The Arkansas Department of Health is in the process of updating its Tuberculosis (TB) rules based on latest guidelines released by CDC for screening and testing healthcare workers (these include staff at hospitals, nursing home, medical offices, clinics and other related medical facilities). We are also updating rules for other groups whom we consider low risk based on data available with ADH. The process should be completed by late fall of 2019. In the meantime, ADH wanted all stakeholders to… Read More

With the launch of the nARcansas app coinciding with the 17th Arkansas Drug Take Back Day, the theme is “I can. You can. We can. Save a life with Narcan!” “The main goal of every… Read More

Article originally appeared in the July 2018 issue of The Journal. For my colleagues who have been practicing medicine for at least 20 years, the path leading to the current opioid crisis is familiar.  With… Read More

An April 15 article in the Democrat-Gazette took aim at doctors for the opioid epidemic. The blame game makes for great headlines, particularly during a crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 100 people die… Read More

AR-IMPACT was created to improve multi-disciplinary pain care and treatment for Arkansas physicians. The weekly interactive tele-video consultation program offers free CME credit to better manage chronic pain patients and those who need their opioid… Read More

The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission announces the adoption of Rule 099.41, a drug formulary which regulates all outpatient medications prescribed as a result of work-related injuries. The rule draws on a formulary already in use for state… Read More

The Arkansas State Medical Board will hold a public hearing on April 5, 2018, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on revisions to the proposed amendments to Regulation 2.4 concerning definitions for “excessive prescribing.” The Board held an informational… Read More

Seasonal Influenza A(H3N2) Activity and Antiviral Treatment of Patients with Influenza Summary The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing: a notice about increased influenza A(H3N2) activity and its clinical implications; a summary… Read More

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is one of the primary causes of heart attack and stroke. Arkansas leads the nation for the highest heart attack death rates and is number five for the highest stroke death… Read More

The Arkansas State Crime Laboratory and Medical Examiner’s Office report that hundreds of Arkansans died in 2016 from drug overdoses, with nearly 40 percent of those deaths from Pulaski, Sebastian, and Washington counties. Arkansas Attorney… Read More

Rifampin/Penicillin-Resistant Strain of RB51 Brucella Contracted from Consumption of Raw Milk Summary: The Texas Department of State Health Services, with assistance from CDC, is investigating Brucella RB51 exposures and illnesses that may be connected to… Read More