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Number 1, you’re doing a urine test for the patient, not to the patient. It’s to increase communication, not decrease communication. You have to know what question you’re trying to answer with a urine drug test.The test is an important tool but it’s just a tool and you have to know its strength and...
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Urine testing is very good at doing some things but I think we have to be careful that we don’t extend the science of urine drug testing beyond what it’s good for. Really what it’s good for is, as Howard says, opening a dialogue; facilitating a difficult, in some cases impossible, subject to broach...
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A specialist in addiction medicine offers guidance in identifying opioid misuse and the appropriate means of withdrawing patients from long term opioid therapy. The longer term management and rehabilitation of these patients is also considered.
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EPCS—electronic prescribing of controlled substances—offers the prospect of enhanced prescribing efficiency and improved patient safety. In this segment, Dr. Kelly outlines some DEA requirements that providers must meet to take advantage of this prescribing advance.
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In response to the escalating crisis of opioid abuse and overdose fatalities, states are adopting dosage thresholds as part of their prescribing guidelines. A clinical pharmacist and public policy professor summarize the public health landscape that has spawned this response, and evaluate the impact...
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Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) are widely available, but not yet uniformly used. A clinical pharmacist and associate professor evaluates the current landscape, and what can be improved to enhance their utility in curbing substance misuse and abuse.
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Although prescription medications are of great benefit to many patients with chronic non-cancer pain, there are significant complications for patients who are either addicted or in recovery. Dr. Durham, a clinical pharmacist, professor of pharmacy, and medication prescriber, considers the...
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A specialist in pain and substance abuse discusses findings from the research on vulnerable populations in the pain community. Patients with pain and concurrent substance use disorders are particularly at risk for depression and suicidal ideation. To what degree does this underlie the problem of...
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The relationship between addictive behavior and prescription pain medication is a really complex one. It’s almost always hard to predict. There are some obvious clues, like a previous history of substance abuse, or potential clues such as a family history of substance abuse, or maybe some...
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There’s a large focus right now on drug testing and claims for clinical laboratory services related to drugs of abuse testing. The payers are interested in this area because there’s been quite a significant amount of fraud and abuse identified through payer investigative techniques. So the payers...