One Aspect of the Opioid Crisis is a No-Brainer…  Participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Saturday, October 27, 2018 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Despite the increased focus on opioid abuse, particularly here in Pennsylvania, one long-overlooked aspect of prescription drug therapy is that relatively few individuals taking prescription drugs ever […]
The effective monitoring and accurate reporting of key drug program metrics like drug spend, network utilization and third-party billing depends on numerous factors, but it begins with accurate bill coding. The ability of the payor – working cooperatively with their PBM – to determine when drugs have been inappropriately coded or charged during the billing […]
When it comes to pain management, you might find it surprising to learn that relatively few medication choices exist for the practitioner. For severe pain, the first class of drugs prescribed is usually opioid analgesics. But with the national opioid crisis, prescribers are increasingly searching for viable alternatives – which, by itself, is a good […]
Typically, the increased utilization of a brand drug – particularly an opioid – is cause for heightened awareness by workers’ compensation claims payors/adjusters. The brand opioids Belbuca® and Butrans® have been making a steady climb up the rankings on top opioid reports of late (with Butrans® cracking the top 10 among some of our customers’ […]
July 11, 2017 The FDA will begin requiring drug makers to provide and pay for training for clinicians prescribing immediate-release (IR) opioids – mirroring existing mandates for extended-release (ER) opioids. Noting that “America is simply awash in immediate release opioid products,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced new FDA initiatives targeting the opioid epidemic. At […]
Just three months after President Obama’s signing of the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act, which established multi-faceted strategies to address America’s opioid epidemic, on November 2, 2016, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed into law a bill package with a similar aim. Through various control mechanisms, the legislation focuses on limiting outpatient access to opioids and improving disposal […]
