Potential for Falsely Low Blood Lead Test Results from LeadCare® Analyzers
Summary The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety communication warning about the use of Magellan Diagnostics’ LeadCare® analyzers (LeadCare, LeadCare II, LeadCare Ultra and LeadCare Plus) with venous blood samples because they might result in falsely low test results. FDA is now advising that…
Misinformation Abounds on PDMP Mandate
The AMS office has received several calls over the past couple of weeks about Act 820, which mandates checking the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program prior to prescribing certain medications. Apparently, some hospitals are incorrectly telling their medical staff that the Act is already in effect. In other cases,…
Prescription Waiver for Disaster Declaration Counties
In April, intense storms and subsequent flooding ravaged parts of our state. The aftermath left Arkansans picking up the pieces. Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield wants to help members and is waiving prescription costs for Arkansans whose medications were lost as a result of the devastating weather…
AMS President-Elect, Dr. Lee Archer, Treating MS Patients with Latest Disease Modifying Techniques
When neurologist Robert L. “Lee” Archer, MD, finished his residency in 1986, there were no disease modifying treatments for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). When the first treatment came out in 1994, demand was so great that a quarter million people with the disease wanted to be on…
Arkansas Trauma System Saves Lives and Taxpayers’ Money
Journal of the American College of Surgeons study authors report that, after implementation of the publicly funded state trauma system, preventable mortality rate decreased by 48 percent CHICAGO (March 8, 2017): Implementation of a statewide trauma system in Arkansas cut the rate of preventable deaths due to injuries…
NEA Baptist to open grief center
AMS group member, NEA Baptist Clinic, recently announced the NEA Baptist Center for Good Grief, as part of the NEA Baptist Charitable Foundation’s continued commitment to the needs of the community. The NEA Baptist Center for Good Grief will open October 2017 at 1717 Executive Square in Jonesboro…
Weight-Loss Surgery Arrives at Heart Hospital
AMS group member, Arkansas Heart Hospital in Little Rock, recently began offering weight-loss surgery as a way to fight heart disease and rising obesity rates in Arkansas. The newly formed Bariatric & Metabolic Institute at the Arkansas Heart Hospital started seeing patients at the first of the year and has had "hundreds of patients"…
Ark clinics participate in new payment model
Arkansas is recognized nationally as a leader in value-based healthcare payment innovation. In 2012 the state launched an episodic payment model and was also selected for the original Comprehensive Primary Care initiative (CPC). Arkansas’s efforts were reinforced in 2013, when the state was one of only six regions…
Republicans release modified version of health care bill
USA Today (3/20, Groppe) reports that Republicans released a modified bill Monday night “in an attempt to shore up support among both conservatives and moderates.” The revised bill would allow states “to require able-bodied Medicaid recipients without dependents to work beginning in October.” In addition, “states could receive…
For Your Health’s Sake, Do Not Keep Up with the Kardashians
By Casey L. Penn The Information Superhighway. It can be a conduit to reliable, user-friendly health resources for patients (e.g., the Mayo Clinic's easy-to-navigate website, with facts and information written with laypersons in mind), or it can be a passage into a morass of exploited trends, suspect sources,…
Drug-related overdose deaths increasing nationally
The article below from the AMA Morning Rounds (2/24/17) brings new light to this national epidemic. Make sure you are registered and utilizing the Arkansas Prescription Drug Program to help fight drug abuse in your community. You may also delegate access to designated staff in order to save…