Safe Medicines: True Crime and Medicine Safety

In this interview, Mark Karhoff and Shabbir Imber Safdar talk about the groundbreaking warning letter the FDA sent to a small medspa dispenser citing violations of the DSCSA.
 
They also cover the coming changeover from NDC codes from 10 to 12 digits. Mark says it's a Y2K-level event with nearly infinite downside if not handled correctly.

Lt. Justin Wright has decades of experience in law enforcement and is currently at the Ada County, Idaho Sheriff's Office. In this episode, Shabbir and Justin talk about an unusual case involving an illegal online pharmacy mailing fake controlled substances that took a life in the county, and how that was connected to a nationwide investigation. They also touch on the evolution of the illicit drug crisis, where it might be going, and what needs to be done to address it. You can learn more about the Ada County Sheriff's office at https://adacounty.id.gov/sheriff/ and https://www.facebook.com/adacosheriff. 

In this episode of the PSM Podcast, host Shabbir Imber Safdar sits down with Jeffrey Bratberg, Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy, to explore a groundbreaking model for expanding access to treatment for opioid use disorder. Dr. Bratberg shares how his early work in infectious disease and harm reduction, particularly expanding access to Narcan, led him to a larger question: why are life-saving addiction medications still so hard to access when pharmacies are located within five miles of most Americans?
The conversation centers on an innovative pilot program that allows patients to walk into a community pharmacy and begin treatment with buprenorphine the same day. Instead of waiting weeks for a specialist appointment or navigating complex referral systems, individuals ready for help can leave the pharmacy with medication in hand. Outcomes from this work, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed strong patient retention and overwhelming preference for pharmacy-based care. The episode highlights how reducing friction at the critical moment when someone decides to seek treatment can dramatically change trajectories for individuals and families affected by opioid use disorder.
Shabbir and Dr. Bratberg also discuss the policy and payment barriers that still limit pharmacists’ ability to practice at the top of their training. From collaborative practice agreements to inconsistent reimbursement models, the regulatory landscape varies widely by state. Through the PharmacyBridge initiative, Dr. Bratberg and his colleagues are mapping these barriers and promoting best practices to help scale pharmacy-based addiction care nationwide. 
 
Learn more about Dr. Bratberg's work at https://www.pharmacybridge.org/. 
Visit https://www.safemedicines.org/ to learn more about drug safety and see our other podcasts! 

What happens when the medication you depend on to prevent a medical emergency suddenly doesn’t arrive?
In this episode of the PSM Podcast, host Shabbir Imber Safdar sits down with Donovan Guerrero, a 25-year-old engineering student living with Hemophilia A. Born with less than 1% of the clotting factor his body needs, Donovan relies on consistent preventive treatment to avoid dangerous internal bleeds.
 
After his insurer implemented an alternative funding program, Donovan’s regular shipments of preventive factor were interrupted. What followed was a year of uncertainty, missed doses, mounting anxiety, and three hospitalizations, including one on Christmas Day. At one point, he required 16 doses of emergency treatment in just three days to manage a suspected bleed that prevention likely would have avoided.
 
Shabbir and Donovan unpack how alternative funding programs work, why removing drugs from formularies can destabilize patients who rely on specialty medications, and how cost-containment strategies can end up increasing overall healthcare spending when prevention is replaced with emergency care. They also discuss the emotional toll of living month to month without knowing whether life-sustaining medicine will arrive on time.
 
Learn more about bleeding disorders at https://www.bleeding.org/, and learn more about AFPs at https://www.safemedicines.org/2024/04/afps-offshoring-patients-importing-risks.html. 

On this episode of True Crime and Medicine Safety, we talk to Eric Feinberg of the Coalition for a Safer Web. Their report on what it was like to get scammed while trying to buy weight loss injectables on TikTok is an important lesson for all Americans to be careful online. Read the report: https://23693881.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/23693881/reports/DCA_OZEMPIC_SCAMS_TIKTOK.pdf

In this episode of the PSM Podcast, we sit down with Lisa Hicks, who has spent the past decade advocating for awareness and prevention following the tragic death of her son, Joe, from a fake pill laced with fentanyl.
 
Lisa reflects on how the fentanyl crisis has evolved over the last ten years, from a lack of awareness and understanding to widespread recognition of its devastating impact. She shares her experiences navigating grief while raising awareness, including the challenges of explaining the crisis to the next generation, including her grandson. 
 
The conversation explores the progress made in public health responses, including wider access to Narcan, stricter penalties for trafficking fentanyl, and efforts to curb the spread of pill presses and other sources of illegal fentanyl. Lisa also discusses the policies she believes could make the biggest difference in preventing future tragedies, emphasizing the importance of stopping fentanyl at its source.
Read more about Joe and Lisa’s stories at https://www.safemedicines.org/2017/12/joe-patterson.html.

In this episode, PSM's Executive Director, Shabbir Imber Safdar, CFE, sits down with Sheriff Dorsey, who brings more than 25 years of law enforcement experience, for a candid conversation about one of the greatest public safety threats facing America today: the rise of fentanyl and the explosion of illegal pill presses.
The Sheriff also includes stories from undercover members of his team, who describe two recent incidents in their work: one where they followed a pill press from a U.S. border port of entry all the way to their county, and another where they were cataloging evidence at a drug lab and a shipment of methamphetamine showed up through a common express carrier.
Sheriff Dorsey outlines how drug trafficking networks exploit vulnerable communities, and what his team is doing to stop them. Sheriff Dorsey also reflects on the human cost of the opioid epidemic, emphasizing the need for community support, prevention efforts, and better resources for substance abuse treatment.
From large-scale pill press seizures to the challenge of shutting down drug supply routes, this episode offers a ground-level view of what it takes to keep communities safe in the midst of a national crisis.

In this episode of the PSM podcast, Executive Director Shabbir Safdar sits down with Luis Diestre, Founder and CEO of Translucent Data Lab and Professor at IE Business School. The conversation delves into the methodologies and technologies developed to combat illegal online pharmacies (IOPs) through data science and AI. It discusses the impact of IOPs on public health and the economy, the challenges faced in disrupting these networks, and the limitations of current monitoring technologies. Luis presents innovative approaches to identifying and mapping IOP networks, evaluates the effectiveness of disruption strategies, and highlights the potential health and economic benefits of removing illegal sales from the market.