Latest California Healthline Stories
Misuse of Prescription Painkillers Becoming More Widespread Among Young Californians
Tom Lenox of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Michael Plopper of Sharp HealthCare Behavioral Health Services, Sherrie Rubin of the not-for-profit organization HOPE and Robert Wailes of the California Medical Association’s board of trustees spoke with California Healthline about prescription drug misuse.
Fresno County Projects Address Teen Drug Abuse
Teenage prescription drug abuse, considered a serious problem statewide, is the focus of Fresno County projects aimed at helping parents lock up, clean out and safely drop off unused narcotics.
Legislation Aims To Cut Wait for Prescription Drugs
New legislation designed to make the paper trail for prescription drug authorization simpler and shorter is awaiting signature by Gov. Jerry Brown (D).
While it is expected to have little effect on regular issuance of prescriptions, it likely will speed up the process for patients whose doctors prescribe other specialized medicines that are not covered by a health plan’s formulary.
These include brand-name medicines with generic alternatives, expensive medications, drugs not usually covered but deemed medically necessary by the prescribing physician, and drugs that usually are covered but are being used at a dose higher than normal.
Authorization Delays Targeted by Senate Bill
The Senate Committee on Health approved a bill last week that would cap administrative delay at 48 hours for prescription authorization.
The reasoning is simple behind SB 866 by Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina), according to Liz Helms, chair of the California Chronic Care Coalition.
“In representing more than 16 million people with chronic conditions in California, you can imagine how many medications that these people are taking,” Helms said, “and what a barrage of prior authorizations that face them when they’re trying to get their medication in a timely manner.”
Cal eConnect Set to Absorb CaleRx Consortium
The proposed marshalling of e-forces between Cal eConnect and the CaleRx Consortium has moved forward, and after yesterday’s meeting of Cal eConnect’s advisory group, it looks even more likely that some kind of merger will take place.
“E-prescribing is one of the high priorities for us,” Mark Elson of Cal eConnect said. “We’ve been in discussion with the California E-Prescribing Consortium about consolidating our activities in e-prescribing, and that discussion has been positive. We are now in a position to basically adopt the E-Prescribing Consortium into Cal eConnect.”
Elson said it will soon be presented to the eConnect board, though probably not in time for its next board meeting on Friday. CaleRx members meet on Tuesday.
What About Docs’ Side of Drug Kickbacks?
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones’ pursuit of a whistle-blower lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb, which allegedly offered kickbacks to physicians to increase its drug sales in California, raises a related question: What about all those physicians — 15,000 gifts have been reported between 1999 and 2005 — who took the bait?
That bait includes sports tickets, expensive meals, all-expense paid trips and honoraria for speakers who sometimes didn’t even show up.
While a code of conduct for physicians is not written in stone, the American Medical Association’s policies usually hold weight with its members. In essence, AMA’s guidelines say that individual gifts of minimal value are permissible as long as the gifts are related to the physician’s work. We’re talking pens and notepads. No gifts should be accepted if there are strings attached, according to AMA. In other words, don’t accept gifts in return for prescribing a manufacturer’s drugs.
L.A.-Area Pharmacists Hope To Write Reform Prescription
Los Angeles-area pharmacists and pharmacy schools struggle with the disparate pressures of a contracting, recession-hampered industry that also faces significant growth as a result of health care reform.
Inland Empire Hospitals Work Around Drug Shortages
Inland Empire hospitals have devised new strategies to deal with drug shortages that have resulted in higher fees for some medications, additional staff time and, at one hospital, delays in elective surgeries.
Alternative Providers Could Help Bridge Gap in Primary Care
Physician assistants and nurse practitioners could help California deal with the dramatic rise in primary care patients expected when federal health care reform kicks in. A new bill in the state Senate outlines greater PA responsibilities and reflects increasing reliance on “alternative” providers.
Congress Returns To Work on Reform With Deadlines Looming
President Obama has said he wants to sign health care reform legislation by October. Looking at the calendar, that means Congress has a lot of work to do in the weeks before it adjourns for its August recess, especially on divisive issues like how to pay for reform and whether to include a public plan.