Viewpoints: When One Pill Stops Being Enough To Keep The Misery At Bay
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
The Orange County Register:
The Subtle And Damaging Power Of Painkillers
In a near-fatal horseback riding incident in the mid-’90s, my shoulder was dislocated and my left leg was all but severed. Orthopedic surgeons reconstructed my crushed bones with titanium rods and screws, vascular surgeons stitched a new map of veins and an artery, and a plastic surgeon brought skin together into an acceptable form. … But what I have never, ever written about – until now – is the ongoing misery that led to years of dependence on Vicodin and other pain medication, and the struggle I had to get off them. (Sam Dunn, 6/6)
The Los Angeles Times:
Sorry, Conservatives: There's Still No Hard Evidence That Obamacare 'Forces' People To Be Part-Timers
I’ve found that it’s always wise to check the original paper when sites like these are echoing each other. That’s especially so when the claim that Obamacare has created a nation of part-timers has been heard so often, without evidence. You won’t be surprised to learn that the Goldman Sachs paper doesn’t say what they say it does (Michael Hiltzik, 6/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Even If You Have Health Insurance You May Want To Pay Cash
Five blood tests were performed in March at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. The hospital charged the patient’s insurer, Blue Shield of California, $408. The patient was responsible for paying $269.42. If that were all there was to this -- which it’s not -- you’d be justified in shaking your head and wondering how it could cost more than $80 apiece for blood tests. These weren’t exotic procedures. The tests were for fairly common things such as levels of vitamins D and B12 in the blood. It‘s what happened next, though, that this makes this story particularly interesting. (David Lazarus, 6/10)
Bakersfield Californian:
With The Right Skills, The Visually Impaired Can Offer So Much
Teachers of the Visually Impaired also collaborate with Orientation and Mobility specialists who teach safe white-cane travel skills at school and in the community. These are important skill which are critical to a person’s independence. This is just a short list of specific curriculum for the visually impaired call Expanded Core Curriculum. Its focus is to bridge the gaps that the vision loss has created. (Fendrick, 6/8)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Bottleneck Punishes Mental Health Patients
As a psychiatrist serving the community of Fallbrook for 30 years, I have often had to direct my patients in crisis to their nearest emergency room for lifesaving care — sometimes voluntarily, and sometimes with the assistance of local law enforcement and paramedics. Indeed, until its closure in 2014, these patients often arrived at Fallbrook Hospital, where I assisted emergency physicians as a consulting psychiatrist. (Timothy Murphy, 8/8)
The Los Angeles Times:
How To Treat A Drug-Addicted Doctor
It wasn’t until the state police and the DEA were sitting in my primary care office that I finally stopped denying that I was hopelessly addicted to prescription opiates. The DEA agent said, “Doc, cut the crap, we know you’ve been writing bad scrips.” The windows in my office didn’t open, otherwise I might have jumped out and fled. As it was, I was charged with three felony counts of fraudulent prescribing. (Peter Grinspoon, 6/5)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
California Law Says You Gotta Be 21 To Vape — You Mad?
A new California law, effective today, restricted the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes to those 21 and older, unless you're in the military. While the law targets all tobacco products, including cigarettes, the targeting of e-cigarette products like vapes and "vape juice" is getting a lot of young people riled up. (Luis Gomez 6/9)