Author: Richard Stevens

For each of the past three years, opioid prescriptions have declined in the United States, the first sustained drop since OxyContin hit the market in 1996.  (New York Times May 21, 2016)

The Kiplinger Letter, Vol 93, No. 19, reports about 90% of employers will offer electronic visits with health professionals by 2018, up from 67% now.  Providing remote treatment for common ailments -- allergies, skin conditions, etc -- especially after hours, cuts down on more-costly routine office [Read more...]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reconsidering whether doctors who prescribe painkillers like OxyContin should be required to take safety training courses, according to federal documents. The review comes as regulators disclosed the number of doctors who completed voluntary training [Read more...]

A study published in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine by Dr. Jesse Pines and George Washington University found that drug shortages in the emergency room increased by over 400% from 2001 to 2014. The study was based on drug shortage reports submitted through a website and analyzed by the [Read more...]