Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Physicians, Often In Fear Of Losing License, Know How To Hide Signs Of Addiction To Escape Notice
Los Angeles Times: Doctors And Drug Abuse: Why Addictions Can Be So Difficult
Allegations that Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito used methamphetamine and ecstasy while he was dean of USC’s medical school have opened a window into the pervasiveness of drug use and addiction among physicians and the challenges they face when confronting it. Experts say physicians become substance abusers at about the same rate as the general population. But they are often reluctant to seek treatment out of fear of losing their medical licenses and livelihoods. (Karlamangla, 7/24)
Bloomberg: Trump's FDA Chief Takes Wide Aim At Opioid Addiction Crisis
The Food and Drug Administration, as part of a sweeping overhaul in how it regulates opioid painkillers, plans to look to some unusual allies to limit the flood of the addictive pills -- health insurers and companies that manage prescription drug benefits. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb plans to meet in September with the benefit payers and insurance administrators, groups the FDA hasn’t typically worked with in its role as a drug regulator. The plan, Gottlieb said, is to stem the tide of addiction to the pills by limiting the number of people exposed to them in the first place. (Edney, 7/24)
And in other news on the epidemic —
The New York Times: Economy Needs Workers, But Drug Tests Take A Toll
Just a few miles from where President Trump will address his blue-collar base here Tuesday night, exactly the kind of middle-class factory jobs he has vowed to bring back from overseas are going begging. It’s not that local workers lack the skills for these positions, many of which do not even require a high school diploma but pay $15 to $25 an hour and offer full benefits. Rather, the problem is that too many applicants — nearly half, in some cases — fail a drug test. (Schwartz, 7/24)
Arizona Republic: Hepatitis C: The Public-Health Worry Lurking Behind The Opioid Crisis
Hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that attacks the liver and causes inflammation, is so infectious it can spread through a few microscopic dots of blood. Intravenous drug users are among the most high-risk populations for infection because they share syringes, cookers, cotton, water, ties and alcohol swabs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Stanford, 7/24)
