Oct 30 Column: It’s time for primary care providers to embrace treating addiction By Julian A. Mitton, STAT Primary care doctors and nurses are well-positioned to treat addiction and champion care for those struggling with the use of opioid pills or heroin. Continue reading
Sep 30 This photo shows exactly why Fentanyl is deadlier than heroin By ALLISON BOND, STAT Fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and many times that of heroin. Continue reading
Sep 29 If DEA blocks kratom, promising research on opioid alternative may suffer By Angus Chen, Scientific American Kratom, a compound from a Southeast Asian tree, offers hope for a safer opioid alternative, but research could slow to a crawl as the DEA steps in. Continue reading
Jun 03 How and where to dump your leftover opioid medications — responsibly By Emily Bazar, Kaiser Health News Opioids commonly languish in medicine cabinets, making easy pickings for someone with an addiction. Here is step-by-step advice for cleaning out your drug closet. Continue reading
Jun 02 Watch 5:44 Prince’s fentanyl overdose gives new urgency to opioid epidemic By PBS News Hour The opioid epidemic sweeping the nation once more took center stage after law enforcement officials revealed that music icon Prince’s death in April was due to an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid far stronger than morphine. Hari Sreenivasan… Continue watching
Jun 02 Prince died of an opioid overdose, autopsy reveals By Corinne Segal An autopsy shows that singer and musician Prince died of an opioid overdose at his studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on April 21, the Associated Press reported. Continue reading
May 23 Opioid treatment at Rikers Island is a long-standing success, but few jails adopt it By Christine Vestal, Stateline NEW YORK — For Dr. Ross MacDonald, every person who enters New York City’s main jail with an opioid addiction represents an opportunity for treatment, and the possibility of saving a life. As the medical director of the city’s correctional… Continue reading
May 21 Watch Prescriptions for opioids decline amid epidemic By PBS News Hour Nearly 30,000 deaths a year can be attributed to the abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers - opioids like oxycontin, vicodin, percocet, and methadone. But a new report indicates that opioid prescriptions in the last three years have declined. New… Continue watching
Apr 25 One year after Freddie Gray’s death, thousands leave Maryland prisons with risky health problems, no coverage By Jay Hancock, Kaiser Health News Maryland’s prisons and jails release thousands of inmates each year without helping them enroll in Medicaid, jeopardizing their health and putting communities at greater risk. Continue reading
Apr 17 Watch 9:26 As opioid epidemic worsens, rethinking how doctors are taught to treat pain By Melanie Saltzman, Christopher Booker, Saskia de Melker Pain is the most common reason that people go to the doctor. Yet physicians and medical students have limited training in pain management and prescribing opioids. As the nation suffers from an opioid epidemic, people within the medical field are… Continue watching