The Difficulty of Suing Opioid Drug Makers
While the number of lawsuits accusing companies of exacerbating the opioid epidemic is increasing, the cases face large challenges. According to Reuters, the regulation of the pharmaceutical industry, and the fact that the FDA approved the opioids as safe and effective, could make it difficult for these lawsuits to succeed. Ohio recently sued 5 companies and is seeking to recover money spent on unnecessary opioid prescriptions and on addiction treatment. Mississippi, Chicago, and counties in New York and California have already filed lawsuits against the companies, who are being accused of deceptive marketing that downplayed the addictiveness of opioids.
Pfizer’s Steep Drug Price Hikes
While some pharmaceutical companies are placing voluntary caps on drug price increases, Pfizer has raised prices by an average of 20%. The Hill reported that Pfizer raised prices of 91 drugs on Thursday, which represents the second time the company raised prices this year. Other competitors have promised to raise prices once a year and by less than 10% or, in the case of Sanofi, to tie drug price increases to the national health expenditures growth projection, which is 5.4% in 2017. Allergan kicked off the wave of increased self-policing among pharmaceutical companies in September 2016.
Drug Overdose Deaths Continue to Rise
The overdose epidemic may be largely reported and more attention is being paid to preventing overdoses, but new evidence suggests the problem is worsening, The New York Times’ blog The Upshot reported. Drug overdose deaths in 2016 increased by 19% over 2015, according to an estimate by the Times of data from state health departments and county coroners and medical examiners. However, drug overdose deaths can be difficult to assign as the cause of death—deaths due to the long-term effects of drug abuse are not considered overdoses and there are inconsistencies between jurisdictions in how death certificates are filled out.
Empowering Community Health Through Wellness and Faith
April 23rd 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. In the third episode, Camille Clarke-Smith, EdD, MS, CHES, CPT, discusses approaching community health holistically through spiritual and community engagement.
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Data Back Neoadjuvant Combo vs Chemo Alone for Early-Stage NSCLC
April 24th 2024For patients with early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), combining neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors and platinum-based chemotherapy improves 2-year outcomes over chemotherapy alone, suggest findings of an extensive literature review and meta-analysis.
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Overcoming Employment Barriers for Lasting Social Impact: Freedom House 2.0 and Pathways to Work
April 16th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our second episode, in which we learn all about Freedom House 2.0 and the Pathways to Work program.
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Patient Navigation in Oncology at Heart of Priority Health White House Visit
April 24th 2024On March 27, Priority Health's president and CEO, Praveen Thadani participated in a discussion on how to expand and optimize patient navigation services in oncology care, as part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative.
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