http://www.dailyfinance.com/2015/03/31/new-york-doctors-free-shoes-defraud-medicaid/
Day: 03/31/2015
Went To The Skate Park Yesterday
My first attempt at photographing people, and people who are moving, at that. It was about 85 degrees yesterday — we went from spring to summer in the blink of an eye.
Florida’s pill mill crackdown makes getting meds difficult for ‘legitimate pain’ patients
http://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=9913
Since Florida implemented new regulations to stamp out abuse, pharmacists have refused to fill some of Knighton’s pain prescriptions. As a result, he says he can’t get all of the medication he needs to manage his pain.
“I’ve been made to feel like a drug addict — like I am on trial,” said Knighton, 54, who has a rare spinal condition called syringomyelia. “The war on drugs has become the war on the disabled.”
At Accardi’s practice, chronic pain patients must submit to a half hour interview and a criminal background check to verify they won’t abuse the drugs. Only 1-in-10 is approved, Accardi said…
“They are trying to be functional, and if you take away the tools to stay functional, it can really impact them a lot,” Sharma said. “Their stress and depression rises when they lose their functional level.”
But these enforcement actions and new regulations also carried unintended consequences, said Michael A. Jackson, executive vice president and CEO of the Florida Pharmacy Association. Pharmacies and physicians are sometimes scared to provide pain medication to people who legitimately need it, including terminally ill cancer patients, he said…
One time his pharmacy was flagged by a wholesaler because it ordered more drugs in advance of a price increase, he said. Because of the limited supply, he’s not accepting any new chronic pain patients, despite the pharmacy getting 15 to 20 calls a day from people inquiring about the availability of painkillers…
State Attorney General Pam Bondi also defends the state regulations. “The legislation we supported didn’t have any impact on any doctor writing a prescription or a pharmacist filling a prescription,” said Whitney Ray, a spokesman for the attorney general…
If Attorney General Bondi really thinks the legislation wouldn’t have any impact on doctors or pharmacists, then she’s just plain dumb.
This is what happens when doctors abandon patients
http://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=9929
Fueled by an addiction to prescription painkillers, Lowry abused heroin from his own drug investigations and in the process botched dozens of cases involving suspected drug traffickers in multiple states, according to details that emerged on Friday, March 20.
The accusations against Lowry, 33, caused federal prosecutors to dismiss charges against at least 28 defendants in drug cases and notify 150 more that Lowry had participated in investigations targeting them, according to charging documents…
Attorney Robert Bonsib said in a statement that in each of 20 incidents involving evidence tampering, Lowry removed small amounts of heroin from evidence packages to self-medicate a long-standing health issue known as ulcerative colitis.
One of Lowry’s doctors had prescribed him powerful pain medications without warning him of how addictive they were, Bonsib said. When his doctor left the practice without notice, Lowry tried to kick the addiction but it was “overpowering” and the pain from his medical condition was “unbearable,” Bonsib said…
Attorney Bonsib said the investigation into Lowry began after he was found unconscious in his unmarked FBI vehicle on Sept. 29 after overdosing on heroin…
Chronic Fatigue ‘Brain Fog’ Clues in Spinal Fluid
TUESDAY, March 31, 2015 (HealthDay News) — People with chronic fatigue syndrome show a distinct pattern of immune system proteins in their spinal fluid — a finding that could shed light on the “brain fog” that marks the condition, researchers say…
The term “chronic fatigue syndrome” was coined back in 1988, and in hindsight, it was a “lousy” choice, said Suzanne Vernon, a virologist and scientific director of the Solve ME/CFS Initiative, based in Los Angeles…
Kentucky’s New Heroin Law Marks A ‘Culture Shift’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/25/kentucky-heroin-epidemic_n_6941568.html
The state will now allow local health departments to set up needle exchanges and increase the number of people who can carry naloxone, the drug that paramedics use to save a person suffering an opioid overdose. Addicts who survive an overdose will no longer be charged with a crime after being revived. Instead, they will be connected to treatment services and community mental health workers.
At a Wednesday morning press conference before he signed the bill into law, Gov. Steve Beshear (D) said the legislation sent a simple message to addicts across Kentucky: “We’re coming to help you. Work with us. Help us to help you to get on the road to recovery.” …
Jackson County (Kansas) urging owners to register ‘dangerous’ dogs
http://ksnt.com/2015/03/31/jackson-county-urging-owners-to-register-dangerous-dogs/
JACKSON COUNTY (KSNT)- The clock is ticking for Jackson County residents who own pit bulls to get them registered with the county.
After being banned for more than 20 years, that breed, and other so-called dangerous breeds are now legal, “If you did own a pit bull, you had to have a $50,000 insurance policy, and so basically all in all it was illegal to have pit bulls, Tim Morse Jackson County Sheriff said.
Even with those restrictions in place, it didn’t stop dog owners from sneaking them in, “We knew that we had pit bulls in the county, and it’s a violation and it’s been a violation since 1989,” Rod Ladner, Jackson County Commissioner said…
Now owners of pit bulls, or hybrids of them, are expected to have their dog registered with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office by April 1st, and pay an annual $25 fee to the department…
In Kansas, you have to register your pit bull, but not your gun.
Latest email scam (LA Times)
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Yes, the Los Angeles Times’ website is at http://www.latimes.com, but have you ever heard of e.latimes.com? Google sure hasn’t. Don’t click on anything in this email, even to unsubscribe.
‘Ánimo Sin Fronteras’ New mural by El Mac in El Paso
“Spirit Without Borders”
The mural was painted using spray paint and fatcapsIt’s and it’s based on photos the artist shot back in 2012 of a man named Melchor Flores whose son was picked up and disappeared by police in Nuevo León in 2009. Since then Flores has been fighting to get answers and justice for his son…
These Are 20 Of The World’s Best Photos Taken With Cell Phones
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/31/sony-world-photography-awards_n_6976552.html
The seventh photograph is my favorite… The wisdom in a child’s eyes.
All Things Chronic 