Pain Management: Most Read Stories From 2024

Consumer Survey Data Show Opportunity, Challenges in OTC Space

In Drug Topics’ most read pain management story of 2024, November 2022 consumer data showed that pharmacies were struggling in the area of over-the-counter products. At the American Pharmacists Association 2024 Annual Meeting and Exposition, Daniel Krinsky, RPh, MS, BS, FAPhA, discussed consumer survey results in various OTC areas. “What they found was that the average household spent $645 on OTCs,” Krinsky told the audience.

Top read pain management stories from the year 2024 | image credit: TimeaPeter / stock.adobe.com

FDA Warns Consumers About Unapproved, Misbranded OTC Analgesic Products

Staying with OTC products, March 2024 saw the issuing of an FDA warning letter regarding unapproved or misbranded OTC analgesics. In a letter to 6 different companies, the FDA urged them to stop marketing OTC analgesics for topical use to relieve pain before, during, or after cosmetic procedures. The companies issued warning letters included TKTX Company, SeeNext Venture, Tattoo Numbing Cream Co, Sky Bank Media LLC, Dermal Source, and Indelicare.

Kentucky Sues Express Scripts for Role in Opioid Crisis

As pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform continues to be encouraged in the US, scrutiny against these pharmaceutical middlemen hit a peak in 2024. One example of this was Attorney General Russell Coleman (R, Kentucky) who filed a complaint on behalf of his state toward Express Scripts for its role in fueling the US opioid crisis. Express Scripts—the PBM subsidiary of health care conglomerate Cigna—has now been sued by pharmacy groups, the Federal Trade Commission, and multiple states’ attorneys general for its corrupt practices.

Problematic Opioid Prescribing Among Patients with Chronic Pain

According to a research study published in the Addiction journal, decades of data showed that opioid prescription misuse was significantly prominent throughout much of the researchers’ review. “Clinicians and policymakers need a more accurate estimate of the prevalence of problematic opioid use in pain patients so that they can gauge the true extent of the problem,” wrote authors of the study. As the opioid epidemic rages on, experts continue to find the best path forward.

Q&A: The Painful Truth About Men's Health

Mark Garofoli, PharmD, MBA, BCGP, CPE, CTTS, is a professor at West Virginia University School of Pharmacy and the host of the Pain Pod. Also known as the “Pain Guy,” Garofoli is an expert in pain management, and he joined Drug Topics earlier in August to discuss challenges of pain management specifically amongst men. He touched on stigmas, solutions, and his own experiences in dealing with pain.

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