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An injectable drug that the manufacturer says is too dangerous to use along the spine is growing in popularity for back pain as doctors turn away from opioids. The anti-inflammatory drug, called Depo-Medrol and made by Pfizer, is approved for injection into muscles and joints. Once a drug is approved, however, doctors may legally prescribe it however they see fit. And doctors have long given Depo-Medrol shots, or the generic equivalent, close to the spinal cord for painful backs, necks and conditions like spinal stenosis. (Kaplan, 7/31)

The St. Louis County program consists of a database used by doctors and pharmacists to check a patient’s prescription history. Though it covers 80 percent of Missouri’s population, many rural — and often more vulnerable — counties do not participate. Prescription drug monitoring programs have been an important tactic used by states and municipalities across the U.S. to try to prevent doctor-shopping — the practice of visiting multiple providers to fill prescriptions for drugs intended for illegal sale or use. National public health agencies, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, say state monitoring programs play a vital role in fighting the opioid crisis. (Black, Lin and McGrath, 7/30)

The nation’s five largest cities have been excluded from millions in federal funding to address the nation’s opioid crisis — and lawmakers from the affected areas say the Trump administration has no right to exclude the metropolitan areas. Forty-eight House members and seven senators representing the cities — Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, New York and Philadelphia — are objecting to the administration’s decision last month to withhold opioid funding to their local governments. (Haberkorn, 7/30)