Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viral Images Of Parents' Overdoses Show Toll Opioid Epidemic Is Taking On Children
The New York Times: Addicted Parents Get Their Fix, Even With Children Watching
It was a horrific video — a young mother who had overdosed was lying unconscious on the floor of a Family Dollar store in Lawrence, Mass. Adding a gut-wrenching kick to the scene was that the woman’s 2-year-old daughter, wearing purple footie pajamas, was tugging at her mother’s limp arm, trying to wake her up. The girl was wailing. The mother looked lifeless. (Seelye, 9/27)
The Washington Post: Drug, Crime Experts Say Posting Shocking Photos Of Unconscious Drug Addicts Is Wrong
Police in small towns in Ohio and Massachusetts may have started a trend: releasing photos of unconscious drug addicts, to dramatically show the public what officers encounter on a daily basis as opioid abuse explodes across America. The photos of a man and woman passed out in the front seat of an SUV in East Liverpool, Ohio, and video of a woman lying on the floor of a discount store in Lawrence, Mass., being prodded by a terrified child, have gone viral and brought the hard reality of addiction home to millions who’ve never imagined its real life impact. (Jackman, 9/27)
In other news on the opioid crisis —
Politico: Drug Databases Are No Panacea For Opioid Crisis
In the fight against the opioid epidemic, authorities are increasingly relying on computers — state-run drug databases that can turn up evidence of abuse, like doctors who shovel prescriptions out the door indiscriminately or patients who doctor shop for pills. But while the prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) help police and prosecutors, they haven’t necessarily helped address addiction as disease. (Allen, 9/27)
The Associated Press: Governor Signs Bill Targeting 'Doctor-Shopping' For Opioids
California doctors will be required to check a database of prescription narcotics before writing scripts for addictive drugs under legislation Gov. Jerry Brown signed Tuesday that aims to address the scourge of opioid abuse. The measure attempts to crack down on a practice known as "doctor-shopping," in which addicts visit multiple providers to obtain prescriptions for addictive drugs. (9/27)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Report: More Pa. Babies Are Born Addicted To Opioids
Pennsylvania hospitals have seen soaring rates of babies born addicted to opioids over the last 15 years, a reflection of the national epidemic of pain pill and heroin abuse, according to a new state analysis. The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council used hospital records from 2000 through 2015 to figure out how often mothers and newborns were hospitalized because of addiction issues. In 2015, 2,691 newborns were hospitalized in Pennsylvania for substance-related problems, or almost 2 percent of the 138,000 infant hospitalizations. (McCullough and Sapatkin, 9/27)
Kaiser Health News: Deadly Opioid Overwhelms First Responders And Crime Labs In Ohio
Jamie Landrum has been a police officer for two years in District 3 on the west side of Cincinnati. In late August, the city was hit by 174 overdoses in six days. Landrum says officers were scarce. “We were literally going from one heroin overdose, and then being on that one, and hearing someone come over [the radio] and say, ‘I have no more officers left,’ ” Landrum said. Three more people overdosed soon after that. (Harper, 9/28)
