Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
N.H. Regulators Consider Governor's Emergency Rules On Opioid Prescriptions
New Hampshire Public Radio: Opioid Prescriber's Story A Cautionary Tale As Proposed Rules Face Pushback
For years, Chris Clough prescribed more pain medication than almost anyone else in New Hampshire. Along the way, state regulators say, he broke nearly every rule in the book. Clough, a 41-year-old physician assistant for the state’s largest chain of pain clinics, failed to warn patients of the risks of opioids. He failed to screen them for addiction or mental illness. He disregarded drug screens that suggested his patients were abusing their potent medications. (Wallstin, 11/4)
The New Hampshire Union Leader: Hassan Calls For Special Sessions On Opioid Crisis
Gov. Maggie Hassan wants lawmakers to approve $11.1 million in new programs to combat the state’s heroin and opioid crisis. Hassan will ask the Executive Council today to approve a special legislative session beginning Nov. 18 — not a sure thing, with Republicans holding a 3-2 majority. (Rayno, 11/3)
The New Hampshire Union Leader: NH Medical Board To Take Up Fast-Tracked Prescription Rule
Gov. Maggie Hassan’s package of tough regulations to control the opioid pain prescriptions goes before the state Board of Medicine on Wednesday, with several doctor groups and the state’s hospitals urging the board to slow down the process. The 11-member board is expected to take up the regulations, which limit the size of prescriptions, require patient drug testing and other examinations, and mandate training for physicians and physician assistants who write opioid prescriptions. (Hayward, 11/3)
The Wall Street Journal: Drug Deaths Becoming A 2016 Presidential Election Issue
Christopher Stawasz, manager of an ambulance service in Nashua, said the city set a record of 28 overdoses in September, then topped it with 37 in October. “It’s surreal,” he said. “It’s just day after day.”Across the state, overdoses are on track to break last year’s record of 326 deaths. The pattern is so alarming that participants in an October WMUR Granite State poll ranked drug abuse as the most important issue in the 2016 presidential campaign, surpassing jobs and economy for the first time in eight years. That is prompting a conversation in the state with the nation’s first primary that is remarkably different from prior elections in its expressions of compassion rather than condemnation. (Haddon, 11/3)
