Treating patients with rheumatic disease for their addictions will also encourage patients to address their overall health conditions, resulting in better medical adherence…
Chronic Opioid Use in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Prevalence & Predictors
Over the past decade, physicians, patients and policy makers have expressed increasing concern about the high frequency of opioids being prescribed and the association between opioid use and poor outcomes. Rates of opioid prescriptions in the general population rose considerably from the 1990s through 2010, with a plateau in the early 2010s. In 2015, 38%…
FDA Expands Safety Measures for Immediate Release Opioids
The FDA has expanded the new Opioid Analgesic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) to include immediate release opioids. The program, which also includes extended release and long acting opioids, will provide education to prescribers and healthcare professionals…
Opioids No Better Than NSAIDs for Chronic Back or Arthritis Pain
(Reuters Health)—Acetaminophen, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are better than opioids at easing the intensity of chronic pain in the back, knees or hips, a U.S. experiment suggests. And opioids are no better than these other drugs at reducing how much pain interferes with daily activities, such as walking, working, sleeping or enjoying…
What’s Driving the Pain? Alternative Approaches to Pain Management
Patients can experience many different types of pain, and some patients with chronic pain may believe that only opioids will help them. According to Kelly Weselman, MD, the best way to begin managing pain is to determine its root cause and communicate with the patient about the best approach(es) for decreasing their specific pain…
U.S. Lets More Healthcare Workers Prescribe Opioid Addiction Treatment
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said on Tuesday it had changed a regulation to allow more healthcare professionals to prescribe a medication used to treat opioid addiction, opening up access in rural America where there are few doctors.1 Prior to 2000, only physicians could treat those with opioid addiction and had to register with…
Delaware Sues Opioid Manufacturers, Distributors Over Epidemic
(Reuters)—Delaware on Friday became the latest state to file a lawsuit accusing corporations of helping fuel the national opioid epidemic, suing a wide range of companies involved in making, distributing and selling prescription painkillers.1 The lawsuit, filed by Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn in a state court, targeted drugmakers Purdue Pharma LP and Endo International…
Opioid Painkiller Prescriptions May Run in Families
(Reuters Health)—When one person in a household gets prescribed opioids, the other people who live with them are more likely to get their own prescriptions for these narcotic painkillers, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined data on about 12.6 million people living in a household where someone was prescribed opioids and 6.4 million individuals in…
Trump Administration Proposes Medicare Rules Aimed at Opioids, Drug Costs
(Reuters)—The Trump administration on Thursday proposed changes to Medicare drug plans including limits on opioid prescriptions and rules aimed at reducing drug costs for seniors, such as requiring health insurers to pass on discounts to consumers. To help combat overprescription and abuse of addictive painkillers, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said…
Kentucky Accuses Endo of Contributing to Opioid Epidemic
(Reuters)—Kentucky accused units of Endo International Plc. on Monday of contributing to drug overdoses by deceptively marketing its painkiller Opana ER, in the latest lawsuit by state or local governments against the drugmaker amid an opioid epidemic. Kentucky Attorney General Steve Beshear said the lawsuit would seek to hold Endo responsible for illegally building a…
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