Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Safe Injection Sites Have Been Shown To Save Lives, But Actually Setting One Up Is 'Complicated'
The Associated Press: Philadelphia's Safe Injection Site Plans Spark Questions
Philadelphia wants to establish safe havens where people can inject drugs, an effort to combat skyrocketing opioid overdoses in the city. They would be places where people could shoot up under the supervision of medical professionals who could administer an overdose antidote if necessary. But there are more questions than answers on how it would work and what it would look like, and if it could even legally get up and running. (de Groot, 1/28)
In other news on the epidemic —
Reuters: Arizona Governor Signs Opioid Crackdown Legislation
Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey on Friday signed into law legislation intended to crack down on opioid abuse, calling it vital to combat an epidemic felt statewide and across the nation. “We’ve all heard the first person stories of individuals who have been impacted,” Ducey said at a signing ceremony. “But there are so many other stories we haven’t heard because the individuals impacted didn’t survive. This bill is for them.” (Schwartz, 1/26)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Opioid Epidemic: States Curb Pain Pill Prescribing
State laws, public health guidelines and American Medical Association standards are forging the path to cut back the prescribing of pain pills in the United States. ...But the shift isn't uniform. Five states had prescription rates that were higher in 2016 — by as much as Iowa's 12.1 percent — than they were back in 2007, a USA TODAY NETWORK analysis of the CDC's data shows. (DeMio, 1/26)
Boston Globe: New Mothers Overcoming Addiction Face A World Of Obstacles
New mothers in recovery from addiction confront extraordinary obstacles, according to people who care for them. Most are allowed to take their babies home but live in fear of losing them as the Department of Children and Families watches over their shoulder. (Freyer, 1/29)
Kaiser Health News: Death In The Family: An Uncle’s Overdose Spurs Medicaid Official To Change Course
Andrey Ostrovsky’s family did not discuss what killed his uncle. He was young, not quite two weeks past his 45th birthday, when he died, and he had lost touch with loved ones in his final months. Ostrovsky speculated he had committed suicide. Almost two years later, Ostrovsky was Medicaid’s chief medical officer, grappling with an opioid crisis that kills about 115 Americans each day, when he learned the truth: His uncle died of a drug overdose. (Huetteman, 1/29)
