OIG Fall 2022 Semiannual Report to Congress (SAR), in part, provides an overview of HHS-OIG’s activities for the reporting period comprising the last half of fiscal year (FY) 2022 from April 1 through September 30, 2022. Press Release oig.hhs.gov/newsroom/news-re…

What happens when you get tens of millions in grants to write useless post-op opioid guidelines allowing 0 pills for every single surgery, and you don’t use a dime of that $30M to implement guardrails to prevent misapplication? Well, our inbox daily shows you exactly what you get. Extreme, unmanaged suffering. Shame on @michigan_open

Patient story: "when husband diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and the pain he was in after emergency surgery to scrape tumor off his spine as it was compressing nerves and he couldn't walk,it was a crash course dealing with doctors and pain meds. He was in constant pain every day of the 90 days he lived and until he went in hospice the oncologist doled out every pill like it was gold and he was personally responsible for it. After following this forum I have begun to understand what was going on with the doctors and the pharmacies"

*voluntary federal guideline had significant intended/unintended effects *guideline associated w/ reductions in opioid prescribing among groups targeted/not targeted by its design *limited evidence on patient outcomes *prioritize equity-focused patient outcomes 2022 CDC guideline

𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞. V𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦. open.substack.com/pub/steven…

Thanks to Doctor Patient Forum! Lookie what we have here! A call for MONITORING PATIENT OUTCOME as a result of the implementation of the CDC Guidelines across all pain patient populations! Exactly what I have been screaming for 4 years now! WE NEED THE DATA about the harms and deaths caused to patients by DE-PRESCRIBING! @DAGToddBlanche @realDonaldTrump @SaraCarterDC @ScottBradyPA @SecKennedy @AAGDhillon @JudgeJeanine @stevejoncus @JeffreyBSimon @AZAGMayes @KenPaxtonTX Study: bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/6…

I thought the whole point of Hospice care was to focus on comfort, dignity, and quality of life for people who are nearing the end of life. This is horrible.

BREAKING: The @AmerMedicalAssn has adopted the following policies at its 2026 #AMAmtg: "The AMA [will] convene a meeting with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and other national pharmacy organizations to identify ways to improve communications between physicians and pharmacists about physicians’ and pharmacists’ corresponding responsibility and related areas" about physicians' plenary prescriptive authority (including controlled medications), providing a report in June 2027.... The "AMA [will] work with pharmacies subject to the national opioid litigation settlements to provide data on refusals to fill and dispense medications, including the reasons for such refusals."

This is excellent news. The AMA is calling for pharmacy-refusal data, including how often valid prescriptions are refused and why. It is about time someone pushes tracking patient outcomes for opioid reduction policies. This is a great start. Thank you @ChadDKollas !

Thank you! Here is our break down of this study from when it came out in Feb: patreon.com/posts/151813239?…

The document will not be published on the federal register until tomorrow. federalregister.gov/d/2026-1…

Story from @AmerMedicalAssn: “Pharmacists play essential roles on physician-led care teams, particularly in ensuring medication safety. But problems can arise when pharmacists refuse to dispense prescriptions based on judgments that are outside of their education and training. These refusals can contribute to a variety of patient harms, including uncontrolled symptoms, relapses or even debilitation. Added to that, corporate policies and pharmacy benefit management company requirements sometimes compel pharmacists to refuse to fill legitimate prescriptions, effectively overriding their individual professional judgment. ‘This issue has been particularly nettlesome with respect to filling and dispensing prescriptions for opioid analgesics,’ says an AMA Board of Trustees report whose recommendations were adopted at the Annual Meeting. Existing AMA policy seeks to preserve patients’ ability to have legally valid prescriptions filled, including by directing the Association to ‘study the national prevalence and patterns of pharmacists refusing to fill valid prescriptions from plenary licensed physicians, including impact on patient outcomes and prescriber autonomy.’ But the Board of Trustees sought ways to engage with physicians’ pharmacy colleagues to explore additional ways to address these issues. To that end, delegates directed the AMA to:  •Convene a meeting with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and other national pharmacy organizations to identify ways to improve communications between physicians and pharmacists about physicians’ and pharmacists’ corresponding responsibility and related areas, with report back at the 2027 AMA Annual Meeting. •Work with pharmacies subject to the national opioid litigation settlements to provide data on refusals to fill and dispense medications, including the reasons for such refusals.” @cvspharmacy @Walgreens @PublixHelps

For the record. “ILLICIT” FENTANYL: Not pharmaceutical grade, FDA approved, prescribed by your physician for appropriate medical use. There’s a difference, and you are ethically responsible for being transparent by making the distinction absolutely crystal clear to the public.

Dear @DEAHQ, Please stop conflating prescription fentanyl and illicit fentanyl (fentalogues). You risk stigmatizing patients with severe illness who require prescription fentanyl to treat severe pain. #WordsMatter dea.gov/press-releases/2026/…

A recent study found that rates of chronic pain/disabling pain surged in U.S. reaching highest levels ever recorded, 60 million have chronic pain, 21 million have “high impact” pain severe enough to interfere with work and everyday life… painnewsnetwork.org/stories/…

Why is opioid-dependent bad but gabapentin-dementia ok?

CMS did not release an open, standalone public press release taking responsibility for Jan 2026 data breach. Instead, agency “quietly” initiated mass security protocol notifying insurance plans, mailing breach notices directly to 1.3 million beneficiaries. phlp.org/en/news

VA Knew the Behavioral Flag Trap Was Broken. Veterans Are Still Being Harmed. open.substack.com/pub/steven…

youarewithinthenorms.com/202… @NPR @SenWarren @rolandsmartin @marklevinshow @PACRiseUp @MalcolmNance @ActuallyNPH @MHarrisPerry

You won't want to miss this podcast with @AsafKlaf debunking the common pain narratives. Pain Patients Were Right: The “It’s All in Your Head” Narrative Is Falli... youtu.be/1HbbkoyfXWw?si=pnR5… via @YouTube

I won't mince words. The term Over-medicalisation is a euphemism for Eugenics. It is an ideology used to deny healthcare. That is all.