By Mark Pew, Senior VP, Preferred Medical This week I want to share two articles about the brain and its incredible adaptation to life. The first article is about how the brain can change with regular aerobic exercise. The second article is about how childhood trauma changes your brain but not necessarily forever. As I’ve… [Read more]
The RxProfessor
The RxProfessor: Medicine: Good and Bad News
By Mark Pew, Senior VP, Preferred Medical This week I have two articles to share with you about drugs. The first article is about how to properly dispose of unused medicines. The second article is about the work still needed to combat the opioid epidemic in its broadest and continually evolving sense. Below are these… [Read more]
The RxProfessor: Opioids by the Numbers
By Mark Pew, Senior VP, Preferred Medical This week I have two articles to share about opioids. The first article reports on a study of prescribing patterns in the U.S. The second article is about how Australia seems to be following in the United States’ footsteps when it comes to opioid use. Just 1% of… [Read more]
The RxProfessor: Opioid Alternative Rx Issues
By Mark Pew, Senior VP, Preferred Medical This week I want to share two articles that highlight the challenges with trading opioids for another prescription painkiller. The first article is about gabapentin and how evidence of abuse is driving it towards being a controlled substance. The second article is about tramadol and the potentially dangerous… [Read more]
The RxProfessor: Two Words That Matter
By Mark Pew, Senior VP, Preferred Medical This week I have two very interesting articles, each with different topics. The first article is from a counselor about a patient who felt diminished by cancer and how that changed her approach to others. The second article is about how being intrinsically motivated, in any aspect of… [Read more]
The RxProfessor: Its Time to Fix Chronic Pain
By Mark Pew, Senior VP, Preferred Medical This week I have two articles to share with you about chronic pain and the many types and treatments. The first article is about the different types of pain and how defining them can help find better treatments. The second article is about Medicare now offering to cover… [Read more]
The RxProfessor: Medical Marijuana’s March on Society
By Mark Pew, Senior VP, Preferred Medical This week I have two articles to share with you about the changes surrounding medical marijuana in different facets of society. One could further change how Work Comp views medical marijuana and the other sets a societal tone from a very influential place – sports. The first article… [Read more]
The RxProfessor: The Challenge of Treating Chronic Pain and Addiction
By Mark Pew, Senior VP, Preferred Medical This week I want to share two articles about chronic pain, opioids and how to treat the effects. The first article is about opioid addiction and the (hidden to some) negatives of prescribing gabapentin. The second article is how a doctor specializing in addiction believes adverse childhood experiences… [Read more]
The RxProfessor: A Caring Culture
By Mark Pew, Senior VP, Preferred Medical As a new year and decade dawns, I want to share two different articles about helping yourself and others. The first article is about a city in Kentucky and their unique approach to helping individuals recover from opioid addiction. The second article provides suggestions for how you can… [Read more]
The RxProfessor: The Paths to Society’s Recovery from Opioids
By Mark Pew, Senior VP, Preferred Medical This week I want to share two articles about prescription opioids and their deep impact. The first is a comparison of Work Comp opioids in two different states. The second is a robust report on how we can begin to approach the opioid problem in the United States… [Read more]