-anxiety medicine like Xanax of Klonopin, Borsten said. Some are addicted to heavy-hitters like phentonol, which is designed for terminally-ill patients. One of Borsten's clients knew exactly how many milligrams her doctor should prescribe to keep her high. The musicians and singers getting help told her that because their supplier was a doctor they had a false sense of security. Many blamed their doctors for not telling them about pill addition and not spotting the symptoms in time. Rehabilitation is possible for prescription meds. Borsten said it usually takes 60 days of hard detox because pills have a longer half-life than many street drugs. Copyright 2012 KNBC via NBC. All rights reserved. See original here: More celebs hooked on prescriptions … Continue reading →

The Commonwealth of Kentucky signs an agreement to share and receive prescription drug dispensing data with at least 20 other states, which will help the state monitor prescription drug abuse, Governor Steve Beshear announced today. The Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting (KASPER) program has joined the National Association of Boards of Pharmacys Prescription Monitoring Program InterConnect (PMP InterConnect), which facilitates the transfer of information to authorized users in other states. Specifically, the PMP InterConnect links participating programs to provide a more effective means of combating drug diversion and drug abuse nationwide. The blight of prescription drug abuse is tearing our families and communities apart, and we must use every tool available to attack this deadly scourge on our state, said Gov. Beshear. One of our key strategies is sharing information with surrounding states, so that we can not only cut off access to abusers, but also identify the problem prescribers. KASPER is currently administered through the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS). Twenty states have already agreed to participate in the Interconnect program, and more are in discussions with program administrators. Read more from the original source: Agreement To Help Monitor Kentucky Prescriptions … Continue reading →

CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ZOLL Medical Corporation (NASDAQ GS: ZOLL), a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that more than 60,000 patients at high risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) have been prescribed the LifeVestWearable Defibrillator. The LifeVest is worn by patients at risk for SCA, providing protection during their changing condition and while permanent SCA risk has not been established. The LifeVest allows a patients physician time to assess his or her long-term arrhythmic risk and make appropriate plans. The LifeVest is lightweight and easy to wear, allowing patients to return to their activities of daily living, while having the peace of mind that they are protected from SCA. The LifeVest continuously monitors the patients heart and, if a life-threatening heart rhythm is detected, the device delivers a treatment shock to restore normal heart rhythm. The fact that over 60,000 patients have been prescribed the LifeVest by their physicians demonstrates the ever increasing adoption of this therapy as part of the treatment protocol to protect patients at risk of SCA, said Richard A. Packer, Chief Executive Office of ZOLL. The powerful result of partnering with physicians to protect so many patients from SCA is that the … Continue reading →

THE rights and responsibilities of pharmacists in Washington state are headed to a higher court in a case that cries out for more clear-headed thinking. The state attorney general's office is appealing a federal ruling that says the state cannot force pharmacies to sell Plan B or other emergency contraceptives. U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton ruled, in essence, pharmacists' personal views surpass patients' rights to timely medication. A few state pharmacy board rules are in play: One says that when the pharmacy has a medicine in stock, the pharmacy has to deliver it; a second says pharmacies must stock medicines in demand; a third says a pharmacist can decline to dispense a medication, but the pharmacy has to make other accommodations to fill the prescription. Some pharmacists argued that they did not have to offer emergency contraceptives because of religious reasons. Gov. Chris Gregoire supports the appeal. The case now goes to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where it belongs. There are several exceptions to the rules. A pharmacist can refuse to fill a potentially fraudulent prescription, or to dispense a drug on shelves past its pull date or one with worrisome contraindications. Plaintiffs argued that those exceptions … Continue reading →

From City of Knoxville: If you have old or unwanted prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines or used mercury thermometers, you can safely dispose of them this Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at two Knoxville Walgreens stores. Members of the Knoxville Medication Collection Program will be on hand during those hours on Saturday, March 24, at the Walgreens located at 7400 Chapman Highway and the Walgreens located at 5320 Clinton Highway. They will collect and properly dispose of the unwanted medicines and thermometers. The empty plastic containers for the medicines will be recycled if left with the event organizers. A free digital thermometer will be given in exchange for every mercury thermometer turned in while supplies last. The event is sponsored by the Knoxville Police Department, City and County Solid Waste Offices, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, UT Academy of Student Pharmacists, Hallsdale-Powell Utility District, the Metropolitan Drug Commission, United Healthcare, KUB, WBIR, Walgreens and the Knox County Health Department. At all other times, unwanted medicines can be brought for safe disposal to the Knoxville Police Department Safety Building at 800 Howard Baker Jr. Ave. Members of the Knoxville Medication Collection Program will be on hand during those hours on … Continue reading →

By Sam Favate In what is shaping up to be the latest chapter in the womens rights movement, female legislators across the country are introducing bills to regulate mens health, in an effort to combat several anti-abortion and anti-contraception laws that have been popping up with increasing regularity. In Ohio, Nina Turner, a Democrat, introduced a bill that would limit a mans ability to get a Viagra prescription without meeting certain conditions, including psychological counseling and written information from doctors about the potential risks. Turner said shes been outraged by bills and amendments over the last few years that impact a womans right to contraception and to an abortion, according to the Huffington Post. Turner also cautions that her bill shouldnt be seen as a joke: Im just as serious as a heart attack, she said. Last month in Oklahoma, State Senator Constance Johnson, a Democrat, introduced an amendment to the so-called personhood bill that would declare it an act against unborn children to waste sperm. In Illinois, Rep. Kelly Cassidy introduced an amendment to a mandatory ultrasound bill that would require men to watch a graphic video about the side effects of Viagra before being able to get a … Continue reading →

carys mills Globe and Mail Update Published Monday, Mar. 12, 2012 4:46PM EDT Last updated Monday, Mar. 12, 2012 4:50PM EDT Patients who are prescribed opioids within a week of minor surgery are at risk of becoming chronic users, according to a Canadian study published Monday. Researchers say tailored post-operative plans are needed to make sure patients arent being given painkillers that they dont need or ones that are too strong. Some 391,139 Ontario patients were studied by researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and St. Michaels Hospital. All were 66 or older and had low-pain operations, such as for cataracts, gallbladder removal, prostate tissue removal or varicose vein stripping. Within a week of surgery, 7 per cent were given opioids, including codeine and oxycodone the generic name for OxyContin according to the study. One year later, more than 10 per cent of them were continuing to use the medications. We think part of the reasoning behind these things occurring is because there are standardized templates for discharge from hospital, said Chaim Bell, the senior researcher of the study, which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. [The templates] are not well tailored to some of the … Continue reading →

Posted on: 9:08 pm, March 9, 2012, by Tammy Vigil, updated on: 10:42pm, March 9, 2012 FIRESTONE, Colo. A woman in Firestone claims a Walgreens pharmacy made three medication mistakes that could have harmed her family. There are about 1.5 million medication errors every year that result in injuries. So, Kristi Warner counts herself as lucky. They messed up three times in two weeks with me, she says. Warner says it started two weeks ago, when the pharmacy didnt give her enough anti-depressant. They gave her enough to cover just one pill a day, instead of one-and-a-half pills. So I ran out. And I had to go, I had to go a week without my medication. When I go without that, I get sick, she says. Then on Friday, she says there were two mistakes. The pharmacy gave her 11-year-old son time-release Ritalin instead of the short-acting type of the drug prescribed by his doctor. It also gave her 3-year-old a more potent antibiotic than he was supposed to get. Read the original here: Weld Co. woman claims Walgreen’s pharmacy botched prescriptions … Continue reading →

Some of the most widely used prescription drugs, including those to treat cholesterol and high blood pressure, could be freely available over the counter under a new proposal being weighed by government regulators. Food and Drug Administration officials said Wednesday they are considering waiving prescription requirements for certain drugs used to treat ailments such as diabetes, asthma and migraine. Driving the move is a wave of computer technology, including touch-screen kiosks found in pharmacies, designed to help patients self-diagnose common diseases. FDA regulators told reporters that easing access to obtain certain medications could help address undertreated epidemics like diabetes, a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. Of the more than 25 million Americans with diabetes, an estimated 7 million are not diagnosed and therefore are not treated. These are discussions that need to start happening as we think about peoples health needs and how to improve access, said FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said. The over-the-counter switch is one of several FDA proposals aimed at increasing access to established drugs or speeding up approval of experimental medications. After years of high-profile drug safety cases in which the FDA restricted access to certain medications, the agency is increasingly highlighting its … Continue reading →

Grapevine is a sampling of comments and observations on a variety of timely topics submitted by readers of The Daily Times. I prefer "To have peace, prepare for peace." Usually, preparing for war leads to war. Grapevine comments suggest we "vote 'em out." I have tried to do that; however, when new politicians are voted in, they are just as greedy and likewise look out for themselves. There is no way we can know how politicians will act once they're in office. One thing I have found throughout my life is that it doesn't make much difference which party is in the majority -- we of the middle class are always taxed more and gain less. I just picked up a 90-day prescription for a strong antacid called Lansoprazole. The pharmacy said my insurance company saved me $322.19 and all I had to pay was $85.70. I assume the total cost of the drug was $407. I checked with a reputable online pharmacy and found you could buy the same drug, dose and amount for $42 --90 percent less, and 50 percent of my co-pay. This is one of the main reasons health care is so expensive. The drug companies, … Continue reading →