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Governors of Colorado and Nevada sign Proclamation for National Poison Prevention Week March 17-23, 2013

Sam Wang and Michael Kosnett - Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Center - Doctors Urge Child -Resistant Packaging For Pot Edibles– http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/03/07/doctors-urge-child-resistant-packaging-pot-edibles/

Jody Green, Ph.D., Director of Research Administration at the Rocky Mountain Poison Control Center, reports New Pediatric Cough and Cold Medicine Safety Surveillance Findings at CDC/PROTECT – http://www.icontact-archive.com/jTgV56c6qCRdt6YdTfGQzBxOiv6SR1zH?w=4#Campaign

Dr’s. Bronstein, Rumack and Dart were the primary authors on the 2011 AAPCC NPDS Annual Report – which was published in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Toxicology.

2011_NPDS_Annual_Report.pdf

Dr. Richard Dart, Director of Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, attended and presented at the California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) conference in San Francisco, CA. – His presentation entitled Buprenorphine Use and Abuse in the United States was given on September 5, 2013.

Dr. Richard Dart, Director of Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, attended and presented at the – Grand Rounds at Emory University in Atlanta, GA on October 16, 2012. His presentation was entitled Prescription Drug Abuse in the United States.

Dr. Richard Dart, Director of Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center was selected as Physician of the Year by the Denver Health Foundation – The Denver Health Foundation recently acknowledged recipients of their annual awards for outstanding support for The Denver Health Foundation. Dr. Dart was selected as Physician of the Year for his leadership in growing the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center into a multi-million dollar operation.

Dr. Richard Dart, Director of Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, presents at the Abuse Liability Evaluation for Research, Treatment, and Training (ALERTT) Working Group – On November 28, 2012, Dr. Dart, Director of Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center gave a presentation entitled Classifying Abuse-related Events: the RADARS Experience to the Abuse Liability Evaluation for Research, Treatment, and Training (ALERTT) Working Group, which is a Private-Public Partnership of US FDA and the pharmaceutical industry.

Every 19 minutes, someone dies of a drug overdose in America. In a compelling new documentary, Deadly Dose, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports how prescription drug misuse has become an epidemic. This compelling documentary features former president Bill Clinton. It will air again on CNN this Saturday, December 1st, at 8 p.m., 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. Eastern Time. – Accidental prescription drug overdoses in the United States now kill more people than heroin, crack, and methamphetamines combined. And, also according to the CDC, accidental prescription overdoses now kill more Americans than do car crashes. See CNN Press Release.

Past-president of the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), Richard Dart, M.D, Ph.D comments that poison centers save Americans more than $1.8 billion every year in medical costs and lost productivity according to a recent report from The Lewin Group. – according the report, every dollar invested in the poison center systems saves $13.39 in medical cost and productivity.

Denver Health is the recipient of the 2012 Peak Award – The Peak Award is granted by Rocky Mountain Performance Excellence which describes the Peak Award as the regional equivalent of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award. Denver Health is one of only two organizations in our region to achieve this level of performance.

Denver Health has been recognized with the 2012 University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) Quality Leadership Award – The award is given to 10 academic medical centers that have demonstrated excellence in delivering high-quality care as measured by the UHC Quality and Accountability Study, which UHC has conducted annually since 2005. “Improving patient care and operational effectiveness is of paramount importance to every health care provider, and these organizations are the best of the best,” said Irene M. Thompson, UHC president and chief executive officer. “Being named a UHC Quality Leadership Award winner is truly a reflection of everyone’s efforts at the hospital—from the executives and board members to the physicians to the nurses and support staff.”

Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center takes our Client Relationships Seriously – RMPDC is using the Net-Promoter Score which came from a Harvard Business Review (December 2003) article called The One Number You Need to Grow by Frederick F. Reichheld. Read the results of our first survey here.

Dr. Kennon Heard, Assistant Director at the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center interviewed by Today’s Hospitalist for an article entitled How to handle drug overdoses Treat the patient, not the poison. – “ If the symptoms don't fit the poisoning, treat the patient, not the poison," said Dr. Heard, director of the medical toxicology fellowship program at Denver's Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center. "Don't worry about what patients actually said they took." Dr. Heard also had this reminder for hospitalists dealing with drug overdoses: "Toxicology is one of the few areas in medicine where 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you have the option to call a friend in the poison center when you have questions." Read the complete article at this link.

Methadone Linked to Thirty Percent of Painkiller Overdoses–According to a report released by the CDC, the prescription drug methadone is linked to more than 30 percent of painkiller overdose deaths. "Deaths from opioid overdose have increased four-fold in the past decade, and methadone now accounts for nearly a third of opioid-associated deaths," said CDC Director Thomas Frieden. Methadone accounts for about 2 percent of total painkiller prescriptions in the US in 2009. See entire article or see our Researched Abuse, Diversion and Addiction-Related Surveillance (RADARS®) System. It is a prescription drug abuse, misuse and diversion surveillance system that collects timely product-and geographically-specific data. These data assist pharmaceutical companies in fulfillment of their regulatory obligations such as risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS).

http://news.yahoo.com/methadone-linked-30-percent-painkiller-overdoses-223934702.html

“Spice” drugs can lead to Emergency Room visit – Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Center’s Toxicology Fellow Christopher Hoyte, MD states "Patients using 'spice,' or synthetic cannabis, looking for a so-called legal high, sometimes end up getting sick enough that they end up in the [ED]," in Med PageToday. See entire article at

http://www.medpagetoday.com/EmergencyMedicine/EmergencyMedicine/32690

Dr. Eric Lavonas, Associate Director, Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center comments to Reuters Health regarding kids safety with drug labels – Half of drug labels don't have information on the medication's safety and proper dosing in kids, according to a new study from researchers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "Often we're stuck adjusting an adult dose to the size of the child without any real data to show whether that's the ideal dose," states Dr. Lavonas. Read Article

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-drug-labels-safety-idUSBRE84717M20120508

Dr. Alvin C. Bronstein, Medical Director of Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center quoted in Top News regarding teens cinnamon challenge – The teenagers who suffer from asthma are at a very high risk after consuming cinnamon in such high quantities they can develop shortness of breath. He added, "We urge parents and caregivers to talk to their teens about the cinnamon challenge, explaining to them that what may seem like a silly game can have serious health consequences. Read more

http://topnews.net.nz/content/221933-teenagers-advised-avoid-cinnamon-challenge-due-health-risks