From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. by Rich Lord SAN DIEGO — After years of surging overdoses, some of the officials and medical practitioners most deeply involved in the fight against opioids have hope that they finally have the tools, the funding and the public support needed to get the epidemic under control. “I have some cautious […]
Opioids
Virginia community partners team up to fight opioid crisis
From The Daily Progress. by Rebecca Kendall Vital Signs: Community partners teaming up on opioid crisis Last month, the federal government unveiled its plan to address the opioid epidemic. While our region (Charlottesville and Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson counties) is not as severely impacted as other areas, such as Southwest Virginia, our region’s […]
Opioid addiction is costing employers $2.6 billion a year
From MSN. A new report shows large employers spent $2.6 billion to treat opioid addiction and overdoses in 2016, an eightfold increase since 2004. More than half went to treat employees’ children. The analysis released Thursday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation finds such spending cost companies and workers about $26 per enrollee in 2016. […]
NIH launches HEAL Initiative
From NIH. NIH launches HEAL Initiative, doubles funding to accelerate scientific solutions to stem national opioid epidemic Wednesday, April 4, 2018 Today, at the 2018 National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., announced the launch of the HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative, an aggressive, […]
A million people out of work due to opioid addiction
From the Washington Post. Nearly 1 million people were out of the workforce because of opioid addiction in 2015, according to a study By Katie Zezima Nearly 1 million people were not working because of opioid addiction in 2015, the latest research to show that drug use is having a profound effect on the U.S. […]
WV to receive supplemental funding to fight opioid crisis
From SAMHSA – Press Release SAMHSA directing supplemental funding to three states hit hard by opioid crisis Tuesday, March 20, 2018 Rockville, MD – The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on Monday announced it will award additional grant funding to three states that have been hit especially hard by the national opioid […]
ED opioid overdose visits rise 30% across U.S.
From the CDC. MMWR, March 9, 2018/67(9);279-285 Vital Signs: Trends in Emergency Department Visits for Suspected Opioid Overdoses – United States, July 2016-September2017 Data from emergency departments (EDs) show that the U.S. opioid overdose epidemic continues to worsen, according to the latest Vital Signs report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report examines […]
Child Opioid Overdoses Nearly Double in Last Decade
From Newsweek By Tracy Lee Children are becoming “second victims” in the adult opioid epidemic. According to a study released Monday, youth admission to U.S. hospitals nearly doubled. The number of children admitted to hospitals and pediatric intensive care units for opioid-related cases rose from 797 patients between 2004 and 2007, to 1,504 patients between 2012 and 2015. […]
Region 3 in desperate need of providers to fight #OpioidEpidemic
From the Hill. Study: Not Enough Providers to Address Opioid Epidemic in 11 states by Jessie Hellmann States in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic don’t have enough doctors to address the opioid epidemic, according to a new study released this week. Eleven states and the District of Columbia lack an adequate number of providers to prescribe […]
DEA to allow PAs and NPs to dispense MAT
From The Fix. DEA Increases Access to Medication-Assisted Treatment More qualified medical professionals are now allowed to prescribe buprenorphine, an opioid dependency medication. A new deregulatory measure will allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe and dispense the opioid dependency drug buprenorphine, which will grant increased access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in areas of the country where […]