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Also see: Drugs-addiction-opioids; health;
Jump to: 2017; 2018; 2019; 2020;
Undated: A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The reason for this difference in substance control is the potential scope of misuse, from drug abuse to practicing medicine without a license and without sufficient education. Different jurisdictions have different definitions of what constitutes a prescription drug.
"Rx" is often used as a short form for prescription drug in North America - a contraction of the Latin word "recipe" (an imperative form of "recipere") meaning "take".[1] Prescription drugs are often dispensed together with a monograph (in Europe, a Patient Information Leaflet or PIL) that gives detailed information about the drug.
The use of prescription drugs has been increasing since the 1960s. In the U.S., 88% of older adults (62–85 years) use at least 1 prescription drug, while 36% take at least 5 prescription medicines concurrently.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prescription_drug
-- 2017 --
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January 31: Trump Signals Willingness to Weigh Pharma Concerns
Softening his tone on the drug industry, the president focused on cutting regulations and expanding jobs.
President Donald Trump has in the past advocated government intervention in setting drug prices, but on Tuesday ahead of a meeting with pharmaceutical executives he appeared to balance his position by focusing on the benefits drug companies could get from changes ahead, including accelerating the process by which medicines hit the market.
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-care-news/articles/2017-01-31/after-vilifying-drug-companies-donald-trump-meets-with-executives
February 3: Potential side effects of the drug Trump reportedly takes for hair loss
President Trump’s personal physician recently revealed that the president takes finasteride, a drug used to combat male-pattern baldness. The medication has been in the news for another reason: its potential side effects.
The constellation of potential symptoms, sometimes referred to as post-finasteride syndrome, may include sexual, physical and psychological changes.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/02/03/side-effects-of-the-drug-trump-reportedly-takes-for-hair-loss/?utm_term=.64ab64487d4e
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February 3: What If the Free Market Decided Whether or Not Drugs Work?
President Trump’s pick to lead the country’s drug regulatory agency could usher in major reforms.
... some of those with the president’s ear have embraced a radical free-market view. They want the marketplace, not the FDA, to determine how good drugs are.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603559/what-if-the-free-market-decided-whether-or-not-drugs-work/
February 28: Lawmakers Look to Canada, Trump on Prescription Drugs ... The new president has signaled a desire to rein in drug prices, and a measure from his opponents aims to do so by allowing prescription imports from the Great White North.
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-02-28/senators-look-to-canada-donald-trump-on-prescription-drugs
March 18: America’s pot industry shrugs off Donald Trump’s harder line on drugs
A business that is well used to risk sees greater opportunities ahead
https://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21718826-business-well-used-risk-sees-greater-opportunities-ahead-americas-pot-industry
August 10: Trump declares US opioid pain drugs national emergency
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40891691
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October 19: Trump Misleads on High U.S. Drug Costs
It’s true, as President Donald Trump says, that branded prescription drugs are generally cheaper outside the U.S. But he distorts the facts when he says, “as usual, the world is taking advantage of us.”
Prescription drug pricing experts say Trump’s gripe is with pharmaceutical companies and U.S. legislators who balk at such cost-controlling measures as having the federal government negotiate drug prices for Medicare.
The president also is cherry-picking when he says U.S. prices are “double, triple, quadruple” what other countries pay. Some drugs may have price disparities that high, but experts say the overall difference from other countries isn’t that large.
https://www.factcheck.org/2017/10/trump-misleads-high-u-s-drug-costs/
October 27: While Vowing to Take on Opioid Crisis, Trump Cuts Drug Treatment Options
GOP’s Cuts to Medicaid, ACA, Mean Millions Lose Access to Drug Treatment Programs
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/27/while-vowing-take-opioid-crisis-trump-cuts-drug-treatment-options
-- 2018 --
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January 30: David Mitchell, a patient with incurable blood cancer and the President of Patients For Affordable Drugs, issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s promise to lower drug prices during his State of the Union address:
“Patients are watching. We are angry and hurting. And we plan to hold the President accountable to his promise tonight that drug prices will come down this year. He should start by supporting the bipartisan CREATES Act and Medicare price negotiation. Both are common sense reforms—the kind he’s promised us before. No more words. Action. The clock is ticking.”
The CREATES Act (S. 974) aims to stop big drug corporations that block competition by refusing to allow their brand name drugs to be used in testing needed to get approval for generic competitors. If passed, people would get access to lower priced generic drugs faster, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates taxpayers would save $3.3 billion.
https://www.patientsforaffordabledrugs.org/2018/01/30/patients-affordable-drugs-reacts-president-trumps-promise-lower-drug-prices/
January 31: Trump wants to fix 'injustice' of high drug prices. But can he?
http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/31/investing/trump-state-of-the-union-drug-prices/index.html
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January 31: Trump's Call For #RightToTry Experimental Drug Access: A Nothingburger For Patients And Families ... patients with life-threatening illnesses should have the opportunity for access to experimental drugs outside the confines of a clinical trial, also known as "compassionate use" or by the hashtag #RightToTry.
But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration already operates such an expanded access program (EAP) that approves over 99% of requests for such medicines, biologic agents and medical devices. In fact, you and I, doctors, legislators — even the president — have access to all the information needed to make such a request today.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkroll/2018/01/31/trumps-call-for-righttotry-experimental-drug-access-a-nothingburger-for-patients-and-families/#2549507c67ad
February 1: Pharmaceutical stocks drop after drug price mention in Trump’s State of the Union ... Trump has made frequent comments about drug prices, and the latest such example sent pharmaceutical stocks tumbling — again
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pharmaceutical-stocks-drop-after-drug-price-mention-in-trumps-state-of-the-union-2018-01-31
February 2: Trump’s abandoned promise to bring down drug prices, explained
From “getting away with murder” to a more pharma-friendly presidency.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/30/16896434/trump-drug-prices-year-one
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February 9: Trump Moves to Cut Costs for Prescription Drugs
Plans included making generic drugs available free for senior citizens in the Medicare program
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-moves-to-cut-costs-for-prescription-drugs-1518187386
February 21: Trump pushing ahead on Koch-backed experimental drugs 'Right to Try' agenda
Terminally ill patients can be desperate for any treatment that might save their lives. Even if the chances are bleak, it seems worth a shot. That dire need has led Congress to pursue a bill that would allow patients to access experimental drug treatments that bypass the Food and Drug Administration's clinical trial process. But the legislative fight pits President Donald Trump and other powerful conservatives, including the Koch brothers, against many voices from the medical community and patient advocacy organizations.
Trump prodded lawmakers last week to turn the bill, known as "Right to Try," into law.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/21/president-trumps-support-for-risky-experimental-drugs-sidesteps-fda.html
May 11: Seeking to fulfill his longstanding promise to lower drug prices, President Donald Trump laid out his vision for increasing competition, reducing regulations and changing the incentives for all players in the pharmaceutical industry.
http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/10/news/economy/drug-prices-trump-speech/index.html
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May 24: The nation's opioid epidemic has been attributed to many factors, including the over-prescription of painkillers and the availability of cheap synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
In Congress, lawmakers are trying to make it harder to buy fentanyl, in part by forcing the U.S. Postal Service to make it more difficult to send narcotics through the mail. But the measure has been languishing.
A Senate GOP aide who spoke to NPR blames the Postal Service for blocking the measure in Congress by providing misinformation about the bill and suggesting it's unworkable.
https://www.npr.org/2018/05/24/613762721/deadly-delivery-opioids-by-mail
September 28: Drugmakers Play The Patent Game To Lock In Prices, Block Competitors
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/09/28/652546095/drugmakers-play-the-patent-game-to-lock-in-prices-block-competitors
October 10: Trump signs bills lifting pharmacist 'gag clauses' on drug prices
NBC News reported last year on the agreements between pharmacies and insurance companies that had kept some pharmacists from disclosing cheaper drug options to consumers.
Steve Hoffart, a local pharmacist in Magnolia, Texas, who previously told NBC News about the difficulties of "gag clauses," praised the bills on Wednesday as a victory for consumers.
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“It’s a big win for patients," he told NBC News. “It’s a big win for patients in terms of allowing pharmacists to openly discuss medication prices to save patient money and health care costs.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-signs-bills-lifting-pharmacist-gag-orders-drug-prices-n918721
October 24: President Trump has signed a wide-ranging bill into law aimed at reducing addiction and deaths from opioids, an issue his administration has called a public health emergency.
The 650-page-plus bill signed Wednesday is meant to tackle the crisis, giving healthcare workers more latitude to respond, and allocates roughly $8.5 billion in funding authorized in appropriations bills passed earlier this year.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/trump-signs-major-opioids-legislation-just-in-time-for-elections
October 25: Trump Aims To Lower Some U.S. Drug Spending By Factoring In What Other Countries Pay
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/25/660641997/trump-aims-to-lower-some-u-s-drug-spending-by-factoring-in-what-other-countries-
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November 16: Pfizer raises drug prices again, rebuking Trump
Drug giant Pfizer announced on Friday it will increase the list prices of 41 medicines in January, just months after it agreed to temporarily roll back price hikes under pressure from President Donald Trump.
Pfizer's new price increases, which take effect Jan. 15, will apply to 10 percent of its portfolio, the company said. Most of those drugs will see 5 percent increases.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/16/pfizer-drugs-prices-increase-trump-981010
November 20: Drug companies snub Trump by hiking prices
https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/drug-companies-snub-trump-by-hiking-prices
December 19: Frustrated opioid patients speak out: 'I now buy heroin on the street'
The national opioid crisis propelled a crackdown on prescription painkillers, causing hundreds of doctors to abruptly reduce or completely cut off their patients’ prescriptions, leaving many among the estimated 20 million Americans who suffer from daily debilitating chronic pain to consider suicide.
One woman spoke of how her mother, at 72 years old, and in pain because of degenerative bone disease, saw only one way out after her opioids were tapered down. She committed suicide.
https://www.foxnews.com/health/readers-respond-to-special-report-about-the-opioid-crisis-unintended-victims-pain-sufferers-losing-access-to-painkillers
-- 2019 --
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May 6: Amid opioid epidemic, report finds more doctors stealing prescriptions
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amid-opioid-epidemic-report-finds-more-doctors-stealing-prescriptions/-- 2020 --
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