Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Proposed California Measure Requires Doctor Drug Tests
Jun 3 2013 // A proposed state ballot measure in California would require doctors to be randomly subjected to drug and alcohol testing, and the initiative might also seek to lift the cap on damages in medical malpractice cases. The...
Injured Workers Opioid Use on Rise in California, Washington
Jun 3 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a larger report on opioid use by injured workers. This particular part covers the U.S. Western Region. A national story appeared in the last issue of Insurance Journal. That article can...
Oklahoma, Texas Take Aim at Overuse of Opioids in Workers’ Comp
Jun 3 2013 // In Texas and Oklahoma the battle against opioid abuse among injured workers is ongoing. Oklahoma in 2012 enacted legislation adopting the Work Loss Data Institute’s Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) as the...
Ohio Sees 12% Decrease in Narcotics Prescribed to Injured Workers
Jun 3 2013 // There are close to 40,000 drug overdose deaths each year in the United States, and the number continues to rise, according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, which show more than half of...
Court Tells Florida to Review Employee Drug Testing for Some Jobs
May 30 2013 // Specific government job categories must be considered for mandatory drug testing in Florida, an appeals court concluded in a ruling that said a judge went too far in blocking enforcement of across-the-board public employee...
U.S. Spending on Specialty Medications Will Rise 67%: Report
May 22 2013 // Spending in the U.S. on specialty drugs used to treat serious diseases is projected to increase 67 percent by the end of 2015, according to a forecast by pharmacy benefit management firm Express Scripts. Specialty...
Proposed California Measure Requires Doctor Drug Tests
May 21 2013 // A proposed state ballot measure in California would require doctors to be randomly subjected to drug and alcohol testing. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the “Pee in the Cup” initiative is being pushed by...
Texas, Oklahoma Battle Opioids With Legislation
May 20 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp In the South Central region, Texas and Oklahoma are two states...
Ohio, Indiana Struggle with Impact of Opioids on Injured Workers
May 20 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp In the Midwest the multitude of jobs in the automotive and...
New York, Pennsylvania Rank High for Opioids Among Injured Workers
May 20 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp The epidemic of opioid abuse and its impact on workers’...
Injured Workers Opioid Use on Rise in California, Washington
May 20 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp Washington and California are among states in the U.S. Western...
Declarations
May 20 2013 // Dispute Resolution “This program represents another option consumers have to resolve disputes with their insurance companies.” —N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Ken Kobylowski on the...
Jail for Washington Man Faking Work Injuries for Drugs
May 20 2013 // A Washington man thought he found the perfect way to get prescription narcotics – go to a hospital claiming to be in pain due to a work related injury. But an investigation by Washington’s Department of Labor &...
Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp
May 17 2013 // Prev Next Drug Overdose Death Rates Drug overdose death rates in the U.S. more than tripled since 1990. In 2008, more than 36,000 people died from drug overdoses, and most of the deaths were caused by prescription drugs....
Southeastern States Battle Against Prescription Drug/Opioid Abuse
May 17 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp Deaths from prescription drug overdoses jumped 360 percent in...
Delaware Workers’ Comp Task Force Issues Report, Recommendations
May 15 2013 // Delaware’s state task force charged with examining Delaware’s workers compensation insurance rates published a report and 18 recommendations to address double-digit rate increases in recent years. The task...
Senators Finalizing Drug Compounding Regulation Bill
May 13 2013 // U.S. senators appeared close to finalizing a bill that would require pharmacies that compound and sell sterile drugs across state lines to submit to greater federal regulation. The proposed legislation comes in the wake of...
Jail For Washington Man Faking Work Injuries For Drugs
May 7 2013 // A Washington man thought he found the perfect way to get prescription narcotics – go to a hospital claiming to be in pain due to a work related injury. But, an investigation by Washington’s Department of Labor...
Fundamental Changes Spur Health Spending Dip: Study
May 7 2013 // Slower growth in the pace of U.S. healthcare spending reflects a fundamental change in the use of medical services that could save the country nearly $800 billion in the next decade, according to two new studies released...
Tennessee Battles Prescription Drug Abuse
May 7 2013 // The battle against prescription drug abuse in Tennessee is constantly being fought by officers and lawmakers. The Commercial Appeal reported that 79 of the 92 drug-related deaths in Shelby County in 2010 can be attributed...
