Health News
- Senate Panel And House Ok Bills To Tackle Prescription-bill Abuse
Two bills aimed at attacking the state's prescription drug abuse problem made headway yesterday, with a major difference between the House and Senate measures, reflecting possible turf battles between state agencies and doctors' desire to maintain...
- Lawmakers Hear Testimony About State's Pill Mill Problem, Discuss Whether To Put All Prescription-drug Issues Into One Bill
With a raid on a pain clinic in Paintsville making headlines yesterday morning, state legislators heard from community leaders and officials telling them to pass legislation to curb the proliferation of pill mills. Lois Windhorst, best known as a leader...
- Florida-to-appalachia 'pill Pipeline' Appears To Be Shriveling
Attorneys general from Florida and Kentucky say the prescription pill pipeline between the two states is beginning to close, reports Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader. They credit new programs and rules in Florida, but Kentucky AG Jack Conway...
- Expect Action Against Pill Mills, Beshear Says In State Of Commonwealth Address; House Gop Leader Promises It
Gov. Steve Beshear received only two standing ovations during his State of the Commonwealth address last night, when he mentioned Kentucky soldiers and when he talked about fighting prescription drug abuse. (Photo by John Flavell, The Associated Press)...
- New Florida Laws Helping Stem Flow Of Pills, But Loopholes Remain And Trade Is Shifting To Other States
Though pill mills continue to be a big problem in Florida, where lax laws have fueled Kentucky's prescription pill trade, there is evidence that the tides are slowly turning in the Sunshine State. "Registered pain clinics in Florida have dropped from...
Health News
Pain clinics in Texas skirting law by calling themselves 'wellness' or 'rehab' facilities
Calling themselves rehabilitation or wellness clinics is the latest way operators of pill mills are skirting the law in Texas, which requires pain management clinics to register and be inspected by the state medical board. The issue is one to consider as legislators look at ways to curb prescription pill abuse in Kentucky in the 2012 legislative session, which started today.
One doctor in Santa Fe, Tex., labeled his facility a "family practice" instead of a pain clinic. "But investigators said his office had no stethoscopes or blood pressure cuffs and only a single thermometer," reports Cindy Horswell of the Houston Chronicle. "His records indicated he dispensed hundreds of thousands of highly addictive pills to known drug abusers, the Texas Medical Board said before suspending the doctor's medical license in March."
In Kentucky, Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, has pre-filed a bill that would require background checks for people planning to open pain clinics, prohibit convicted felons from running them, and require that a physician in such a clinic own part of it. (Read more)
- Senate Panel And House Ok Bills To Tackle Prescription-bill Abuse
Two bills aimed at attacking the state's prescription drug abuse problem made headway yesterday, with a major difference between the House and Senate measures, reflecting possible turf battles between state agencies and doctors' desire to maintain...
- Lawmakers Hear Testimony About State's Pill Mill Problem, Discuss Whether To Put All Prescription-drug Issues Into One Bill
With a raid on a pain clinic in Paintsville making headlines yesterday morning, state legislators heard from community leaders and officials telling them to pass legislation to curb the proliferation of pill mills. Lois Windhorst, best known as a leader...
- Florida-to-appalachia 'pill Pipeline' Appears To Be Shriveling
Attorneys general from Florida and Kentucky say the prescription pill pipeline between the two states is beginning to close, reports Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader. They credit new programs and rules in Florida, but Kentucky AG Jack Conway...
- Expect Action Against Pill Mills, Beshear Says In State Of Commonwealth Address; House Gop Leader Promises It
Gov. Steve Beshear received only two standing ovations during his State of the Commonwealth address last night, when he mentioned Kentucky soldiers and when he talked about fighting prescription drug abuse. (Photo by John Flavell, The Associated Press)...
- New Florida Laws Helping Stem Flow Of Pills, But Loopholes Remain And Trade Is Shifting To Other States
Though pill mills continue to be a big problem in Florida, where lax laws have fueled Kentucky's prescription pill trade, there is evidence that the tides are slowly turning in the Sunshine State. "Registered pain clinics in Florida have dropped from...