Methadone dispensing at risk as PBS change causes financial havoc
The RACGP has heralded new PBS listings for opioid dependence treatment as a victory for patients, but GPs and pharmacists say they are primed to backfire. Taree GP Dr…
Tag: opioids
Opioids no better than placebo for low back and neck pain: real-world trial
Given the criticism of the researchers’ conclusions, AusDoc would like to direct our readers to Dr Sue Ieraci’s article outlining the study’s limitations. Opioids should…
PBS restrictions on GP-administered buprenorphine could leave patients with ‘nowhere to go’
An impending ban on GPs administering long-acting buprenorphine as a private script will risk vulnerable patients falling through the cracks, says GP and addiction expert…
Priority patients for opioid deprescribing identified in first guidelines for GPs
Patients with COPD or sleep apnoea whose quality of life is not improving with opioid analgesia are among the priority groups for deprescribing, according to…
PBS overhaul will ‘mainstream’ opioid dependence treatment, GPs say
Patients paying $150 a month for opioid dependence treatment will see their out-of-pocket costs slashed to $30 a month under major PBS changes, the RACGP says.…
Addiction GP wins legal fight to keep treating ‘desperate’ patients
A GP has fought off strict conditions that prevented him from practising after a tribunal found hundreds of patients on opioid agonist therapy were at…
An overdose of the ‘American dream’: Australia’s sledgehammer approach to pain management
It was almost a decade ago and I had recently arrived in Australia and was focusing on learning the ropes of a new healthcare system.…
Warning over toxic poppy seeds after 19 patients seek hospital care with two in ICU
More than a dozen patients have landed in hospital — with two in the ICU — after drinking home-brewed tea using up to 1kg of…
Pain management in chronic kidney disease
Joan is a 77-year-old woman with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, orthostatic hypotension, central adiposity, and chronic kidney disease stage 3B without albuminuria. She…
Tapentadol poisonings on the rise as scripts surge
Off-label prescribing is thought to be driving a rise in prescriptions in hospitals.
