Listen to Dr. Lev discussing the prescription drug abuse epidemic on KPBS here
Fickle Finger
View Fickle Finger’s "Group Practice Structure – A Cost Benefit Analysis" here to view the IEPC mention
Healthcare Risk Management
Click here to view Dr. Roneet Lev’s interview with Healthcare Risk Management, AHC Media, www.ahcmedia.com
November Newsletter
Click here to read IEPC’s November newsletter
IEPC at EMRA Job Fair
IEPC at EMRA job fair in Boston Convention Exhibitor Center.
IEPC Semi-Annual Meeting
IEPC Semi-Annual Meeting June 11th at 12 PM at Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City, Los Angeles CA in the Hiro Room
LA County Adopts Safe Prescribing Guidelines
LA County Adopts Safe Prescribing Guidelines. Each ED in LA received a 2 month supply of guidelines and a Tool Kit Binder.
If your county want to adopt Safe Prescribing you can find information on the California ACEP web site or contact IEPC.
Intermedix acquires medical billing unit of T-System (Rev-Cycle)
Intermedix acquires medical billing unit of T-System (Rev-Cycle).
San Diego Hospitals Adopt New Painkiller Policy
San Diego Hospitals Adopt New Painkiller Policy
By Kenny Goldberg, KPBS Radio News
SAN DIEGO — San Diego and Imperial County hospitals have a new policy aimed at curbing the
epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse. Patients going to emergency departments willfeel the difference.
Health officials say the problem of prescription painkiller abuse has gotten out of hand.
Dr. Eric McDonald, San Diego County’s deputy public health officer, said 269 San Diegans died of
prescription drug overdoses last year.
"For every death, there are 20 people coming into emergency departments, there are hundreds of people
that are actually abusing prescription pain medicines," McDonald said.
Under the new voluntary guidelines, emergency departments will no longer dispense 30-day-supplies of
narcotics like Vicodin.
And they won’t prescribe long-term painkillers like OxyContin, either.
Scripps Mercy Hospital’s Dr. Roneet Lev explained why.
"Those are especially dangerous, more dangerous than the short-acting medications," Lev said. "And in
someone who comes to the emergency department, a broken bone, a ruptured appendix, anything like
that, you don’t need long-acting pain prescriptions, you need something for short term."
Lev said people who legitimately suffer from chronic pain need to get their drugs from their regular doctor,
not emergency departments.
"And our policy is not to refill prescriptions, and not to give prescriptions for someone who’s getting them
elsewhere," Lev said. "The safe way about it is to have one provider, and one pharmacy, for any pain
prescriptions. And we’re going to honor that."
Prescription drug overdoses are the No. 1 cause of accidental death in San Diego County.
To listen to the broadcast:
TV News Story: San Diego Emergency Departments To Crack Down On Painkiller Abuse
TV News Story: San Diego Emergency Departments To Crack Down On Painkiller Abuse –
This story was posted and aired on March 5, which Dr. Lev and a HOPE family helped to bring together. This is a great heads-up story that defines the problem and proposed voluntary guidelines for Safe Pain Medicine Prescribing:
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/mar/05/san-diego-emergency-departments-crack-down-painkil/
Thanks to Dr. Lev and others for great interviews!