Providers Struggling To Find Good Balance With Opioid Prescriptions Get New Guidelines From National Academies
Since the country started cracking down on the opioid crisis, doctors and other medical professionals have tried to walk the fine line of making sure patients who need medication get it and not exacerbating an epidemic. National Academies scientists have offered a new framework that they warn shouldn't be considered ironclad. In other news on the crisis: a drug distributor allegedly concealed security flaws that fueled the epidemic, the Sackler family fights to keep its name associated with Tufts, and more.
Stat:
National Academies Outlines New Guidelines For Opioid Prescribing
As government agencies, medical groups, hospitals, and pharmacies have tried to cut back on opioid prescriptions, they’ve wrestled with how to best do so. Should they restrict the number of days a prescription lasts? Should there be a cap on the total strength of the dose? What kind of exceptions should be made? A new report issued Thursday by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine outlines a framework for prescribers and others to develop their own plans for acute pain, without offering any direct recommendations itself. (Joseph, 12/19)
Modern Healthcare:
McKesson Hid Security Flaws That Fueled Opioid Epidemic, Lawsuit Alleges
McKesson Corp. allegedly concealed security flaws in its supply chain, which fueled the opioid epidemic, according to a recently unsealed whistleblower case. Former employees at the wholesale drug distribution giant claim that McKesson would hide the extent of its security issues from the federal government and falsely represented that it would comply with two settlement agreements. Millions of the addictive pain pills were diverted to the black market as a result, according to the lawsuit. (Kacik, 12/19)
The New York Times:
Sackler Family Members Fight Removal Of Name At Tufts, Calling It A ‘Breach’
Two weeks after Tufts University became the first major university to remove the Sackler name from buildings and programs over the family’s role in the opioid epidemic, members of the family are pushing back. A lawyer for some of the Sacklers argued in a letter to the president of Tufts that the move was unjustified and a violation of agreements made when the school wanted the family’s financial help years ago. (Taylor, 12/19)
Modern Healthcare:
States Score $200M From The CMS To Combat Maternal Opioid Abuse
The CMS will give seventeen states nearly $200 million over the next seven years to combat opioid misuse among expectant mothers and improve care for children impacted by the crisis. The agency on Thursday announced Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia will be the first recipients of $50 million in total grant awards over the next five years through the CMS' Maternal Opioid Misuse model. (Johnson, 12/19)
Modern Healthcare:
GAO: Drug Czar Fails To Deliver Drug-Control Policy Plan
A federal office tasked with managing U.S. drug-control policy isn't doing its job, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office published Thursday. The government watchdog found that the Office of National Drug Control Policy failed to deliver a strategic plan in 2017 or 2018, even though its core function is to oversee and coordinate the development and implementation the federal government's drug-control policies. That's worrisome because nearly 70,000 people died from drug overdoses last year, and there's no comprehensive plan to address it. (Brady, 12/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
Purdue Pharma Allowed To Retain Auditor That Worked For Sacklers
A bankruptcy judge gave Purdue Pharma LP permission to hire Ernst & Young LLP as its auditor, overriding objections from a Justice Department watchdog that raised concerns about the firm’s work for the drugmaker’s controlling family, the Sacklers. (Biswas, 12/19)
New Hampshire Union Leader:
Elliot Hospital Nets Grant To Help Pregnant Women With Opioid Use Disorders
New Hampshire received a grant to improve the way hospitals provide pregnancy and postpartum care to women with substance use disorders — and reduce the cost of care. The state Department of Health and Human Services will work with Elliot Health System to implement the grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to help pregnant women with substance use disorders who are on Medicaid. (Albertson-Grove, 12/19)
