Latest California Healthline Stories
Doctors Make Big Money Testing Urine For Drugs, Then Ignore Abnormal Results
Medicare and insurers struggle to oversee a booming business in testing urine samples. In some cases, pain doctors’ lack of follow-through can turn fatal.
Podcast: ‘What The Health?’ Meanwhile, In Other Health News…
In this episode of “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Sarah Jane Tribble of Kaiser Health News discuss some of the under-covered health stories of the past several weeks, including drug price issues, the opioid epidemic and women’s reproductive health.
Receta para un dolor de rodilla: 90 píldoras de Percocet
Porque el sistema computarizado así lo indica, o por comodidad del médico, pacientes reciben pastillas extra de poderosos opioides.
Doctor’s Rx For A Stiff Knee: A Prescription For 90 Percocet Pills
Following minor surgery, KHN’s consumer columnist sees how easily doctors offer pain pills, fueling epidemic of opioid addiction.
Liquid Gold: Pain Doctors Soak Up Profits By Screening Urine For Drugs
With the nation’s opioid crisis, urine testing has become a booming business and is especially lucrative for doctors who operate their own labs, a Kaiser Health News investigation finds. And dozens of practitioners have earned ‘the lion’s share’ of their Medicare income exclusively from urine drug screens.
Taking A Page From Pharma’s Playbook To Fight The Opioid Crisis
Doctors and pharmacists in Northern California are emulating drug company sales reps with a fresh purpose in mind: They visit medical offices in the hardest-hit counties to change their peers’ prescribing habits and curtail the use of painkillers.
Podcast: ‘What The Health?’ How Confused Are We?
In this episode of “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post discuss the start of open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act, legislative efforts on Capitol Hill on taxes and children’s health insurance, and recommendations of the president’s opioid commission.
Dying At Home In An Opioid Crisis: Hospices Grapple With Stolen Meds
As more patients receive hospice care at home, some of the powerful, addictive drugs they’re prescribed are ending up in the wrong hands.
One Force Lacking In Fight Against Opioid Addiction In Rural California: Doctors
Many physicians lack the inclination and training to prescribe medications to assist in treatment. State officials hope a $90 million federal grant will help change this.
Trump’s Surgeon General Pick Built Name Fighting HIV And Opioids In Indiana
Dr. Jerome Adams is the health commissioner in Indiana, the home state of Vice President Mike Pence.