Robert King reports for Fierce Healthcare:

A new survey of physicians finds they are still facing burdens meeting prior authorization requirements despite a voluntary 2018 agreement among payer groups to reform the practice.

The survey was released Tuesday (PDF) by the American Medical Association (AMA) and comes amid criticism over prior authorization denials and requests in the Medicare Advantage space. The AMA spoke with more than 1,000 practicing physicians in...

The owner of a Boynton Beach pharmacy was among 14 people charged in connection with the unlawful distribution of opioids. Of them, twelve were medical professionals at the time of the alleged crime.

According to the charges filed against Casey Kelleher, from February 2019 to August 2021, the owner of Neighborhood Pharmacy purchased large amounts of oxycodone and hydromorphone and sold most on the black market.

Kelleher, along with the 13 other defendants are alleged to have been involved in the illegal prescription and distribution of 5.1 million opioid pills. The charges were the result of the Department of Justice’s Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force, a multiagency approach that targets the unlawful prescription of opioids across the Appalachian region.

Lauren Sausser reports for KHN:

When Melissa Boughton complained to her OB-GYN about dull pelvic pain, the doctor responded by asking about her diet and exercise habits.

The question seemed irrelevant, considering the type of pain she was having, Boughton thought at the time. But it wasn’t unusual coming from this doctor. “Every time I was in there, she’d talk about diet and exercise,” said Boughton, who is 34 and lives in Durham, North Carolina.

On this occasion, three years ago, the OB-GYN told Boughton that losing weight would likely resolve the pelvic pain. The physician brought up diet and exercise at least twice more...

I've never seen Monkeypox spread like this before Doctor Mike Hansen

Monkeypox is spreading around the globe in a way that hasn't been spread before. Scientists at CDC collaborated with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health officials to investigate a situation in which a U.S. resident tested positive for monkeypox on May 18 after returning to the U.S. from Canada.

They’re also tracking multiple clusters of monkeypox cases reported this month in several countries that don’t usually report monkeypox, including Europe and North America. This is why it has become such a concern.

It’s not clear how people in those clusters were exposed to the monkeypox virus, but some of the known causes include people who self-identify as men who have sex with men.

Watch the video.