China, U.S. To Focus On Fentanyl In Efforts To Curb Opioid Epidemic, Trump Says
"Today President Xi and I discussed ways we can enhance coordination to better counter the deadly drug trade and to stop the lethal flow of poisonous drugs into our countries and into our communities," President Donald Trump said.
Reuters:
Trump Says He And China's Xi To Try To End Opioid Crisis
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would be focusing "very strongly" on the U.S opioid crisis, which he has declared a public health emergency. Trump said shortly before arriving in Beijing he would discuss as a "top priority" stopping the "flood of cheap and deadly" fentanyl "manufactured in China" when he meets Xi. (Holland and Wen, 11/9)
In other news on the crisis —
Modern Healthcare:
Pharmacies, PBMs, Insurers Call For Opioid Prescription Policy Changes
Drug prescribers throughout the country should establish a seven-day supply limit for initial opioid prescriptions, and they should be written electronically to slow the abuse of the addictive painkillers, a group of pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers and health plans wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump Wednesday. The group pledged to support the federal government and states in clamping down on behaviors that have allowed opioid abuse to swell into a national epidemic.
The New York Times:
Alternatives To Opioids For Pain Relief
A combination of Tylenol and Advil worked just as well as opioids for relief of pain in the emergency room, a randomized trial has found. Researchers studied 416 men and women who arrived in the E.R. with moderate to severe pain in their arms or legs from sprains, strains, fractures or other injuries. (Bakalar, 11/8)
