OUR MISSION AND GOALOpioid Consulting Educational Solutions (OCES) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation whose over-riding mission is to combat the opioid epidemic through scientific innovation and intervention in healthcare systems that utilize controlled substances.
Our goal is to identify and correct any deficiencies with respect to controlled substance licensing, ordering, procurement, receiving, storage, inventory control, record keeping, dispensing, utilization, transfer, wasting, and ultimate destruction in any healthcare setting, or by licensed practitioners, who handle these drugs. We do this to protect patients, healthcare personnel, and healthcare facilities from the harm associated with drug diversion. |
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Becker's Hospital Review | 2020 Overdose Deaths by State
July 21, 2021
by Mackenzie Bean
Provisional data shows California had the most fatal overdoses among U.S. states in 2020, according to a ranking Kaiser Family Foundation released July 20. The ranking is based on data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The figures represent provisional drug overdose death counts for 2020 and have been adjusted to account for underreporting. Of the nearly 3.4 million deaths recorded in the U.S. last year, 93,331 were caused by fatal overdoses. Here's how each state and the District of Columbia compare.
July 21, 2021
by Mackenzie Bean
Provisional data shows California had the most fatal overdoses among U.S. states in 2020, according to a ranking Kaiser Family Foundation released July 20. The ranking is based on data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The figures represent provisional drug overdose death counts for 2020 and have been adjusted to account for underreporting. Of the nearly 3.4 million deaths recorded in the U.S. last year, 93,331 were caused by fatal overdoses. Here's how each state and the District of Columbia compare.
(PROP) | Prescription opioids continue to contribute to the rise in drug overdose deaths
Healthcare Professionals for Responsible Opioid Prescribing Group on LinkedIn
PROP News Release:
Prescription opioids continue to contribute to the rise in drug overdose deaths. PROP applauds the Biden administration for promulgating guidelines that will help expand access to evidence-based medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Treatment, however, is only part of the solution.
Healthcare Professionals for Responsible Opioid Prescribing Group on LinkedIn
PROP News Release:
Prescription opioids continue to contribute to the rise in drug overdose deaths. PROP applauds the Biden administration for promulgating guidelines that will help expand access to evidence-based medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Treatment, however, is only part of the solution.
Amerisource Bergen News | Distributors Announce Proposed Opioid Settlement Agreement
July 21, 2021
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. & DUBLIN, Ohio & IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC), Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) and McKesson (NYSE: MCK) announced today that they have negotiated a comprehensive proposed settlement agreement which, if all conditions are satisfied, would result in the settlement of a substantial majority of opioid lawsuits filed by state and local governmental entities.
July 21, 2021
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. & DUBLIN, Ohio & IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC), Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) and McKesson (NYSE: MCK) announced today that they have negotiated a comprehensive proposed settlement agreement which, if all conditions are satisfied, would result in the settlement of a substantial majority of opioid lawsuits filed by state and local governmental entities.
Picayune Item | Nurse practitioner arrested for obtaining a controlled substance by fraud/theft
July 18, 2021
Special Report
JACKSON, MS – A nurse practitioner has been arrested as a result of an investigation into prescription drug fraud and theft. Following a complaint, Agents with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Gulfport Tactical Diversion Unit, began investigating Nurse Practitioner Leslie Wilbourne, 46.
July 18, 2021
Special Report
JACKSON, MS – A nurse practitioner has been arrested as a result of an investigation into prescription drug fraud and theft. Following a complaint, Agents with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Gulfport Tactical Diversion Unit, began investigating Nurse Practitioner Leslie Wilbourne, 46.
Wall Street Journal | Johnson & Johnson Settles New York Opioid Case for $230 Million
June 28, 2021
By Sara Randazzo
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $230 million to the state of New York to resolve an opioid lawsuit slated to go to trial Tuesday, as negotiations intensify with the company and three drug distributors to clinch a $26 billion settlement of thousands of other lawsuits blaming the pharmaceutical industry for the opioid crisis.
June 28, 2021
By Sara Randazzo
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $230 million to the state of New York to resolve an opioid lawsuit slated to go to trial Tuesday, as negotiations intensify with the company and three drug distributors to clinch a $26 billion settlement of thousands of other lawsuits blaming the pharmaceutical industry for the opioid crisis.
ABC5 | DEA: Dangerous amounts of addictive narcotics flooded streets following pharmacy looting this summer
October 27, 2020
By Ryan Raiche
Before Elias Usso turned off the lights and locked the front doors of Seward Pharmacy one night in late May, he made sure the most addictive narcotics were locked up in a safe. Despite protests earlier in the day on May 27, Usso believed the crowds gathering in the wake of George Floyd's death would remain peaceful. He expected to return to work the next morning, filling prescriptions just like normal at the neighborhood pharmacy he opened on Lake Street in Minneapolis less than a year earlier.
October 27, 2020
By Ryan Raiche
Before Elias Usso turned off the lights and locked the front doors of Seward Pharmacy one night in late May, he made sure the most addictive narcotics were locked up in a safe. Despite protests earlier in the day on May 27, Usso believed the crowds gathering in the wake of George Floyd's death would remain peaceful. He expected to return to work the next morning, filling prescriptions just like normal at the neighborhood pharmacy he opened on Lake Street in Minneapolis less than a year earlier.
NEWS4SA | Former DEA agent arrested in Texas for allegedly selling cocaine
September 11, 2020
By Gerald Tracy
The tables have turned and a former DEA agent is now the man arrested for allegedly selling drugs. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 31-year-old Johnny Jacob Domingue was a DEA task force officer in Louisiana, where he lived. Federal court paperwork says Domingue bought four kilograms of cocaine for $100,000 to sell it. Arrest papers say he started doing this in July and continued until his arrest.
September 11, 2020
By Gerald Tracy
The tables have turned and a former DEA agent is now the man arrested for allegedly selling drugs. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 31-year-old Johnny Jacob Domingue was a DEA task force officer in Louisiana, where he lived. Federal court paperwork says Domingue bought four kilograms of cocaine for $100,000 to sell it. Arrest papers say he started doing this in July and continued until his arrest.
MACOMB DAILY | Doctors, Pharmacists, clinics among 19 indicted for opioid distribution conspiracy
June 11, 2020
By Norb Franz nfreanz
Scheme involved unnecessary prescriptions and fake patients that were recruited, authorities say. A doctor from St. Clair Shores and a pharmacist from Warren are among 19 people in the tri-county area who have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs.
June 11, 2020
By Norb Franz nfreanz
Scheme involved unnecessary prescriptions and fake patients that were recruited, authorities say. A doctor from St. Clair Shores and a pharmacist from Warren are among 19 people in the tri-county area who have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs.
Pharmalot | California scolds McKesson for supplying excessive controlled substances to a children’s pharmacy
February 7, 2020
By Ed Silverman
The California Board of Pharmacy is accusing McKesson (MCK), the large pharmaceutical wholesaler, of selling excessive amounts of two controlled substances to a children’s hospital, the latest episode in which one of the biggest U.S. distributors has allegedly failed to sufficiently monitor shipments of such medicines.
February 7, 2020
By Ed Silverman
The California Board of Pharmacy is accusing McKesson (MCK), the large pharmaceutical wholesaler, of selling excessive amounts of two controlled substances to a children’s hospital, the latest episode in which one of the biggest U.S. distributors has allegedly failed to sufficiently monitor shipments of such medicines.
Abington Memorial Hospital to Pay $510,000 to Resolve Drug Diversion Allegations
Monday, January 9, 2017
PRESS RELEASE -- Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Abington Memorial Hospital (AMH) has agreed to pay the United States $510,000 to resolve allegations that failures in AMH’s controls and practices enabled its employee to divert controlled substances for illegal, non-medical uses.
Monday, January 9, 2017
PRESS RELEASE -- Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Abington Memorial Hospital (AMH) has agreed to pay the United States $510,000 to resolve allegations that failures in AMH’s controls and practices enabled its employee to divert controlled substances for illegal, non-medical uses.
Quartz | Can technology fix the silent opioid crisis gripping US hospitals?
November 19, 2019
By Annabelle Timsit & Justin Roberts
In February 2009, Lauren Lollini, a psychotherapist from Colorado, had a kidney stone removed at Rose Medical Center in Denver. It was a routine procedure, but for weeks after her surgery, Lollini experienced flu-like symptoms, including nausea and extreme fatigue.
November 19, 2019
By Annabelle Timsit & Justin Roberts
In February 2009, Lauren Lollini, a psychotherapist from Colorado, had a kidney stone removed at Rose Medical Center in Denver. It was a routine procedure, but for weeks after her surgery, Lollini experienced flu-like symptoms, including nausea and extreme fatigue.
Miami Herald | Miami-based wholesalers are accused of selling black-market prescription drugs to pharmacies
October 18, 2019
By Ben Conarck
Federal prosecutors indicted two pharmaceutical-company executives on Friday, accusing them of selling millions of dollars’ worth of prescription drugs from the black market to unwitting pharmacies and consumers as part of a scheme that operated for six months out of a Miami apartment.
October 18, 2019
By Ben Conarck
Federal prosecutors indicted two pharmaceutical-company executives on Friday, accusing them of selling millions of dollars’ worth of prescription drugs from the black market to unwitting pharmacies and consumers as part of a scheme that operated for six months out of a Miami apartment.
New York Times | Prescribing Opioids: How Many Are Too Many?
June 19, 2018
By Julie Appleby
What’s the right painkiller prescription to send home with a patient after gallbladder surgery or a cesarean section? That question is front and center as conventional approaches to pain control in the United States contribute, in the opinion of some experts, to a culture of overprescribing that agg.
June 19, 2018
By Julie Appleby
What’s the right painkiller prescription to send home with a patient after gallbladder surgery or a cesarean section? That question is front and center as conventional approaches to pain control in the United States contribute, in the opinion of some experts, to a culture of overprescribing that agg.
RealClear Health | Did Doctors Help Create the Opioid Crisis?
July 5, 2018
By Albert Gustafson
In 2005, the FDA approved a new treatment for pain, administered through a patch on the patient’s skin. The drug’s approval coincided with a movement in the medical profession towards treating pain as the “fifth vital sign,” leading doctors to take more aggressive steps to deal with pain. By 2012, d..
July 5, 2018
By Albert Gustafson
In 2005, the FDA approved a new treatment for pain, administered through a patch on the patient’s skin. The drug’s approval coincided with a movement in the medical profession towards treating pain as the “fifth vital sign,” leading doctors to take more aggressive steps to deal with pain. By 2012, d..
HealthAffairs | The Case For Confronting Long-Term Opioid Use As A Hospital-Acquired Condition
September 8, 2017
By Michael Schlosser, Ravi Chari, and Jonathan Perlin
The first principle of medicine is to “do no harm.” Over the past two decades, the medical community has attempted to honor this principle by treating patient pain with opioid prescriptions. Unfortunately, these good intentions have driven an epidemic of opioid addiction and drug overdoses, now...
September 8, 2017
By Michael Schlosser, Ravi Chari, and Jonathan Perlin
The first principle of medicine is to “do no harm.” Over the past two decades, the medical community has attempted to honor this principle by treating patient pain with opioid prescriptions. Unfortunately, these good intentions have driven an epidemic of opioid addiction and drug overdoses, now...