From NIH. NIH-funded study shows clinicians reduced prescriptions following behavioral “nudge.” Clinicians were more likely to reduce the number and dose of opioid drugs they prescribed after learning that one of their patients had died from an overdose from a controlled substance than those not notified, according to a recent study appearing in the August […]
News
Tech Takes on Cigarette Smoking
From ScienceDaily Researchers develop system that senses smoking movements, sends motivational text messages, videos to help users quit smoking Researchers at Case Western Reserve University are using wearable sensor technology to develop an automatic alert system to help people quit smoking. The smart-phone app, initially limited to android-based operating systems, automatically texts 20- to […]
PA Law to Require Notification on Drug-Exposed Babies
From the Chronicle of Social Change. New Pennsylvania Law Requires Notifications on All Drug-Exposed Babies by Marisol Zarate The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services will hear about every child born in the state that is exposed to drugs at birth, thanks to a bill signed into law this month by Gov. Tom Wolf (D). According to […]
Effective Treatments for Opioid Use Disorder Are Underutilized
From NIH. NIH research confirms effective treatments for opioid use disorder are underutilized A National Institutes of Health-funded study found that treatment of opioid use disorder with either methadone or buprenorphine following a nonfatal opioid overdose is associated with significant reductions in opioid related mortality. The research, published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was […]
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announces Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge to combat crisis
From Healthcare Finance. Operation S.O.S. was inspired by prosecution efforts in Manatee County, Florida, which realized a 77 percent drop in overdose deaths. By Susan Moore Attorney General Jeff Sessions chose Maine as one of his stops to promote the newly-announced operation Synthetic Opioid Surge or S.O.S., because the state is among 10 areas of […]
Overdose Deaths with Carfentanil and Other Fentanyl Analogs Detected — 10 States
From CDC MMWR. O’Donnell J, Gladden RM, Mattson CL, Kariisa M. Notes from the Field: Overdose Deaths with Carfentanil and Other Fentanyl Analogs Detected — 10 States, July 2016–June 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:767–768. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6727a4. Notes from the Field: Overdose Deaths with Carfentanil and Other Fentanyl Analogs Detected — 10 States, July 2016–June 2017 Fentanyl and […]
DOTS Study Finds Fentanyl and Polydrug Use in Patients Seen During Opioid Overdose Spike in Baltimore
DOTS Bulletin. June 2018. Issue 2.
Naloxone Recall—Two Lots From Hospira Recalled Due to Particulate Matter
Recall from the FDA Hospira Issues a Voluntary Nationwide Recall for Two Lots of Naloxone Hydrochloride Injection, USP, in the Carpuject™ Syringe System due to the Potential Presence of Particulate Matter Hospira, Inc., a Pfizer company, is voluntarily recalling lots 72680LL and 76510LL of Naloxone Hydrochloride Injection, USP, 0.4 mg/mL, 1 mL in 2.5 mL, […]
Surprise added benefit of an alcohol addiction medication
From Yale News Drug to Treat Alcohol Addiction Also Helps with Suppression of HIV by Ziba Kashef A medication commonly prescribed to treat alcohol use disorder also appears to help maintain or improve suppression of HIV among individuals at risk for relapse receiving HIV antiretroviral treatment, Yale researchers said. In a new study, a research […]
Did big pharma hide opioid addiction?
From the New York Times Origins of an Epidemic: Purdue Pharma Knew Its Opioids Were Widely Abused by Barry Meier Purdue Pharma, the company that planted the seeds of the opioid epidemic through its aggressive marketing of OxyContin, has long claimed it was unaware of the powerful opioid painkiller’s growing abuse until years after it […]