The 2016 Legislature passed legislation allowing advance practice registered nurses (APRNs) to practice independently afgter meeting certain criteria. Of the more than 2,500 registered nurses in West Virginia, as many as 800 may eventually maintain their own practice, according to their [Read more...]
The 2016 West Virginia Legislature passed legislation increasing the regulation of pain clinics in response to some licensed clinics evading current law and regulations. Department of Health and Human Resources officials expressed the need for legislation to close "loopholes" in the law passed by [Read more...]
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines March 15, providing recommendations for primary care providers who are prescribing opioids for chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care. The guideline addresses: (1) when to [Read more...]
According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), from 1999 to 2013, the amount of painkillers, called opioids, prescribed and sole in the U.S. have nearly quadrupled, and overdose deaths have quadrupled in lock-step. There is wide variation in opioid prescribing between states, [Read more...]