By Wayne G. Barber
Plainwoods Road Bridge is now Completed.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Concert Summer Series Glocester, R.I. 2015
CONCERTS: Summer ConcertsThe Summer Concert Series keeps getting bigger and better. The concerts start in June and continue for several weeks every Wednesday evening. All our Recreation Department concerts are held on the beautiful grounds of Chepachet Union Church across from the Glocester Town Hall. Each begins at 6:30 PM and lasts for 90 minutes. A great evening out for senior citizens and families, so bring a blanket or a lawn chair and come relax for a while! They are sponsored by the Town of Glocester Recreation Department. All our concerts are smoke-free and alcohol-free events.
|
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
25 Rhode Island Doctors and Workers Prescribed Oxyodone 5,000 Times
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
The top prescriber, Dr. Jerrod Rosenberg, who was listed as having 384 Medicare claims for Oxycodone HCL in 2012, was reprimanded by the Rhode Island Department of Health in 2014 for the "off-label" use of another drug, and for "poor record keeping."
The third highest prescriber, Dr. Dennis Moonan, was reprimanded in 2014 for "not maintaining sufficient safeguards against diversion of controlled substances in his prescribing practices."
Combined, the top three physicians for Oxycondone prescriptions in Rhode Island were one fifth of the top twenty five prescribers -- and had a totail retail cost for all prescriptions filled under Medicare Part D in 2012 of over $1.7 million dollars.
SLIDES: See the Highest Oxycodone Medicare Prescribers BELOW
Oxycodone is a federally classified Schedule II drug, defined as "drugs with a high potential for abuse...with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. These drugs are also considered dangerous."
In Rhode Island, regulations recently went into effect outlining the responsible prescribing of prescription pain medication.
"[The] regulations went into effect [on March 16], which represent a significant effort at codifying responsible prescribing of controlled substances," said RI Department of Health Spokesperson Christina Batastini.
In the regulations, the Department of Health wrote, "It is recognized that controlled substances including opioid analgesics may be essential in the treatment of acute pain due to trauma or surgery. Use for chronic pain carries significant risk and the risks of chronic opioid use need to be weighed against limited benefits. Practitioners should always consider the many facets of pain and strongly consider an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary approach to management of pain, (acute, episodic or chronic). Practitioners shall recognize that tolerance and physical dependence are normal consequences of sustained use of opioid analgesics and are not the same as addiction."
Addressing the Issue
“Deaths from prescription painkillers have also quadrupled since 1999, killing more than 16,000 people in the U.S. in 2013. Nearly two million Americans, aged 12 or older, either abused or were dependent on opioids in 2013 (the most recent year of full data),” wrote the CDC.
GoLocalProv reviewed data collected by the non-profit, media watchdog group, ProPublica who has been collected and organized federal data available. The data collected by ProPublica and reviewed and categorized by GoLocalProv comes from new federal reporting requirements impacting the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS).
A National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that Rhode Island ranked 13th in the nation in abuse of prescription drugs. The survey found that 5.18% of Rhode Islanders 12 years and older used painkillers for a non-medical purpose each year.
Nationally, a recent national study involving researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and the Miriam Hospital found that opioid overdoses were the cause of over 100,000 ER visits in 2010 -- more than two-thirds of all emergency room department visits for overdoses that year. According to the study, subsequent hospitalizations cost nearly $3.2 billion.
“Opioid overdose takes a significant toll on the health care system in the United States, both in terms of finances and resources,” says Traci Green, PhD, MSc, an epidemiologist at the Department of Emergency Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital and a senior researcher on the study. “To date, there have been minimal studies and related national data about opioid overdoses in emergency departments.”
"It's a culture shift. The [opioid] pendulum has swung back and forth, going back to the Civil War," said Dr. Jody Rich, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Brown University, who said that the medical community's most recent efforts to address "chronic pain" were the precursor to the current epidemic.
"Chronic pain snuck in on the heels of addressing cancer pain and the push to address chronic pain became 'this is important, we need to measure this." Doctors were graded on how well they dealt with pain -- it was the fifth vital sign. They thought they'd get in trouble unless they treated pain," said Rich. "So it was 'let me give you some pills, let me give you some more' - it didn't help that big pharma was pushing, pushing, pushing. They gave out a lot of misinformation and shameful marketing practices, and that's what leading to this current situation. A culture of doctors overprescribing opioids, and addicting a generation."
National, Local Responses
"[We need] to develop better strategies for the management of chronic pain," said Nora Volkow, MD, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in Bethesda, Md., while testifying last Friday at a House Energy & Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on government efforts to combat the opioid abuse epidemic. "Physicians are forced -- their patients are suffering, they don't know what to do and give an opioid, even though the evidence does not really show us they're effective for chronic pain, but there are not very many alternatives."
Rich said that hoped that by requiring tracking of prescriptions, that those addicted might be helped into recovery.
"People don't understand [opioid] dependence...it attacks the part of the brain that's needed for survival," said Rich. "If physicians can see that a patient has gone to multiple doctors for pain medication, instead of be wary of treating them for being addicted, they should try and help them into recovery. There are many good programs currently out there."
Saturday, May 2, 2015
FDA to Crackdown on Home-Based Soap Makers
By Wayne G. Barber
People who are trying to do good for their families and the planet by living a simple life based on traditional skills are facing yet another assault. Artisanal soap makers say new regulations, proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), will put them out of business.
The view of Sen. Feinstein and her corporate backers (listed below) is that the Personal Care Products Safety Act (Senate Bill S.1014) will make the world a safer place by scrutinizing “everything from shampoo and hair dye to deodorant and lotion.” She says the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act should be more progressive like laws in Europe rather than antiquated US regulations in effect since the 1930s.
If the industries that back this law are really so concerned about safety, why don’t they voluntarily make healthy products, like the small time producers already do?
Feinstein does not propose to ban these dangerous ingredients from soaps and cosmetics, just regulate them with tests and warning labels, fees, and recall authority. She thinks some of these products, though harmful to health, magically become “safe when used by professionals in a salon or spa setting.”
Companies and brands that support the bill:
People who are trying to do good for their families and the planet by living a simple life based on traditional skills are facing yet another assault. Artisanal soap makers say new regulations, proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), will put them out of business.
The view of Sen. Feinstein and her corporate backers (listed below) is that the Personal Care Products Safety Act (Senate Bill S.1014) will make the world a safer place by scrutinizing “everything from shampoo and hair dye to deodorant and lotion.” She says the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act should be more progressive like laws in Europe rather than antiquated US regulations in effect since the 1930s.
If the industries that back this law are really so concerned about safety, why don’t they voluntarily make healthy products, like the small time producers already do?
Feinstein does not propose to ban these dangerous ingredients from soaps and cosmetics, just regulate them with tests and warning labels, fees, and recall authority. She thinks some of these products, though harmful to health, magically become “safe when used by professionals in a salon or spa setting.”
Companies and brands that support the bill:
- Johnson & Johnson, brands include Neutrogena, Aveeno, Clean & Clear, Lubriderm, Johnson’s baby products.
- Procter & Gamble, including Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Clairol, Herbal Essences, Secret, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Ivory, CoverGirl, Olay, Sebastian Professional, Vidal Sassoon.
- Revlon, brands include Revlon, Almay, Mitchum
- Esteee Lauder, brands include Esteee Lauder, Clinique, Origins, Tommy Hilfiger, MAC, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Donna Karan, Aveda, Michael Kors.
- Unilever, brands include Dove, Tresemme, Lever, St. Ives, Noxzema, Nexxus, Pond’s, Suave, Sunsilk, Vaseline, Degree.
- L’Oreeal, brands include L’Oreeal Paris, Lancome, Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Kiehl’s, Essie, Garnier, Maybelline-New York, Vichy, La Roche-Posay, The Body Shop, Redken.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Member and Supporters of Teamsters 251 to Picket Against DANIELE Foods
Friday, May 01, 2015
The Teamsters Local 251, who had organized the shipping and receiving departments in March, said they had continued concerns about labor conditions at the Pascoag facility
"Now Daniele Foods is under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board for retaliating against employees who organized for fair treatment and voted to join the Teamsters Union. Daniele Foods has suspended three workers who voted to join the union and retaliated against other union supporters by cutting their hours. Eight separate unfair labor practice charges are under investigation," wrote the Teamsters of their Facebook page
Issues at Hand
Daniele provided comment on Friday regarding the picket -- and decision to back out of the event.
"The Eat Drink RI festival is a celebration of Rhode Island’s farmers, fishermen, and food and beverage artisans. It also raises a lot of money for the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School and the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Daniele declined to participate this year out of concern that our presence would have been a distraction to this worthwhile event," said Daniele Foods in a statement. "Our commitment to buying locally raised pork from small New England family farms has never been stronger. Our family business has been part of the Rhode Island community for 40 years and we treasure our workers and our state. Daniele remains a proud sponsor of the Eat Drink RI festival and the programs it supports."
The Teamsters Local 251 said that the protest, which is taking place from 12 to 4 P.M. in the park across from the Biltmore, is for "informational purposes..it is is not a request that anyone cease working or refuse to make deliveries."
"Daniele Foods took in more than $135 million in revenue last year," wrote the Teamsters. "But many workers at Daniele Foods make an average of $12 per hour, have no paid sick or personal days, have no retirement plan, and pay $2,340 to $3,380 per year for health coverage
Rhode Island supported Daniele Foods when it asked for help building its new facility. It’s time for Daniele Foods to work with Rhode Island and stop butchering good jobs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)