Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
This Anti-Overdose Medication Has Provided Miracles To Families Of Those Struggling With Addiction
The Washington Post: Families And Friends Of Addicts Are Stocking Up On Narcan, A Drug That Can Stop An Overdose In Its Tracks
Beth Schmidt always begins her opioid-awareness sessions by introducing her boy. At one such event, she motions toward his photos — the solemn baseball-team picture, his sweet, clean-cut middle school portrait, the cheek-to-cheek selfie of mother and son — as she tells a hushed audience of about a dozen how Sean fought and lost his battle with opioid addiction. “He actually overdosed right here in Mount Airy at the Twin Arch Shopping Center,” she says, “in a parked car.” It was December 2013, two days after his 23rd birthday. (Fleming, 1/7)
The Washington Post: Narcan Stops Overdoses And In Most States Is Available At Drug Stores Without Prescritptions
Forty-six states permit naloxone to be purchased without an individual prescription. Laws in the remaining states vary, with some permitting naloxone to be prescribed only for use on a patient of the prescriber, while others permit it to be prescribed for use on other people, such as friends and family members of the patient. In the District of Columbia, Narcan is available at retail pharmacies only via prescription. At least three community health organizations — HIPS, Family Medical and Counseling Service and Bread for the City — disburse it free without a prescription to clients and family members. (Fleming, 1/7)
In other news on the crisis —
The Associated Press: Fatal Overdoses Prompt County To Issue Public Health Alert
Authorities in one Maryland county have issued a public health alert after four people died from drug overdoses. The Carroll County Times reported that the health officials in the county seat of Westminster sent out the alert Friday. It warned that heroin, cocaine and counterfeit pain and anxiety pills may be laced with fentanyl. The synthetic opioid can be deadly, even in small doses. Carroll County is northwest of Baltimore. (1/7)
Kaiser Health News: An Opioid Remedy That Works: Treat Pain And Addiction At The Same Time
Seven years ago, Robert Kerley, who makes his living as a truck driver, was loading drywall when a gust of wind knocked him off the trailer. Kerley fell 14 feet and hurt his back. For pain, a series of doctors prescribed him a variety of opioids: Vicodin, Percocet and OxyContin. In less than a year, the 45-year-old from Federal Heights, Colo., said he was hooked. “I spent most of my time high, laying on the couch, not doing nothing, falling asleep everywhere,” he said. (Daley, 1/8)
Concord (N.H.) Monitor: Finding A Balance: With Hospitals Prescribing Fewer Opioids, Chronic Pain Patients Are Left In A World Of Hurt
Meanwhile, policies are changing too. Several years ago, Dartmouth-Hitchcock implemented a new system that mandated patient-physician contracts that dictate conditions before prescriptions are issued. In December, new research by Dr. Richard Barth, Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s chief of surgery, is being applied to optimize (and limit) the number of opioids prescribed after surgeries. ...And in 2016, the New Hampshire Board of Medicine passed significant changes to its opioid prescribing rules to put stricter limits on physicians generally. For chronic pain patients, the rules included a mandatory contract system, new caps on prescriptions and mandatory urine tests. (DeWitt, 1/6)
Columbus Dispatch: Colleges Pursue Ways To Take On Opioid Epidemic
Last year, OU’s health sciences college launched Athens HOPE, a task force to fight the opioid epidemic through prevention and education. The group brings together local health and hospital officials, recovery-services personnel, leaders of local governments, law enforcement agencies and the Athens school district, and other community stakeholders to educate people about opioids, strengthen the community to support those in recovery, and coordinate local services and resources. (Smola, 1/7)
