Although there seems to be no material disagreement regarding whether states across the country are battling a mass opioid-addiction problem, there are myriad questions concerning the source of the so-called “crisis” and related matters. Are overprescribing doctors primarily to blame? What about select pharmacy outlets and chains that are pointed to as being especially prominent…
Much criticism of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from health care analysts and commentators spotlights alleged overregulation of the medical realm and its adverse effects on both business growth and innovation. That has once again proven to be true in the response of one industry group to recent FDA-authored draft guidance concerning software that…
Health industry actors in New York and nationally face a number of stressing concerns as they go about their important work each day. And their thoughts are understandably focused squarely on patients while they perform their duties. “Patient safety is on everyone’s mind,” duly notes a principal with the ECRI Institute, a national nonprofit group…
The process applicable to formal rulemaking engaged in by federal agencies is lengthy and laborious. A recent Bloomberg article discussing how ideas turn into final administrative rules describes it as “cumbersome.” No one likely knows that better than principal employees of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is an agency that is routinely…
Given the bottom line linked with human lives and patient safety, it is hardly surprising that the health care realm is one of the most tightly regulated industries in the world. In the United States, of course, it is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that plays an especially close and exacting rule in ensuring…
Conscientious health care providers across New York — doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians and others — routinely think about care quality and how to best ensure that their patients are receiving it. While doing so, though, they are also focused on an additional matter these days that has nothing to do with patient outcomes and…
If there is one organization viewed most widely as a friend to baby boomers and America’s senior population generally, it is perhaps AARP. That entity — the American Association of Retired Persons — is a nonprofit and self-described nonpartisan group that advocates for the country’s senior demographic on relevant issues. AARP additionally provides an array…
Would-be controls sought to be applied to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs underscore the growing degree of regulatory scrutiny being faced by medical actors across the country. As we have noted in some past blog posts, that scrutiny is always intense, with the medical realm being perhaps the most closely overseen industry in the…
Health care “is complicated,” stresses a recent New York Times article. And, notes that piece, a potential new industry player might soon be coming to grips with just how utterly complex the hoops and hurdles relevant to that huge chunk of the economy can be. Notwithstanding the regulatory exactions — authored by local, state and…
A recent study has shown that several states have expanded or enhanced their Medicaid benefits this year, with several planning to do so next year. The increased benefits were primarily for mental health treatment and substance abuse. Some of the other treatments that saw expanded benefits include telemedicine, dental care, oral contraceptives, and cancer screenings….