Georrrgia agrees to Purdue deal

Georgia joins 23 other states in agreeing to a proposed settlement from Purdue Pharma, according to state Attorney General Chris Carr.

ICYMI: Purdue offered to declare bankruptcy, with the sale of the company — plus another $3 billion from the Sackler family — going to states, counties, cities, and towns to help alleviate the financial cost of the opioid crisis.

Stumbling blocks: While Georgia is willing to accept the Purdue offer, those who oppose the deal are among the largest, including California, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. And it’s also not clear how the money will be divided, and who will control that — states, cities, or the feds.

Arrr … Medical-data breaches in Georgia

At least 14 Georgia companies, hospitals, and other medical organizations are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for “breaches of unsecured protected health information*.”

Most involve the use of e-mail to send patient records, but some, like that of North Atlanta Medical Clinic this past January, are due to unauthorized access to a computer.

The largest breach was that of the Georgia Department of Human Services 10 months ago, which affected more than 439,000 individuals; close behind was a breach at Augusta University Medical Center (417,000 individuals affected).

Many breaches across the country are categorized as “Hacking/IT Incident.” While that may sound sinister, in reality the records might be more easily accessible than you would expect in the Age of HIPAA.

* You can look up breaches across the country at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/breach/breach_report.jsf

ABAC + PCOM = faster PharmDs, matey

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is partnering with PCOM Georgia on a program that will allow ABAC students to get their PharmDs from PCOM a year early.

[A]fter completion of the second year of pharmacy school, these students will be eligible to receive their bachelor’s degree from ABAC having earned the required credits during their first two years at PCOM Georgia.

Avast! Pharmacists continue vaccine push

Pharmacists for Healthier Lives (of which GPhA is a proud sponsor) is launching a new campaign to spread the word that immunization is critical. It features six videos from pharmacist — called “Impact Stories” — explaining why. You can view them at the PhHL site.

Snakes. Blimey, why did it have to be snakes?

Snake bites are on the rise in Georgia, sending more people to the hospital — we’re talking 98 so far this year who have needed an antivenin shot (last year at this time it was only 79), and 300 more who were bitten.

“Of those, we’re seeing more venomous snakebites,” said Dr. Robert Geller, medical director of Georgia Poison Center. “Get up close and personal with snakes you’re asking for trouble.”

Batten the hatches, it’s diabetics vs insurers

It’s bad enough that insulin is so overpriced these days that some diabetics have to ration their meds (or, if they’re lucky to live close to a border, to get it in Mexico or Canada).

Others, it seems, have to fight with insurers over prior authorization for their continuous glucose monitoring supplies.

Of the 1,000 physicians surveyed, 91 percent said prior authorizations “have a negative impact on patient clinical outcomes;” 75 percent said the requirements “can at least sometimes lead to patients abandoning a recommended course of treatment;” and 28 percent said the prior authorization process had “led to serious or life-threatening events” for their patients.

Artist’s conception

What do they be knowin’ that we don’t?

China has halted all sales of Juul e-cigarettes without explanation.

Heave to! The long read: Short-term insurance

Remember those “short-term” insurance plans that don’t meet Obamacare requirements? The ones the Trump administration said “can provide a much more affordable option for millions of the forgotten men and women left out
by the current system”?

Well … as expected, they’re coming back to bite the people who signed up for them.