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The DEA has issued a warning after discovering xylazine, a tranquilizer for large animals, in almost 25% of the fentanyl powder it seized in 2022. Extensive, necrotic skin ulcerations brought on by xylazine can even result in amputation due to the drug’s ability to impair breathing and cause overdoses. The Combating Illicit Xylazine Act would reclassify the drug as a Schedule III drug, designate it as an emerging threat, and give the DEA the ability to monitor the drug’s production.

The author explains that a nursing strike can have a significant impact on oncology practices, which rely heavily on nursing staff for patient care. The article suggests that practices should have a contingency plan in place in the event of a strike, including identifying alternative sources of nursing staff, communicating with patients about the potential impact on their care, and ensuring that all staff members are trained on how to handle the situation. The article also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a respectful and open dialogue with nursing staff throughout the negotiation process to minimize the likelihood of a strike.

On May 11th, the public health emergency that loosened some controls on telehealth and remote prescribing comes to an end. What will be the impact on telepsychiatry? Some of the flexibilities introduced by the Ryan Haught Act will continue, but others sunset, and practices will need to adjust.

The Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) only provides two risk arrangements with varying levels of downside risk, which means that any practice that participates may lose revenue or be required to refund payments to CMS. Furthermore, unlike the Oncology Care Model (OCM), the EOM focuses on systemic chemotherapy for seven cancers (breast, chronic leukemia, small intestine/colorectal, lung, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and prostate), and each will have its own formula for predicting baseline costs. This uncertainty is exacerbated by proposed reductions in Monthly Enhanced Oncology Services (MEOS) payments, which would be reduced from $960 to $420. For practices, this means either receiving less money for value-based care staples like patient navigation and creating care management plans, or reducing their use of them.

The extensive training requirements and caps on patients treated have been removed. That means all prescriptions for buprenorphine now require only a standard DEA registration number.

In total, 1,732 grants were included in the study. The grants were mostly given to researchers in the United States (93%), and the majority of recipients were men (61%). Researchers at four institutions received more than one-third of the grants: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and John Hopkins University.