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In general, the number of licensed health care professionals is drastically lower in rural and frontier counties in Nevada than compared to the urban areas...With a shortage of health professionals across the state, it’s hard enough to find a doctor in Nevada. However, in many rural areas of the state it’s nearly impossible...Rural residents make up 10% of the state's population but live across 90% of the state's land mass. With smaller communities spread across large distances, getting access to proper healthcare can be difficult...The issues in getting healthcare in rural Nevada boil down to three things: workforce, money, and resources...READ MORE

• DEA Proposes New Regulations to Address Opioid Epidemic
• FDA Issues Report on Root Causes and Solutions to Drug Shortages
• HHS Announces Guide for Appropriate Tapering or Discontinuation of Long-Term Opioid Use
• FDA Releases Draft Best Practice Document for Postmarket Drug Surveillance
• FDA Issues Revised Draft Guidance on Regulation of Homeopathic Products, Withdraws 1988 Compliance Policy Guide
• DEA Warns of Increase in Scam Calls Targeting Pharmacists and Other DEA-Registered Providers

Tedder (Ryan Tedder ) confirmed...he teamed up to buy the Walgreens building across from Park MGM, and that his investors on the deal included DJ duo the Chainsmokers...The $38 million sale by Walgreen Co., which bought the building in June from its former landlord for $30 million and flipped it, closed last month, property records show...Drugstores on tourist-choked Las Vegas Boulevard are big business, commanding outsize rents, strong retail sales and, as the recent purchase shows, high property values...Illinois-based Walgreen Co. had listed its 15,000-square-foot building on Las Vegas Boulevard between Tropicana and Harmon avenues for $40 million...READ MORE

They were good sons with promising futures who died of drug overdoses less than two months before they were set to graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno...UNR seniors Jordan Watts and Ben Taylor died just 15 days apart in March 2019 from drugs laced with a fatal dose of fentanyl...Their mothers...say their sons were recreational users who bought a couple of pills, unaware they were tainted with the deadly opioid...The dealers pleaded guilty to drug and firearm charges that carry as much as 20 years in prison and fines of $10,000: Alec Donovan...Tyler Winters...Lucas Cueller...at least eight UNR students have died of drug overdoses in Washoe County since 2017...READ MORE

In Nevada, there have been no cases of the coronavirus, but in California there have been eight confirmed cases. Public health officials in the Silver State are closely monitoring the outbreak...Dr. Mark Pandori is the director of the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory. He said they are prepared if there were to be an outbreak in the state, and are actively gathering information from California...READ MORE

A physician shortage continues to be a problem in Nevada and is hindering patient care access hardest in rural regions, according to a recent report focusing on health care workforce trends in the Silver State...According to the latest data published in the report, "Physician Workforce in Nevada: A Chartbook - January 2020," demand for physicians in Nevada continues to exceed the current supply. While the number of licensed physicians in the state has increased over a decade, Nevada ranks 45th for active physicians per 100,000 population, 48th for primary care physicians per 100,000 population and 50th for general surgeons per 100,000 population...READ MORE

...the first meeting of a committee focused on assessing prescription drug pricing...The Committee to Conduct an Interim Study Concerning the Cost of Prescription Drugs was formed to look into the overall cost of prescription drugs in Nevada and how they compare to other states. Additionally, members will look at the impact of rebates, price reductions, and other remuneration from manufacturers on the costs of prescription drugs, and identify opportunities to lower prescription drug costs...The committee was formed as a result of SB276, which passed during the 2019 legislative session...READ MORE

A project that began in 2016 through a partnership with Renown Health and the Desert Research Institute, Healthy Nevada has gained national attention for its approach to population health. The study involves harvesting DNA from a significant population, providing individuals with information on their health risks as well data to study population health issues and concerns. According to Dr. Anthony Slonim, president and CEO of Renown Health...“We hope to improve the health of the community,” explained Slonim. “We hope to provide individuals with improved understanding of their health and their healthcare risks so they can change their behavior. And, we hope that we can make our community, our state and, potentially, our nation healthier as a result of this data.”...READ MORE

The Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents Thursday approved the broad framework for a new, privately-funded medical school building at UNLV, subject to mutually-agreed conditions with the project’s donors that require construction to start by Feb. 1 of next year...“If we are to become a state of the art medical school that innovates and changes the health care landscape in Southern Nevada, we need facilities to make that goal a reality,” Marta Meana, UNLV’s acting president, told the board before the vote. “What we have before us today is a once in a generation opportunity thanks to the remarkable generosity of a group of community members who have been strongly invested in this medical school since its inception, and in UNLV for decades.”...Critics of the deal expressed concerns that NSHE and UNLV potentially would have to surrender to the donor corporation too much control over the operation, management and programming.,,READ MORE

Leapfrog’s highest “A” rated hospitals for 2019 has remained unchanged from last year. These are Henderson Hospital, Mountainview Hospital, Northern Nevada Medical Center, Renown South Meadows Medical Center, and St. Mary's Regional Medical Center of Reno.

The Leapfrog Group hospital grading system is based on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data collection and represents a single metric that evaluates a hospital’s overall safety performance. The nonprofit is dedicated to transparency and has created the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade as a quality standard for comparing health care institutions.

The “B” team consists of North Vista Hospital, Valley Hospital Medical Center, St. Rose Dominican Hospitals - Siena Campus, St. Rose Dominican Hospitals - San Martin Campus, and Renown Regional Medical Center.

The good news is two of these hospitals have shown a marked safety improvement by moving up from a “C” rating to a “B” rating; these are: Valley Hospital Medical Center, and Renown Regional Medical Center.

These hospitals are to be applauded for consistently maintaining high standards and striving to improve patient care.

The bad news is the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada continues to struggle with its’ “D” rating.

By Chase

12.30.2019