State prescription drug databases like KASPER cut back doctor shopping and drug abuse, new study shows

Photo by iStockphoto

Research from the University of North Carolina indicates drug databases like the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system do reduce doctor shopping and change prescribing behavior.

Another article showed state drug databases "facilitate a relative decrease over time in prescription drug misuse, despite state differences in program administration," reports Maggie Clark for Stateline, the freshly revised news service of The Pew Center on the States.

A 2010 evaluation of KASPER showed 90 percent of doctors who used the system found it effective in preventing drug abuse and doctor shopping. A new Kentucky law "mandates that all physicians and pharmacists who prescribe schedule II and III drugs, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, check the patient's prescription records before writing or filling a prescription," Clark reports. Dispensers must also register prescriptions in the state database without 24 hours of writing or filling the prescription.

Clark points out the legislation change sparked a debate about "how to balance patient privacy and law enforcements needs in fighting a serious criminal and public health problem." Attorney General Jack Conway, who wanted KASPER put into his office's hands, lost that fight as part of the legislative compromise. It will remain the responsibility of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and, by extension, the doctor-run Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.

Privacy issues have likewise surfaced in Vermont. "The discussion really is about what kind of access the police will have to electronic personal health information," said Allen Gilbert, executive director of the Vermont Civil Liberties Union. (Read more)

Beauty at Home

Beauty Treatments at Home : Face Cleanser

Do you know that you no longer need to invest in an expensive face wash to keep your facial skin clean? You have some natural ingredients in your kitchen itself which work very well in getting out the dirt, oil and grime from the skin pores, thus contributing towards facial skincare.

Milk

For cleansing the face naturally, take a cotton ball and dip it into milk. Next, apply the milk all over your face and neck. Let it dry for two-three minutes. After that, taking a fresh cotton ball soaked in water, cleanse the milk from your face. If you look at the cotton ball now, you will find all your face impurities sticking on it.

Curd

Just like milk, curd too helps in sucking out the skin impurities. Take some fresh curd and apply it on your face. Let it dry for five minutes and then wash it off with cold water.

Beauty Treatments at Home : Face Scrub

Face scrubs should be applied once a week to remove the dead skin from the face. They keep the skin rejuvenated, glowing and looking young forever, thus helping in natural skin care.

Gram Flour, Honey and Turmeric

This is a simple homemade beauty treatment recipe for making natural facial scrub. Make a mixture with one tablespoon gram flour, a pinch of turmeric, a teaspoon of honey and some water to get the right consistency. Apply this on your face and neck. Leave it on for about fifteen minutes and then using light, circular motions, remove it with your fingertips and water. Also refer to these homemade beauty recipes.

Sugar and Lemon

Do you know that sugar is a natural scrub? So, simply include it in any of the face packs or just make a mixture of it with lemon juice and rub it against your facial skin in circular motions. If you have a sensitive skin, you can skip lemon juice and use water instead.

Beauty Treatments at Home : Face Masks

Face masks at home should be applied once a week as they help in restoring the skin to its natural form. Face masks should be applied according to the skin types. So, know your skin type first before going in for any of the face masks given below.

Oily Skin Face Mask

For oily skin, one of the best face masks is prepared by mixing a mashed banana, some mineral clay and adding enough rose water so as to form a paste. Apply this on the face and neck, leave it on for twenty minutes and then wash off with cold water.

Normal Skin Face Mask

Fruity face masks are the most beneficial for a normal skin. So, you can take fruits such as papaya, mash it and apply it on the face. Leave it on for fifteen to twenty minutes, before washing off with cold water.

Dry Skin Face Mask

Dry skin needs a moisturizing face pack to keep it well nourished. Prepare such a face pack by mixing together one egg yolk and a teaspoon each of olive oil and honey. Apply on the face, leave it on for fifteen minutes and then wash off with lukewarm water.

Beauty Treatments at Home : Hair Care

Just like facial skin needs constant care, hair care is essential too. For this, the first thing that you can do is to give up applying chemicals on your hair. If you go in for hair treatments such as hair coloring or perming or straightening, in the long run, they can cause great damage to your hair. A natural alternative to hair coloring is application of Henna on the hair. You will find it in any of the Asian beauty stores. All you have to do is to soak henna in water overnight and apply it on your hair in the morning. Leave it on for three to four hours and then wash off with running water, till the entire henna paste comes out.

Application of certain hair masks lends them an unparalleled beauty. One of the nourishing hair masks is prepared by mixing two egg yolks and a tablespoon of honey. This mixture is to be applied on the hair one hour before washing, left on and then hair is washed off as usual with a shampoo. Another hair mask, which is very beneficial for getting rid of dandruff is prepared by soaking fenugreek seeds in water overnight and then making a paste out of them in the morning. Apply this paste on hair and keep it on for half an hour, before washing.

Beauty Treatments at Home : Body Care

For taking care of the body skin, massage it regularly with oils. An effective home remedy to moisturize the skin and get rid of dryness is to apply olive oil on the body, post taking a bath. Next, take some sugar and rub it on the body, till it melts. This helps in proper skin exfoliation. Another home remedy for a well moisturized body skin is to massage mustard oil into it every time before taking a bath.

The above mentioned beauty treatments at home can easily be followed by anybody as they do not require any elaborate preparation. So, follow them religiously and experience your natural beauty shine through!

By Aastha Dogra

Major newspapers publish reflections, reactions and details (including videos) on new law that will fight 'pill mills'

Reflections on the new law to fight "pill mills" are in both of Kentucky's major metropolitan newspapers today.

The Courier-Journal, which rightly takes partial credit for focusing attention on the issue, has a story by Laura Ungar that summarizes what the bill will do and not do. In the Lexington Herald-Leader, Kentucky Medical Association President Shawn Jones has an opinion piece defending his organization's lobbying against key parts of the bill.

"Unfortunately, in a desire to pass something, many did not consider the details of proposed legislation, and many of the details were extremely troublesome," writes Jones, right. "Most troubling were the proposed infringements on patient privacy through access to the state's Kentucky All Scheduled Prescription Electronic Reporting, or KASPER, system, which contains what is essentially a log of all of the controlled substances an individual has bought. A controlled substance is not just what many people have characterized as 'pain medicine.' It also includes prescriptions for medicines for anxiety, depression or attention deficit disorder." (Read more)

Jones is among the people featured in videos posted with The Courier-Journal's story. Others include Dr. Greg Cooper of Cynthiana; attorney Fox DeMoisey, who represents physicians accused of malpractice; and Dr. Patrick Murphy, a pain-management physician, talking about the various responsibilities of doctors in his field.