Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New York’s E-Prescribing Law Takes Effect This Month
Mar 21 2016 // The scribbled, cryptic doctor’s prescription is headed toward eradication in New York, where the nation’s toughest paperless-prescribing requirement takes effect this month. Instead of handing patients slips of...
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Start Debating Medical Marijuana Bill
Mar 17 2016 // The Pennsylvania House of Representatives took up a proposal this week to permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes, a potential breakthrough for supporters who have worked for several years to get legalization...
AIA Applauds Mass. Gov. Baker’s Signing of Opioid Abuse Legislation
Mar 16 2016 // The American Insurance Association (AIA) lauded Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker for signing comprehensive opioid abuse legislation (H 4046) Monday. Opioids are synthetic versions of opium-derived drugs, many of which were...
CDC Issues Opioid Prescription Guideline for Primary Care Doctors
Mar 16 2016 // The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new recommendations for prescribing opioid medications for chronic pain. The “CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, United States,...
Marijuana Legalization Proposal Draws Support, Opposition in Mass.
Mar 9 2016 // Supporters and foes of legalizing marijuana gathered at the Massachusetts Statehouse on Monday to weigh in on a proposal that would allow the recreational use and possession of marijuana up to an ounce for those 21 and...
Report: Most California Workers’ Comp Medical Review Decisions Upheld
Mar 7 2016 // An examination of California workers’ compensation independent medical review decisions shows roughly nine-in-10 of disputed medical service requests reviewed by an IMR physician agree with the utilization review...
N.H. Insurance Department Revamps Health Care Cost Comparison Site
Mar 4 2016 // New Hampshire consumers can now compare prices on dental care and prescription drugs in addition to medical procedures through a state government website designed to help them save money on health care costs. The New...
North Carolina Sees Dramatic Increase in Fatal Drug Overdoses
Mar 1 2016 // Officials say fatal drug overdoses in North Carolina have jumped from 2002 to 2014. The Charlotte Observer reports federal data shows that overdoses killed as many as 16 people per 100,000 residents in the state in 2014...
Maryland’s Carroll County to Pilot State Changes to Drug Treatment Funding
Feb 23 2016 // Carroll County, Maryland, is poised to serve as a model for treating substance abuse across the state. The Carroll County Health Department plans to address changes to state funding of outpatient substance abuse services,...
Report: Most California Workers’ Comp Medical Review Decisions Upheld
Feb 18 2016 // An examination of California workers’ compensation independent medical review decisions shows roughly nine-in-10 of disputed medical service requests reviewed by an IMR physician agree with the utilization review...
U.S. Victims of Mexican Drug Gangs Sue HSBC Bank Under Anti-Terrorism Act
Feb 10 2016 // Families of U.S. citizens murdered by drug gangs in Mexico sued HSBC Holdings Plc, claiming the bank can be held responsible for the deaths because it let cartels launder billions of dollars to operate their...
Drug Price Transparency Bill Stalls in Virginia General Assembly
Feb 9 2016 // Legislation to make drug makers reveal how much they spend marketing high-priced drugs has stalled in the Virginia General Assembly, at least for this year. Virginia state senators said the bill wasn’t ready for...
North Carolina Explores Drug Formulary Option for Workers’ Comp Claims
Feb 8 2016 // In 2015, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized and funded a study regarding prescription drug formularies in workers’ compensation claims brought by state employees. While this statute does not create a...
West Virginia Sues Prescription Drug Wholesaler for ‘Flooding’ State
Jan 25 2016 // West Virginia’s attorney general has accused one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical drug wholesalers of flooding the state with tens of millions of prescription pills in violation of state law. Attorney...
Insurance to Offset Merck’s $830M Settlement with Investors Over Vioxx
Jan 19 2016 // More than 11 years after pulling its Vioxx painkiller from the market, Merck & Co. agreed to pay another $830 million to settle litigation, raising its total payouts in lawsuits and government investigations to more...
Connecticut Cops Consider ‘Angel’ Program to Combat Heroin Scourge
Jan 15 2016 // A growing chorus of law enforcement leaders, drug addiction experts and parents of addicts say arresting and jailing heroin users will not stem the surge in deaths and overdoses. “We realize we’re not going to...
Bial-Portela Drug Trial Halted When 6 Are Hospitalized; One Person Is Brain Dead
Jan 15 2016 // Clinical testing on an experimental drug from Bial-Portela & Ca. SA, a closely held Portuguese company, led to six patients being hospitalized in France including one person who was put on life support and diagnosed as...
Massachusetts House OKs Drug Offender Driver’s License Bill
Jan 11 2016 // The Massachusetts House signed off on a measure last week that would end the state’s longstanding policy of automatically suspending for up to five years the driver’s licenses of people convicted of drug...
West Virginia Sues Prescription Drug Wholesaler For ‘Flooding’ State
Jan 11 2016 // West Virginia’s attorney general has accused one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical drug wholesalers of flooding the state with tens of millions of prescription pills in violation of state law. Attorney...
South Carolina Prescription Drug Database Mandate to Take Effect April 1
Jan 7 2016 // Most doctors in South Carolina will soon be required to consult a statewide database of patients’ medical history as a way to combat the state’s rampant prescription painkiller problem. The changes will direct...
