Northeast PA Pain Policy Watch

• PIT places shallow dextrose injections next to irritated nerves to restore blood flow and calm inflammatory chemicals like substance P
• A 2025...

A standardised cannabis extract (VER-01) outperformed opioids on constipation and matched or slightly exceeded them on pain relief in one German...

Hospital acquisitions of independent practices are forcing Pennsylvania patients to pay more for identical care from the same doctors, with only...

Pennsylvania Senate Republicans warn that proposed Department of Health rules would grant broad new authority over personal health decisions and...

Chronic pain patients often find opioid tapering challenging due to fears of worsening pain, withdrawal symptoms, and deterioration in daily functioning.

In arthritic mice, TRPM2 on sensory nerves converted inflammatory signals into stronger pain messages, acting like a convergent switch. Removing or...

• Medical history: Providers must obtain a thorough patient history
• Treatment plan: Must determine the underlying cause of pain
• Monitoring: Incorporates relevant prescription monitoring protocols

Starting January 2026, the NOPAIN Act creates separate Medicare facility payments for continuous cold therapy in outpatient orthopedic procedures,...

A 30% naloxone increase projects sharply different 2029 overdose reductions across PA counties—70% in Allegheny, 11% in Erie, 28% in Clearfield—tied...

Personal accounts reveal insurance denials and systemic suspicion as daily violence for chronic pain sufferers, beyond fatal outcomes.

• A...

The finalized LCD effective November 1, 2026, establishes limited Medicare coverage for peripheral nerve injections and denervation procedures to...

The 2016 CDC opioid guideline turned rough MME estimates into rigid thresholds that ignored pharmacology and genetics, driving widespread dose cuts...

• Federal law defers entirely to state scope-of-practice rules for nurse practitioners and physician assistants; a DEA registration does not expand...

A class-action suit filed by four Pennsylvanians with disabilities targets the Shapiro administration’s attempt to reimpose limits on relative...

Higher prescribed doses linked to greater opioid consumption during follow-up, including patients above 100 oral morphine milligram. These results...

A Tunkhannock internist of 35 years was sentenced to 14-48 months in state prison after pleading guilty to unlawfully prescribing Schedule II...

Philadelphia now requires mandatory overdose prevention training for all public safety personnel, embedding it as a core pillar of city strategy....

Population-level guidelines strongly discourage long-term opioids for small fiber neuropathy due to weak evidence of lasting benefit and risks...

Phase 3 trials presented at PAINWeek show a fixed-dose acetaminophen-naproxen pill (650 mg/220 mg) outperforming individual components in...

Older construction workers show lower rates of diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart conditions than the broader workforce, yet chronic pain remains...