Tag Archives: health policy

End-of-Life Care and the Opioid Crisis: Potential Implications and Unintended Consequences

By | May 9, 2018
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Reactions to the opioid crisis are affecting patients in need of hospice and end-of-life care in the United States. Hospice providers have been largely exempt from the increasing regulation of opioid and narcotic prescriptions, as most recent laws and regulations affecting opioid prescribing specifically exempt individuals receiving cancer treatment, palliative care, or those nearing their end-of-life. However,… Read More »

In the fight against the opioid epidemic, states should update their needle and syringe access laws

By | February 7, 2018
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During my time as a community pharmacist in Maryland, I often encountered individuals who would approach the pharmacy in search of syringes. Although they would try to disguise their intentions by stating that they needed it for someone else or for an animal, it was apparent why they were there; they were going to use… Read More »

Hitching our Wagon to the Stars: Making the Most of Quality Reporting

By | December 7, 2017
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has a set of “Compare” websites – Hospital Compare, Nursing Home Compare, Home Health Compare, etc.; consumers and policymakers can compare physicians, long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, hospice care, and dialysis facilities today, and other settings may follow. Together with their associated health care quality measurement… Read More »