Atlanta’s got the cheapest drugs*

The latest GoodRx report on the retail cash prices for prescription drugs (i.e., for people not using insurance or discounts) found that Atlanta’s prices were the lowest of any major city — about 21% cheaper than the average.

Other fun facts:

  • New York is the most expensive city.
  • Myalept is the most expensive drug.
  • Lipitor is the most popular generic drug overall
  • SSRIs are the most popular class of drug in Georgia
* Doo-dah, doo-dah

Shout-out for the extra mile

Congrats to clinical pharmacist Trac Nguyen of AdventHealth Gordon Hospital, who received the hospitals Extra Mile award for going “above and beyond the call of duty on a regular basis.”

“Trac has been influential in helping improve clinical outcomes through antibiotic stewardship. He always has a smiling face, and his wealth of knowledge has created a solid resource for the ICU nurses and physicians as well. The physicians and nurses have learned to lean on his expertise for guidance in many areas.”

Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow

The number of Georgians trying to quit smoking has decreased, according to the latest CDC data (which only goes to 2017).

  • 2014 (“peak quit”): 72% in Georgia trying to kick the habit
  • 2017: 64.3% were trying
  • Georgians 18-24 who are trying to quit: 74.1%
  • Georgians over 65 trying: 55.4%

Another distributor charged

At least Rochester Drug Cooperative won’t be alone in it’s (metaphorical) cell: The feds have charged a second drug distributor — Miami-Luken — with conspiring to deliberately flood markets in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia with opioids.

Taking it to the home

CVS has begun trials of its HemoCare Hemodialysis home dialysis system.

Money for quitting (and your lungs feel free)

There’s one way to get people to quit smoking: Pay them.

The researchers found that after six months or more, people who received financial rewards were about 50 percent more likely to have quit smoking than those in the control groups.

Elsewhere: Live Free or Die edition

A new New Hampshire law requires pharmacists to put a big ol’ orange sticker on all opioid prescription bottles (“OPIOID”) and a warning label (“Risk of addiction and overdose”) and pass out a flyer explaining “the risks of opioid use and how to mitigate them.”