The recently published ACC/AHA guidelines for the management of hyperlipidemia have elicited considerable controversy, particularly for the movement away from targeting LDL levels and for the perceived raising of the indications for statin therapy.
New drugs are constantly added to the market, many of them legal. Many new drugs with abuse potential are often called “legal highs,” as they are not banned by the federal government or states. Also, products may be labeled “not for human consumption” to avoid the label of illegal. The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Addiction Europol says 41 new drugs entered the market in 2010. The legal status of the more familiar recreational substances has encouraged users to seek newer options that offer the advantages of being legal, less expensive, less contaminated with adulterants, more readily available, or with more desirable pharmacological effects.
How do you deal with patients who request parenteral opioids for exacerbation of chronic pain and then want refills of their potent analgesics on discharge? If you are like me, painfully, often with frustration and hostility; this issue should therefore be of interest.
J. Stephan Stapczynski, MD, Editor
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) no longer will pick up the tab for preventable surgical site infections (SSIs) following cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) procedures, including pacemaker and defibrillator implants.
In September, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) responded to the proposed ambulatory surgery center (ASC) payment rule by calling for cost reporting for all ASCs, according to the ASC Association (ASCA).