Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'I Felt Death At That Moment': Puerto Rico Struggles With Growing Opioid Crisis After Hurricane Maria
The Associated Press: Growing Opioid Crisis Adds To Puerto Rico's Problems
Jose Carlos Laviena emptied his pockets, took off his shoes and waited to die. He had just injected himself with a new type of heroin that his dealer was promoting, but the high was so strong that Laviena thought he had overdosed. The 35-year-old was preparing his body for how he wanted to be found. (Coto, 1/7)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: One Year After Declaring State Of Emergency, Pa. Officials Assess Progress On Opioid Battle
Just under a year after Gov. Tom Wolf declared an emergency over Pennsylvania’s opioid epidemic, state officials on Monday highlighted programs they say have been touted as national models, while acknowledging there’s much work to be done to address one of the worst overdose crises in the country. The state has gotten more people into treatment, they said, and lowered a key barrier that has long kept people with addiction from medication-assisted treatment, the “gold standard” of addiction treatment. (Whelan, 1/7)
WBUR: Now Mandated To Offer Meds For Opioid Addiction In The ER, Mass. Hospitals Get 'How-To' Guidelines
A 2018 state law requires roughly 80 hospitals and satellite emergency rooms to offer patients addicted to opioids a medication to help treat their disease. A handful do. For most, this is a new frontier. (Bebinger, 1/7)
