News
How an American billionaire predicted – and then profited from – an Oxycontin ‘prescription blizzard’ (Chad Brummett, Rebecca Haffajee)
Inpatient Opioids Influence At-Home Use (Amy Bohnert)
Nonwhite patients get less pain relief in U.S. emergency rooms (Lisa Rapaport)
Opioid epidemic alone didn’t cause life expectancy decline, study says (Arline Geronimus)
Opioid prescriptions in Michigan are declining, but a crisis still rages (Chad Brummett)
Over-the-counter painkillers often suffice after minor surgery (Chad Brummett, Mike Englesbe)
Reducing Opioid Prescriptions After C-Sections (Alex Peahl)
Study Names High-Risk Counties for Opioids in US (Rebecca Haffajee)
Surgeons’ Opioid-Prescribing Habits Are Hard To Kick (Chad Brummett, Mike Englesbe)
Survey Urges Grandparents to Lock Down Their Meds When Kids Visit (Robert Preidt)
Thousands of US cities and counties in federal opioid lawsuit file for class status (Maureen Carroll)
Resources
AJPM: Binge Drinking and Prescription Opioid Misuse in the U.S., 2012–2014
Association between cannabis laws and opioid prescriptions among privately insured adults in the US
Association between medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality has reversed over time
CDC Features: Put Your Medicines Up and Away and Out of Sight
How Connecting Justice-Involved Individuals to Medicaid Can Help Address the Opioid Epidemic
SAMHSA: MAT Inside Correctional Facilities: Addressing Medication Diversion
Opioids: Policy to Practice Summit: Opioid Summit Presentations & Panels
Pain Management and Opioids CME (a NEJM Knowledge + free online CME course for medical professionals)
Recorded Webcast: U.S. Surgeon General to Discuss America’s Opioid Epidemic
Regional and Rural–Urban Variation in Opioid Prescribing in the Veterans Health Administration
Urban Institute: Leveraging Medicaid to Address Opioid and Substance Use Disorders in Maine: Ten State Policy Options from an Expedited Review
IHS announces requirements to increase access to Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (Indian Health Service)
Law Enforcement Officers’ Health Effects from Exposure to Opioids: Two Case Investigations (NIOSH Science Blog)
Leveraging Medicaid to Combat the Opioid Epidemic: How Leader States and Health Plans Deliver Evidence-Based Treatment (Health Affairs Blog)