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The leader of the federal Food and Drug Administration is headed to Charleston for a round-table discussion with top West Virginia officials about the…
The leader of the federal Food and Drug Administration is headed to Charleston for a round-table discussion with top West Virginia officials about the state’s opioid epidemic.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced Monday that FDA Commissioner Robert Califf will attend the Tuesday event at the Department of Health and Human Resources.
Tomblin, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin and other officials are also slated to attend.
Five drug wholesalers have agreed to a $4.2 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging that they shipped an excessive number of prescription opioids to West Virginia.
A news release from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Thursday announced the settlement with Anda Inc., The Harvard Drug Group, Associated Pharmacies, KeySource Medical Inc. and Quest Pharmaceuticals. As part of the settlement, they deny the lawsuit’s allegations.
Miami-Luke previously agreed to settle for $2.5 million, bringing the total in the lawsuit to $6.7 million.
In 2012, then-Attorney General Darrell McGraw filed a lawsuit against 12 prescription drug wholesalers. Documents show that the companies distributed painkillers to notorious “pill mill” pharmacies in West Virginia’s smallest towns and poorest counties.
The release says the attorney general, drug wholesalers, and state health and public safety agencies settled to avoid delay, expense and inconvenience, and uncertainty of litigation.
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito introduced a federal bill Friday with bipartisan backing that would help newborns suffering from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome have access to quality care.
The Caring Recovery for Infants and Babies Act, also known as CRIB, would recognize residential pediatric recovery facilities as providers under Medicaid.
This means the families whose newborns are born with NAS will be able to bill Medicaid for the services offered.
According to a news release from Senator Capito’s office, the bill would not cost additional dollars but would allow babies to receive quality treatment in the best environment.
Newborns with NAS often require specialized care like longer hospital stays at the NICU, or neonatal intensive care unit. Treatment can cost five times more than the cost of treating other newborns.
CRIB would expand access to allow alternative settings to the NICU.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.
Officials from Charleston Area Medical Center may consider changing their policies on prescribing opioid.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that CAMC chief operating officer Dr. Glen Crotty told members of the hospital’s board of directors Wednesday that the hospital system would consider placing more limits on what can be prescribed in its emergency rooms. Crotty says the hospital system is working on limiting prescriptions from 30 or 45 days to about five days.
The announcement follows recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the West Virginia Hospital Association, which are cautioning against filling long-term opioid prescriptions.
The guidelines recommend that doctors avoid opioids as a first choice when treating musculoskeletal pain. They also recommend that doctors should attempt to treat pain without medication or opioid medication.
