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A Reno doctor arrested on allegations he participated in an opioid drug ring is the subject of a newly filed complaint by a Nevada medical board alleging 74 violations of the state’s Medical Practice Act...family physician Robert Rand, who was arrested in San Francisco in April, inappropriately treated patients by committing malpractice, violating opioid prescribing standards and engaging in unprofessional conduct, among other accusations...Rand, whose medical license remains active, is currently behind bars, according to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office...

The increase in antibiotic-resistant infections is an escalating medical problem. The misuse of antibiotics has enabled some bacteria to adapt, rendering some drugs ineffective...According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 2 million people in the United States become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotic each year. And more than 20 thousand die annually as a result...To learn more about this public health threat, Reno Public Radio’s Anh Gray sits down with Dr. James Wilson, who heads the Nevada Center for Infectious Disease Forecasting at the University of Nevada, Reno...

Not everyone reacts to the same medication in the same way...Benedryl makes some people drowsy and others wired. Antidepressants have no affect on 38 percent of patients...Some people are more susceptible to addiction from pain medications while others get pain relief without getting hooked...MD Labs is part of a new industry called pharmacogenetics that uses genetics to map specific genes involved in the metabolism of and response to specific drugs...Ruttledge and Denis Grizelj, co-founder and CEO, began MD Labs in 2011 as a toxicology testing facility for physicians nationwide. They expanded to pharmacogenetic testing in 2014, with the development of their proprietary genetic test Rxight, which maps genes that affect more than 200 medications...Because it’s genetically based, Rxight is a once-in-a-lifetime test...Preemptive testing makes the patient’s genetically-based profile of drug reactions available to doctors and pharmacists before illness strikes and before a drug is prescribed...MD Labs contracts with Saint Mary’s Health to offer the testing and consultation at both Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center and Saint Mary’s Medical Group Primary Care Northwest Reno...Pharmacists at those locations are Rxight Certified to administer the test and provide consultation...Nationwide the company has 100-110 employees total, which includes about 55 people in the Reno office plus a sales force in offices in Chicago and Pennsylvania...MD Labs owners see a future in which pharmacogenetics testing is routine.

...VA has been expanding elsewhere. There's now an East Campus Outpatient clinic on Corporate Boulevard (Reno) , an eye clinic in Franktown Corners and, now open, a dental clinic in the old Smith's Shopping Center near the Atlantis..."A patient can drive up, park right in front of the clinic, walk in and have their dental needs met," says Lisa Howard, Director of VA Sierra Nevada Health System…The idea is to ease the pressure on the main campus, leaving it for in-patient services and bringing the out-patient care into the community, making it more accessible...The new dental clinic occupies what was once a furniture store, lots of room for exams and procedures inside, easy access outside..."Part of what we look at when we're going to situate a new clinic is access to bus service and access to parking," says Howard...More is planned. A north campus offering several outpatient services is in the works, location to be determined. The result, beyond a more efficient operation, should be better care for the vet.

• Changing Faces
• Bowl of Hygeia Awarded to Adam Porath, PharmD
• No Prescription Needed!
• FDA Issues Final Rule Amending List of Drug Products That May Not Be Compounded
• Selected Medication Risks to Manage in 2017
• Environmental Factors, Workflow, and Staffing Patterns – Poor Quality Lighting
• DEA to Decrease Manufacturing Amount of Opioid Controlled Substances in 2017
• New CDC Brochure Offers Pharmacists Tips for Addressing Prescription Opioid Abuse and Overdose
• FDA Requires Boxed Warnings and Patient Focused Medication Guides Indicating Serious Risks Related to Combined Use of Certain Opioid Medications and Benzodiazepines
• FDA’s Division of Drug Information Offers CE Webinars for Students and Clinicians
• FDA Approves Labeling Changes for All Prescription Testosterone Products
• Latest FDA Drug Info Rounds Training Videos Available
• Inspector's Corner
• Ghost Towns and Medicines

Most of Nevada’s hospitals are struggling to make the grade when it comes to patient safety, according to a new report by a national health-care watchdog that placed the state near the bottom of its rankings...The hospital safety grades report, compiled twice annually by nonprofit The Leapfrog Group, ranked Nevada 43rd out of 49 states and Washington, D.C., in terms of the percentage of hospitals earning A grades under its 30-component ranking system...three of Nevada’s 20 ranked hospitals received A’s for patient safety — all of them in Northern Nevada. Four received B’s, and 13 received C’s. No Nevada hospitals received a D or F...In Southern Nevada, three hospitals received B’s and 10 were awarded C’s. The results, released late Sunday, were an improvement for Nevada from Leapfrog’s last report this spring, when only one of 19 ranked hospitals — Renown South Meadows Medical Center in Reno — earned an A and Nevada ranked 46th overall...

The state's first public medical school launched its new look...complete with updated logo and branding identity. The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine on July 1 officially added "Reno" to its name after a decades-long history of being the University of Nevada School of Medicine…"An organization's branding is far more than a name or logo; branding is the perception of our school in the minds of our many constituents," said Thomas L. Schwenk, M.D., dean of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. "Our new name and logo represent the stunning and positive changes taking place as we build a full clinical, teaching and clinical research campus in Reno. The School of Medicine has not gone through a transformational change of this magnitude since its founding, and the branding campaign is our opportunity to share this exiting story widely."...The changes more closely align the School of Medicine with its parent university, the University of Nevada, Reno. The new branding also further clarifies the school's affiliation, location and distinct role in the state...

As the marijuana industry is expanding in Nevada, cannabis testing labs are playing an important role in the quality of the end-product...a local facility is upping the standard of its operations...Jason Strull is a toxicologist at 374 Labs located in Northern Nevada. The facility recently received additional accreditation—ISO 17025—from an independent, non-governmental auditor for its stringent testing methods, yielding consistent results regarding toxicology and potency...“And as far as cannabis testing goes, it’s sort of the wild, wild West,” Strull explains. “So what this shows to potential customers, and just the general public, is that we’re going the extra mile.”

• Fatigue and Your Practice
• Roseman University Opens Medicare Call Lab in Partnership With the Nevada State Health Insurance Assistance Program
• Gentle Reminder for New Electronic Prescriptions
• National Vaccine Safety Surveillance Program Available for Reporting Adverse Events
• Improper and Unsafe Vaccine Storage
• Coalition Reports Impact of Educational Efforts on Safe Acetaminophen Use
• FDA Offers Webinars on Online Drug Information Resources for Students and Clinicians
• Fresenius Kabi Recalls Sensorcaine-MPF(Bupivacaine HCl) Injection, USP
• Oral Liquid Docusate Sodium by PharmaTech Recalled Due to Contamination
• NABP Seeks Pharmacists From Districts 1, 5,and 7 to Serve as Volunteer Item Writers
• Auditing Dispensers’ PMP Data

A multi-million-dollar foundation donation...is not only the largest gift in the history of Renown Health but will also pave the way for a pediatrics residency program at the Reno regional medical center...The William N. Pennington Foundation donated $7.5 million to Renown Children’s Hospital to bolster pediatric care staffing...The money will be used to bring in several pediatrics specialists...a pediatric emergency medicine physician, with a pediatric neurologist and pulmonologist...Being able to establish a residency program with the University of Nevada School of Medicine...is also an important addition to the community...the university will be able to apply for a pediatrics residency program within 24 to 36 months. With Northern Nevada seeing huge growth once again as well as a corresponding increase in patient demand for services, access to healthcare remains a key problem for the area...