Senator Seeks Information On Patient Advocacy Group’s Financial Link To Opioid Makers

Stat: Wyden Probes A Patient Advocacy Group Over Its Ties To Opioid Makers 
Amid the ongoing opioid crisis, a U.S. lawmaker is pressing a professional medical society that also functions as a patient advocacy group to disclose detailed information about its ties to drug makers over concerns it tried to sway government moves to curb opioid prescribing. In a March 12 letter, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) instructed the American Academy of Pain Medicine to provide a raft of documents, including tax filings; a list of payments from drug and device makers made to the group and its top officer; information about work performed for opioid maker Purdue Pharma; continuing medical education coursework; and its conflict of interest policy, among other things. (Silverman, 3/13)

Stat: Insys May Go Out Of Business As Controversy And Lawsuits Intensify 
Insys Therapeutics (INSY), the once high-flying drug maker that is among the companies blamed for fueling the U.S. opioid crisis, is in danger of going out of business. A combination of financial losses and uncertainty about its cash position prompted its auditor to determine there is “substantial doubt” whether the company can continue “as a going concern,” according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The drug maker added that it is trying to raise funds, but conceded there are “no assurances”. (Silverman, 3/13)

The Associated Press: Hospital Reviews 48 Nurses, Pharmacists Over Dosages, Deaths
The Ohio hospital system where an intensive-care doctor is accused of ordering painkiller overdoses for dozens of patients has put more employees on leave and changed key leaders at the hospital where nearly all those deaths occurred. Mount Carmel Health System said Wednesday that 48 nurses and pharmacists under review have been reported to their respective boards. Thirty of those employees have been put on leave, and 18 no longer work there, including some that left years ago, the system said. (3/13)

Pioneer Press: Can Medical Marijuana Help Combat Minnesota's Opioid Epidemic?
Many Minnesotans in pain are using medical marijuana to leave behind highly addictive opioids, which can have grave consequences. It is not just happening here — states like New York and Pennsylvania have recognized marijuana as an alternative to opioids. But some doctors are skeptical of the science behind the switch; opioids have been tested and approved by regulators, while medical marijuana in most cases has not. Plus, there is little research to back up its supposed health benefits. (Faircloth, 3/14)

Pioneer Press: Medical Marijuana In Minnesota: 5 Things You May Not Know
There are eight medical cannabis dispensaries in Minnesota — four of them are in the Twin Cities metro. The other locations are in scattered across the state: in Rochester, St. Cloud, Hibbing and Moorhead. Patients in the southwest and northwest corners of the state have to drive long distances to get their medication. A patient in Bemidji would have a roughly two-hour drive to the nearest dispensary in Hibbing. A patient in Mankato would have to drive 85 miles to get to the Rochester facility. (Faircloth, 3/14)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: What To Expect At Philly’s Many Overdose-Reversal Training Sessions
In response to Philadelphia’s mounting overdose death rate — in 2017, overdoses were responsible for about 1,200 deaths, four times the number of homicides in the same year — the city and nonprofit organizations like Prevention Point has launched a number of free opioid overdose-reversal training classes. Attendees go through the process of identifying someone who is overdosing, from spotting the signs to administering naloxone, a drug that can reverse an overdose on the spot. (Ao, 3/14)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Poll: Roughly Half Of Kentucky Residents To Support Needle Exchange
Roughly half of Kentuckians surveyed about needle exchange support the programs that let injection drug users trade used syringes for sterile ones, a new Kentucky Health Issues Poll shows. Interact for Health and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky partnered to pay for the 2018 poll, which they released Thursday. (DeMio, 3/14)

Miami Herald: Florida Nurse Swapped Pain Medication For Saline, State Says
A Jacksonville registered nurse has had her license restricted after possibly clogging toilets at one hospital with syringes and definitely swapping pain medication for saline at another. The Florida Department of Health dropped an Emergency Restriction Order (ERO) on Taniko Hampton’s license Friday. (Neal, 3/13)