Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Family's Lawsuit Alleges Someone Among New Orleans' Jail Staff Slipped Fatal Dose Of Fentanyl To Their Father
New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans Inmate's Fentanyl Overdose Sparks Lawsuit Against Sheriff Gusman: 'This Is A Pattern'
New Orleanians have become all too familiar with the toll of the opioid epidemic, which in recent years has claimed more lives in the city than gun violence. But according to the coroner and a new lawsuit, a fatal fentanyl overdose one year ago happened in the last place where people should have access to illicit drugs: the city's jail. Last week, relatives filed a suit in federal court alleging that the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and the jail’s private health care provider failed to take steps that would have prevented the death of 28-year-old Edward Patterson. (Sledge, 12/3)
The Associated Press: Tennessee Doctor Pleads Guilty To Overprescribing Opioids
A Tennessee doctor who lost five patients to fatal overdoses in 10 months now faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. News outlets report 64-year-old Dr. Darrel Rinehart pleaded guilty Monday to prescribing drugs without medical necessity. U.S. Attorney Don Cochran says Rinehart also admitted to unreasonably distributing opioids and other substances to multiple patients. (12/3)
Kaiser Health News: Built For Counterterrorism, This High-Tech Machine Is Now Used To Detect Fentanyl
Sarah Mackin runs a cotton swab around the inside of a tiny plastic baggie that appears empty. She spreads whatever residue the swab picked up onto a test strip that resembles a Band-Aid, then slides the strip into a buzzing machine about the size of a boxed, take-home pie. Then she waits, hoping for information that she can share with Boston’s community of opioid users. Mackin is using an MX908, a mass spectrometer initially marketed as a counterterrorism tool. (Bebinger, 12/4)
MPR: Minn. Poison Centers See Spike In Calls Related To Painkiller Gabapentin
As doctors began shying away from prescribing opioid painkillers due to their potential for addiction and abuse, other drugs began filling that void. Gabapentin, a non-opioid painkiller often sold under the brand Neurontin, was one of them. But increases in gabapentin prescriptions came along with some unintended consequences — more cases of the drug being misused, causing poisonings and being used in suicide attempts, according to a new study by University of Pittsburgh researchers. (Nelson, 12/3)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Opioid Overdoses Are Down And Narcan Use Is Up In Manchester
More people in Manchester and Nashua have been using Narcan this year to revive someone who has overdosed on opioids. The data comes from American Medical Response, which provides emergency response services in southern New Hampshire. (Gibson, 12/4)
PBS NewsHour: What Newly Released Emails Reveal About OxyContin, Purdue Pharma And The Sackler Family
The U.S. opioid epidemic has taken hundreds of thousands of lives. A reckoning for the manufacturers, marketers and distributors of these drugs has now begun -- but despite several multibillion dollar settlements, some states and municipalities say accountability and transparency for the companies is lacking. (Nawaz, 12/3)
