Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
OxyContin-Maker Purdue Pharma Pursued Cozy Relationships With Universities, Hospitals As Part Of Aggressive Marketing Strategy
Stat: Purdue Pharma Cemented Ties With Universities And Hospitals
In the early 2000s, when Dr. Jane Ballantyne was director of the Pain Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, the opioid-pill maker Purdue Pharma struck a deal with the Boston hospital to start a pain program there. To Ballantyne, it seemed like a boon. Two organizations — one academic, one a drug company — with the shared goal of easing patients’ pain coming together to collaborate. Working with Purdue, she said then, “will assist us in finding ways to clear up misconceptions and misunderstandings about pain and provide caregivers with the knowledge and resources they need to help patients.” (Joseph, 1/16)
The Associated Press: New Suits Filed Over Pain Meds Given To Near-Death Patients
An Ohio man said Wednesday he was stunned to learn of allegations that his wife's hospital death last year was caused by a doctor's order for a fatal dose of pain medication. David Austin said he called an ambulance in September after his wife, Bonnie Austin, had trouble breathing. A doctor told him she was brain dead after she suffered cardiac arrest. Austin felt "like somebody kicked me in the chest" when he was told this month of the alleged circumstances of the death of his wife of 36 years. (1/16)
Columbus Dispatch: Cases Of Health-Care Providers Intentionally Harming Patients Are Rare
Allegations that a doctor gave potentially fatal doses of a painkiller to 27 patients in the Mount Carmel Health System have shaken the Columbus medical community. But cases of medical staff members intentionally causing harm or death are very rare, say those involved in the matter. (Viviano and Sullivan, 1/16)
The Washington Post: D.C. Opioid Crisis: Federal Officials Launch Audit Of Grant Spending
Federal officials have launched an audit of the D.C. government’s handling of millions of dollars in grants that the city has been awarded over the past two years to treat opioid addiction and reduce fatal overdoses. The audit appears to focus on grant money that was not spent as intended to combat the opioid epidemic and on federally funded programs that D.C. government officials failed to implement, according to documents outlining the inquiry obtained by The Washington Post. (Jamison, 1/16)
Boston Globe: Rite Aid Agrees To Pay $177,000 To Settle Allegations Of Improper Opioid Dispensing
The Rite Aid drugstore chain has agreed to pay $177,000 and to follow state Medicaid rules on dispensing opioids and other drugs, in an agreement with Attorney General Maura Healey that was announced Wednesday. Healey accused Rite Aid of accepting cash payments for controlled substances from Medicaid recipients “in a limited number of instances,” instead of billing the agency as required by regulations. In some cases, court documents state, Medicaid had denied a claim for a controlled substance on the same day as a Rite Aid pharmacist dispensed it for cash. (Freyer, 1/16)
