Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission Launches Drug Formulary Rule Limiting Payment for Opioid Prescriptions
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 government employees who are injured on the job, with additional provisions for opioid…
Public Hearing on “Excessive Prescribing”
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 hearing at their last meeting and have since made several very helpful changes…
CDC HEALTH ADVISORY: Influenza
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 of influenza antiviral drug treatment recommendations; an update about approved treatment drugs and…
ADH adopts new guidelines for high blood pressure
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 rates. To combat this, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) and other healthcare…
Statewide Rx Take Back October 28
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 General Leslie Rutledge is encouraging Arkansans to clean out their medicine cabinets, and…
ADH Health Advisory
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 the purchase and consumption of raw (unpasteurized) milk from K-Bar Dairy in Paradise,…
Help save lives: Co-prescribe naloxone to patients at risk of overdose
Naloxone saves lives The nation’s opioid epidemic claimed more than 33,000 lives in 2015, but that figure would have been even higher if it wasn’t for the life-saving opioid overdose antidote naloxone. For more than 40 years, naloxone has been used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose.…
New Surgeon General’s motto to “create better health through better partnerships”
On September 5, Vice President Pence swore in Jerome Adams, MD, as the new surgeon general. Dr. Adams, an anesthesiologist with a master’s degree in public health, said that he is eager to start helping victims of Hurricane Harvey as the “nation’s doctor.” He also reaffirmed his commitment…
CDC Health Advisory: Increase in Reported cases of Cyclospora cayetanensis Infection, United States, Summer 2017
Summary The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), State and Local Health Departments, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating an increase in reported cases of cyclosporiasis. The purpose of this HAN Advisory is to notify public health departments and healthcare facilities and to provide guidance to healthcare…
CDC Health Advisory
Patients Receiving Eculizumab (Soliris®) at High Risk for Invasive Meningococcal Disease Despite Vaccination Summary Eculizumab (Soliris®) recipients have a 1,000 to 2,000-fold greater risk of invasive meningococcal disease compared to the general U.S. population. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved prescribing information for eculizumab includes a black box warning for…
Where’s My Doctor
"Where's my doctor?" We get that question a lot. It happens often when a physician leaves a practice, usually as an employee. Under most employment contracts the practice – either under hospital or physician ownership – retains ownership of the medical records when a physician leaves. However, the departing physician has a relationship with…