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October 24, 2018

President Trump signed H.R. 6,

The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, into law. The bill is a collection of bills: It includes:

  • H.R. 5176, the Preventing Overdoses While in Emergency Rooms (POWER) Act: This bill was authored by McKinley and is cosponsored by Rep. Michael Doyle (D-PA). The bill provides resources for hospitals to develop protocols on discharging patients who have overdosed. This will help avoid repeat overdoses by connecting patients with peer-support specialists, and referring them to treatment and other services.
  •  H.R. 5197, the Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO) in the Emergency Department Act: This bill was authored by McKinley and Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ). The bill establishes a demonstration program to test alternative pain management protocols to limit to use of opioids in hospital emergency departments, and reduce the over-prescribing of opioids.
  • H.R. 5695, Emmett’s Law: This bill educates health care providers about information on substance abuse and overdoses they can share with family members.
  • H.R. 5628, Access to Increased Drug Disposal Act: This bill will help improve access to safe drug disposal programs for prescription medicine. Many people become addicted due to the easy access of leftover prescription drugs

The ALTO program should be instituted in every ER in the country. The dynamics of the Opiate Epidemic would forever change.

Bill H.R. 6 falls short though by not including S. 1960 H.R. 4084 -Restoring authorithy to the DEA by repealing amendments made to the Controlled Substances Act. WHY?

Call your Senator and Congressman to request their support for passage of S. 1960 / HR 4084:

https://www.house.gov/representatives

 https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

************ Let’s monitor voting and passage ************


S 1960 – A bill to repeal the amendments made to the Controlled Substances Act by the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016. This is the bill that ties the hands of the DEA to enforce.

HR 4084


The story was told by the Washington Post (Scott Higham and Lenny Bernstein) shown on 60 Minutes. The story was also told in the book STOPPNow. STOPPNow was in Representative Blackburn’s office in 2014 and provided the court documents DEA vs Walgreens ( in the book STOPPNow) and asked that Representative Blackburn not sponsor the bill which stymies the DEA from much needed help in ending the opiate epidemic. Representative Blackburn ignored our requests and did sign that bill. Representative Marsha Blackburn is now running for the U.S. Senate. Representative Blackburn has stated that she is now fighting the opioid epidemic and that the bill she signed with Representative Tom Marino had unintend consequences. I wrote to Marsha Blackburns office last week to inquire why she has not added her name to HR 4084 – to repeal her unintended consequence (the companion bill to S 1960). I have not heard from Marsha Blackburns office.

. As of this writing 09/03/18 Marsha Blackburn has not signed bill HR 4084 repealing the bill which removes authority from the DEA. Senator Marco Rubio also signed the senate version of the bill that needs to be repealed. Senator Marco Rubio has also not signed the bill to repeal his action. Contact your U.S. Senator and Representative to support bill S 1960 and H 4084.

 

 

 

 

 

STOPPNOW has worked with Senator Joe Manchin before. I will be posting our next project soon. Meanwhile here are 2 letters from STOPPNow that Senator Manchin read on the senate floor.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4582796/senator-manchin-reads-statement-janet-colbert-stoppnow

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4582748/senator-manchin-reads-emily-waldens-statement

 

 

3/12/18 Florida legislators voted unanimously to limit opiate prescribing to 3 days;mandate usage of the PDMP;and doctor education. It is a compreshesive bill and I am grateful to our Florida legislators. I am sure Govenor Rick Scott will sign the bill into law.

 

Find Your Representative

3/2/18 House Bill 21 passed YEAS 114 NAYS 0

Only 3 weeks left in session. Both versions of the bill have passed the committee hearings and are on the Senate and House Floor to be heard then voted on. Then on to the govenor’s desk to sign. Call your Senator and Representative to request they vote YES.

 

2/22/18

House • CS/CS by- Health and Human Services Committee; YEAS 19 NAYS 0

2/15/18  – S 8 Favorable by Rules; YEAS 11 NAYS 0

Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading.

 

2/13/18

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Senate leadership is trying to figure out how to put more money in the budget to address opioid abuse via a measure being pushed by Senate Democrats Darryl Rouson and Kevin Rader.
Rouson of St. Petersburg and Rader of Delray Beach have been passing around a working document, obtained by POLITICO, to Senate leadership. The document would allocate $25 million for treatment and prevention services.
On Wednesday, Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Anitere Flores (R-Miami) personally thanked them on the Senate floor and said she and the rest of leadership were working to get more money in the budget for the opioid crisis.
The bill, FL SB8 (18R), currently has $53 million in it, mostly for treatment. POLITICO reported that state Attorney General Pam Bondi said that amount isn’t enough for the crisis, which Rouson alluded to during Senate session Wednesday.
“We’re hopeful that funding we have in that bill will be just a starting point,” Flores said on the Senate floor. “We all agree that we are going to fight our hardest to increase that number and bring that up.”
Later Wednesday, the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-Fort Myers), postponed the final committee stop of the bill in the committee she chairs — Rules — for the second week in a row. She said she stalled it because she was working to “find additional resources to put in the bill.”
She said she’s been working with Rouson on the prevention aspects of his proposal because she thinks some of his treatment requests are potentially redundant. She didn’t specify how much money could go toward prevention, but Rouson’s proposal suggests $5.9 million for these kinds of services that aren’t currently included.
Specifically, it would allocate $2.5 million for youth prevention programs and $400,000 for a statewide media campaign. It would give $3 million for “faith-based” matching grants so pastors and others can work on prevention through their organizations. These services would be coordinated through the statewide mental health infrastructure known as managing entities.
The proposal would also give $3.1 million to the managing entities so they can identify resources like housing for people who frequently relapse and need more support as they try to recover from addiction. This money also isn’t currently included in the opioid bill.
When contacted by POLITICO on Wednesday, Rouson indicated prevention was a priority for him, but he didn’t go into detail.
“It’s important this year, at this time, to send a strong message of prevention and treatment that will help those afflicted to recover,” Rouson said.
Whatever change the chamber makes will have to be signed off on by the House.
Rouson has a good relationship with House Speaker Richard Corcoran, as is evident by his appointment to the Constitution Revision Commission by Corcoran.
Corcoran didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

2/07/2018   S 8  postponed by Rules Committee. Will post new hearing date

 

 

2/04/18  – On Committee Agenda – Rules, 02/07/18, 04:00 pm, 110 Senate Office Building. (can watch lifestream http://thefloridachannel.org 

Committee on Rules

 

Members

 

1/22/18 HB 21 Now in Health & Human Services Committee — No date yet for hearing

Leadership for Health & Human Services Committee

  Vice Chair

 Santiago, David [R]
Santiago, David [R]

 

  Democratic Ranking Member

 DuBose, Bobby B. [D]
DuBose, Bobby B. [D]

 

1/30/2018  On Committee Agenda — Rules 2/01/18, 11:30 am 

Committee on Rules

Members

1/24/18 S 8 passed Appropriations Committee 19 YEAS 0 NAYS

 

1/22/18 HB 21 passed Appropriations Committee 19 YEAS 0 NAYS

 

 

S 8 – On Committee agenda — Appropriations, 1/24/18 2 pm

Committee on Appropriations

 

Members

HB 21 – Appropriation Committee 1/22/18 3p

 

1/16/18 Health Policy Committee just passed S 8. I will post committee hearings as they are made available. The hearings and voting can be wathced live on thefloridachannel.org  Prayers answered

BIG PHARMA is in Tallahassee lobbying these bills;I’m quite sure they are not promoting passage. We need massive phone calls. They never give much notice on committee hearings. These are being heard tomorrow 1/10/18 I will keep posted on hearings. S 8 and HB 21 must pass.   *****HB 21 Did pass Health Quality Sub Committee ********************

UPDATE  VOTE DELAYED FOR S 8 Please call all senators on the Health Policy Committee

1/11/2018 Senate • On Committee agenda– Health Policy, 01/16/18, 4:00 pm, 412 Knott Building

Big Pharma is in Tally HB 21 S 8 in jeopardy (limiting opiate prescribing, mandatating use of PDMP. We need massive phone calls to committee members. They are scheduled for tomorrow. Committee on Health Policy

Members (Bill S 8)1/10/18 9a   (latest information hearing tomorrow will vote at a later date)

 

Senators Names and Phone Numbers tab below: S 8

https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/HP

 

 

 

 

 

Following Florida HB 21 and SB 458  will keep notificactions and updates of committee meetings on web. Overdose deaths in Florida 14/day due to ignoring the opiate epidemic for so long. NAS babies also escalating.  The book STOPPNow now available for purchase.

 

 

 

 

 

Governor Scott is now supporting limiting opiate prescribing to 3 days and mandating that prescribers use the PDMP. The death rate continues to escalate year over year due to ignoring the opiate epidemic for so long. Read article below. One correction is that when STOPPNow started the death rate was 7/day in Florida. Now the death rate from overdoses is 14/day. I will keep the site updated when we have bills that will need support to become law.

http://enewspaper.sun-sentinel.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=ad16ced3-eef7-40ca-a7e1-b46b92f92c67

 

 

 

 

S 892 115th Congress (2017 – 2018) Opioid Addiction Prevention Act of 2017

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/892/text

This bill limits opiate prescribing to a 7 day limit during the acute phase in states that have no limited prescribing in place.  Call your legislator. They must support passage of limited opiate prescribing to start to combat the physician prescribed opiate epidemic.

 

********************************UPDATE*************************************

10/27/17   Reported by USA Today and Politico Florida

State Sen. Jeff Clemens, poised to take over as leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, abruptly resigned from his legislative seat Friday after admitting he had an affair with a lobbyist.

http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/00840/Amendment/199576/

HB 557 passed the Fl House limiting opiate prescribing in the acute phase. SB 840 was amended on April 14, 2017 Good Friday at 3:47 pm by Senator Clemens to delete lines 20 – 120 (striking the limited opiate prescribing) Call your Fl senators and representatives demanding the reversal of this amendment. Please repost to your FB and Twitter accounts. We need massive social media on this. Fewer pills = Fewer deaths. Governmental Oversight & Accountability Committee hearing on monday at 4pm. Call all to reverse this
public.lobbytools.com
Janet Colbert
STOPPNOW

 

Support HB 61


Provisions for overdose patient when brought into the ER, rather than treat em and street em. It is medical neglect that they are not taking these much needed measures now. 

 

Support HB 557 

 To watch Health Quality Committee Hearing 02/22/17 regarding HB 557 click on the Support Link above advance to about 54 mins on video . Representative Pigman and Representative Duran agreed to amend HB 557 to add limitations on opiate prescriptions during the acute phase of needed treatment. Language is being written in preparation for the next committee hearing, Health & Human Services Committee ( no date yet) Chair is Representative Travis Cummings; Vice Chair Representative David Santiago; Democratic Ranking Member Bobby DuBose.

Rep Cummings: 850 717-5018

Rep Santiago 850 717-5027

Rep DuBose 850 717-5094

Rep Duran 850 717-5112 (Sponsor HB 557)

Please call all of them to support HB 557 with amendment for fewer pills. Fewer pills = Fewer deaths

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U. S. Senate  S 3075  114th Congress

Call and write your Senators office today to co-sponsor

 

 

 

 

S 2758

There are currently 3 questions relating to pain on hospital surveys that affects hospital reimbursement.  Hospital administrators are focused on their bottom line and this creates an environment of overprescribing.  Many addictions start here.

Senate Bill 2758    and HR 4499 removes these questions giving patient care back in the hands of the doctors not the government

The bill has been referred to the Finance Committee:

Members, 114th Congress[edit]
Majority
Orrin Hatch, Utah, Chairman
Chuck Grassley, Iowa
Mike Crapo, Idaho
Pat Roberts, Kansas
Mike Enzi, Wyoming
John Cornyn, Texas
John Thune, South Dakota
Richard Burr, North Carolina
Johnny Isakson, Georgia
Rob Portman, Ohio
Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania
Dan Coats, Indiana
Dean Heller, Nevada
Tim Scott, South Carolina

Minority

Ron Wyden, Oregon, Ranking Member
Chuck Schumer, New York
Debbie Stabenow, Michigan
Maria Cantwell, Washington
Bill Nelson, Florida
Bob Menendez, New Jersey
Tom Carper, Delaware
Ben Cardin, Maryland
Sherrod Brown, Ohio
Michael Bennet, Colorado
Bob Casey, Pennsylvania
Mark Warner, Virginia

The House Bill is HR 4499

 

 

************************************************************************************************

Proposal for Florida Leislators

Reconsideration of Pharmacy Crawl Bill. There is not a shortage of pills so perhaps better distribution is in order.

Top 98% of dispensing doctors were in Florida. Dispensing no longer legal however, those same doctors are still here. They are writing prescriptions. We must screen for non-cancer high prescribing doctors?
Tie to DEA number.
Task force to monitor.
ME to report deaths with toxicology report positive for narcotics.
ER’s to report drug overdoses.
Limit number prescribed for acute pain to a 72 hour supply. (Similar to Gov. Charlie Baker. Mass)

Improve PDMP while strengthening.
Data base located within patients medical record
In order to maintain the patient advisory report in the electronic medical record, 893.0551, F.S., would need to be changed.
Delegate access.
Mandate that prescribers use prior to writing schedule II,III, and IV narcotics.

********************************************************************************

 

 

 

 

STATUS OF SENATE INVESTIGATION ? 

The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch
Chairman
Committee on Finance
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Ron Wyden
Ranking Member
Committee on Finance
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden:

On behalf of dozens of organizations on the front line of our nation’s prescription opioid and heroin crisis and on behalf of hundreds of thousands of American families devastated by opioid addiction, we are writing to you about a Senate Finance Committee investigation launched in 2012. We respectfully request that you make public the findings from this investigation.

On May 8, 2012, Senators Grassley and Baucus sent letters to three opioid manufacturers and seven non-profit organizations that have promoted aggressive opioid use. In their letters to these groups, they wrote:

“There is growing evidence that pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and market opioids may be responsible, at least in part, for this epidemic by promoting misleading information about the drugs’ safety and effectiveness.”

The Senate Finance Committee investigation sought information on efforts by opioid makers and nonprofit groups to encourage aggressive opioid prescribing for common conditions like low back pain, where risks of use outweigh benefits. These efforts led to a sharp increase in opioid prescriptions and consequently to soaring rates of addiction, overdose deaths, infants born opioid-dependent, and other health and social problems. According to the CDC, overexposure of our population to opioid painkillers has also led to a new heroin problem.

Opioid overdoses, once rare in the United States, have caused more than 220, 000 deaths (175,000 from painkillers and 45,000 from heroin) since 1999. That is more than double the number of American lives lost in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined. In other words, the efforts by opioid manufacturers to increase opioid prescribing have led to a public health catastrophe that may take decades for our country to recover from.

Senate Finance Committee staff spent several months collecting and sorting through the records they requested. Regrettably, the findings from this investigation have never been shared with the public. This is why we are writing to you.

The results of the investigation are not simply a matter of historical importance. Some of these same companies and non-profit groups have continued to promote aggressive opioid use and continue to block federal and state interventions that could reduce overprescribing. In addition, some of the specific individuals mentioned in the Committee’s letters to drug companies continue to work as advisors to federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health

To bring our nation’s epidemic of opioid addiction to an end, we must reduce overprescribing of opioids. This goal will be difficult to achieve if opioid makers, and the groups they fund, continue to promote aggressive and inappropriate prescribing. We urge you to release the findings from the Committee’s investigation of their activities. By doing so, their ability to continue putting profits ahead of the public’s health will be greatly diminished.

**************************************************************************************

John H. Stewart
President and Chief Executive Officer Purdue Pharma L.P.
One Stamford Forum
201 Tresser Boulevard
Stamford, Connecticut 06901-3431

Dear Mr. Stewart:

May 8, 2012

As Chairman and a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, we have a responsibility to the more than 100 million Americans who receive health care under Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As part of that responsibility, this Committee has investigated the marketing practices of pharmaceutical and medical device companies as well as their relationships with physicians and non-profit medical organizations.

It is clear that the United States is suffering from an epidemic of accidental deaths and addiction resulting from the increased sale and use of powerful narcotic painkillers. According to CDC data, “more than 40% (14,800)” of the “36,500 drug poisoning deaths in 2008” were related to opioid-based prescription painkillers.1 Deaths from these drugs rose more rapidly, “from about 4,000 to 14,800” between 1999 and 2008, than any other class of drugs,2 killing more people than heroin and cocaine combined.3 More people in the United States now die from drugs than car accidents as a result of this new epidemic.4 Additionally, the CDC reports that improper “use of prescription painkillers costs health insurers up to $72.5 billion annually in direct health care costs.”5

In Montana, prescription drug abuse is characterized by the state’s Department of Justice as an “invisible epidemic” killing at least 300 people per year and contributing to increases in

1 Center for Disease Control, “Drug Poisoning Deaths in the United States, 1980-2008, NCHS Data Brief, No. 81, December 2011 at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db81.pdf.
2 Id.
3 CDC Press Release, “Prescription painkiller overdoses at epidemic levels,” November 1, 2011 at http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/p1101_flu_pain_killer_overdose.html.

4 LA Times, “Drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in U.S., data show,” September 17. 2011 at http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/17/local/la-me-drugs-epidemic-20110918.
5 International Business Times, “Prescription Painkiller Overdoses Cost Insurers $72.5 Billion Yearly: CDC,” November 3, 2011 at http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/242437/20111103/prescription-painkiller-overdoses-cost- insurers-72-5.htm.

addiction and crime.6 The University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research estimated that prescription drug abuse is costing the state $20 million annually in additional law enforcement, social services, and lost productivity.7

In Iowa, “the use of opioid painkillers such as hydrocodone and oxycodone has increased dramatically in the last decade,” according to the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy. Annual overdose deaths from opioids “increased more than 1,233% from 3 deaths in 2000 to 40 deaths in 2009.”8 Data from Iowa’s prescription drug monitoring program demonstrates that in 2010, 89,500,000 doses of hydrocodone and oxycodone were prescribed totaling nearly 40% of all controlled substance prescriptions.9

Concurrent with the growing epidemic, the New York Times reports that, based on federal data, “over the last decade, the number of prescriptions for the strongest opioids has increased nearly fourfold, with only limited evidence of their long-term effectiveness or risks” while “[d]ata suggest that hundreds of thousands of patients nationwide may be on potentially dangerous doses.”10

There is growing evidence pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and market opioids may be responsible, at least in part, for this epidemic by promoting misleading information about the drugs’ safety and effectiveness. In 2007, top executives from Purdue Pharma, the original manufacturer of OxyContin, one of the most notorious and heavily abused painkillers, “pleaded guilty…in federal court to criminal charges that they misled regulators, doctors and patients about the drug’s risk of addiction and its potential to be abused.”11

In addition to illegal off-label marketing, which has been prevalent in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, drug and device companies have been found to engage in marketing, regulatory, and public relations activities through supposedly independent medical organizations financed by industry.12 Recent investigative reporting from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MedPage Today and ProPublica revealed extensive ties between companies that manufacture and market opioids and non-profit organizations such as the American Pain Foundation, the American Pain Society, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the Federation of State Medical Boards, and the University of Wisconsin Pain and Policy Study Group.

6 See the Montana Department of Justice website at http://doj.mt.gov/prescriptionabuse/.
7 Bureau of Business and Economic Research, “The Economic Cost of Prescription Drug Abuse in Montana”, June 2011 at http://mbcc.mt.gov/PlanProj/Projects/PDMP/Prescription%20Drug%20Abuse%2020110629.pdf.
8 Iowa Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, “Iowa Drug Control Strategy: 2012,” November 1, 2011 at http://www.iowa.gov/odcp/drug_control_strategy/Strategy2012.Final.pdf
9 Id.
10 NY Times, “Tightening the Lid on Pain Prescriptions,” April 8, 2012 at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/health/opioid-painkiller-prescriptions-pose-danger-without-oversight.html. 11 NY Times, “In Guilty Plea, OxyContin Maker to Pay $600 Million,” May 11, 2007 at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/11/business/11drug-web.html.
12 See Senate Finance Committee, “Staff Report on Sanofi’s Strategic Use Of Third Parties to Influence the FDA,” at http://finance.senate.gov/newsroom/chairman/download/?id=69451e85-4d4c-403b-93e0-2d5e7b4010be; ProPublica, “Financial Ties Bind Medical Societies to Drug and Device Makers,” May 5, 2011 at http://www.propublica.org/article/medical-societies-and-financial-ties-to-drug-and-device-makers-industry; and NYTimes OpEd, “Cleaning Up Medical Advice,” April 30, 2010 at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/01/opinion/01sat3.html.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MedPage Today, a “network of national organizations and researchers with financial connections to the makers of narcotic painkillers…helped create a body of dubious information” favoring opioids “that can be found in prescribing guidelines, patient literature, position statements, books and doctor education courses.”13 For example, the Sentinel reported that the Federation of State Medical Boards, with financial support from opioid manufacturers, distributed more than 160,000 copies of a model policy book that drew criticism from doctors because “it failed to point out the lack of science supporting the use of opioids for chronic, non cancer pain.”14

In a ProPublica story published in the Washington Post, the watchdog organization examined the American Pain Foundation, a “health advocacy” organization that received “nearly 90 percent of its $5 million funding from the drug and medical device industry.” 15 ProPublica wrote that its review of the American Pain Foundation’s “guides for patients, journalists, and policymakers play down the risks associated with opioids and exaggerate their benefits. Some of the foundation’s materials on the drugs include statements that are misleading or based on scant or disputed research.”16

In 2003, a GAO report pointed to Purdue’s partnership with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) as possible means for Purdue to have “facilitated its access to hospitals to promote OxyContin.”17 The report revealed that Purdue “funded over 20,000 pain-related educational programs through direct sponsorship or financial grants” in addition to funding the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization’s (JCAHO) pain management programs.18

Although it is critical that patients continue to have access to opioids to treat serious pain, pharmaceutical companies and health care organizations must distribute accurate information about these drugs in order to prevent improper use and diversion to drug abusers.

As part of our effort to understand the relationship between opioid manufacturers and non-profit health care organizations, please provide the following information:

1) Provide a detailed account of all payments from 1997 to the present between Purdue and the following organizations in table format:

a. Organizations

  1. The American Pain Foundation
  2. The American Academy of Pain Medicine
  3. The American Pain Society
  4. The American Geriatric Society

13 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MedPage Today, “Follow the Money: Pain, Policy, and Profit,” February 19, 2012 at http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/PainManagement/31256.
14 Id.
15 ProPublica, “The Champion of Painkillers,” December 23, 2011 at http://www.propublica.org/article/the- champion-of-painkillers.

16 Id.
17 GAO, “OxyContin Abuse and Diversion and Efforts to Address the Problem,” December 2003 at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04110.pdf.
18 Id.

  1. The Wisconsin Pain and Policy Study Group
  2. The Alliance of State Pain Initiatives
  3. The Center for Practical Bioethics
  4. Beth Israel Medical Center, Department of Pain Medicine andPalliative Care
  5. The Joint Commission (and all related entities)
  6. The Federation of State Medical Boards

b. Individuals

  1. Russell K. Portenoy, M.D. – Chairman, Department of Pain Medicine And Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center
  2. Scott M. Fishman, M.D. – Chief, Department of Pain Medicine, University of California, Davis
  3. Perry G. Fine, M.D. – Professor of Anesthesiology, Pain Research Center, University of Utah School of Medicine
  4. Lynn R. Webster, M.D., F.A.C.P.M., F.A.S.A.M. – Medical Director and Founder, Lifetree Clinical Research & Pain Clinic
  5. Rollin M. Gallagher, M.D., M.P.H. – Director of Pain Management, Philadelphia Veteran Affairs Medical Center
  6. Bill McCarber, M.D. – Founder of the Chronic Pain Management Program for Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, CA
  7. Martin Grabois, M.D. – President, American Academy of Pain Medicine
  8. Myra Christopher – Kathleen M. Foley Chair for Pain and Palliative Care, Center for Practical Bioethics

c. For each organization or individual identified in 1(a) and 1(b), provide:

  1. Date of payment.
  2. Payment description (CME, royalty, honorarium, research support, etc.).
  3. Amount of payment.
  4. Year-end or year-to-date payment total and cumulative total paymentsfor each organization or individual.

2) All documents and communications from 2004 to the present pertaining to the book, “Responsible Opioid Prescribing: A Physician’s Guide,” distributed by the Federation of State Medical Boards.

  1. Provide the names, titles, and job descriptions of all employees who collaborated with the Federation of State Medical Boards, Dr. Scott Fishman, or third-party contractors on the development of this book.
  2. For each employee identified in 2(a), provide a summary of the work performed pertaining to the book.
  1. 3)  All documents and communications from 2007 to the present pertaining to the development or changes to JCAHO’s19 pain management standards, including but not limited to communications with the American Pain Society and other organizations involved in developing JCAHO pain management standards.
  2. 4)  All documents and communications from 2007 to the present pertaining to the development or changes to The American Pain Society’s pain guidelines.
  3. 5)  All documents and communications from 2004 to the present pertaining to the American Pain Foundation’s Military/Veterans Pain Initiative.
  4. 6)  All documents and communications from 2007 to the present pertaining to any policies, guidelines, press releases and/or position papers distributed by the American Pain Foundation.
  5. 7)  All presentations, reports, and communications to Purdue’s management team or board of directors from 2007 to the present pertaining to the funding of and/or collaborations with of any of the organizations or individuals specified in request 1(a) or 1(b).

In cooperating with the Committee’s review, no documents, records, data, or other information related to these matters, either directly or indirectly, shall be destroyed, modified, removed, or otherwise made inaccessible to the Committee.

We look forward to hearing from you by no later than June 8, 2012. All documents responsive to this request should be sent electronically, on a disc, in searchable PDF format to my staff. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Christopher Law with Senator Baucus at (202) 224-4515 or Erika Smith with Senator Grassley at (202) 224-5225.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley Senator

Max Baucus Chairman

19 All requests pertaining to JCAHO include related organizations such as the “Joint Commission Resources.”

**********************************************************************************************

Anthony’s Act – Providing Those Suffering With Addiction a Real Chance at Recovery

To be delivered to:

The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate

Petition Statement: The Affordable Care Act must be amended to provide for a minimum of Ninety (90) days inpatient drug or alcohol treatment up to a maximum of One Hundred Eighty (180) days per year at a facility certified to provide such care by the Secretary of Health of the state in which it is located.

Sign the Petition NOW!

LINK: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/anthonys-act