Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Dashboard: Over 180,000 Nonfatal Opioid Overdoses In A Year
CNN: More Than 180,000 People Overdosed On Opioids And Survived In The Past Year, New White House Dashboard Shows
There were about 181,806 nonfatal opioid overdoses recorded in the United States in the past year, and it’s taken about 9.8 minutes on average for emergency medical services to reach someone who’s overdosing, according to a data dashboard that the White House debuted Thursday. This first-of-its-kind dashboard was developed to track nonfatal opioid overdoses, which have become a growing public health concern as the US struggles with a decades-long opioid epidemic. (Howard, 12/8)
USA Today: The White House Is Now Tracking Nonfatal Opioid Overdoses By State. Why That's Important
“We are hoping that this will be used by first responders, by clinicians as well as policymakers to make sure that we are working to provide that response, connect people to care as well as to minimize the response times and ensure that there's resources available on the ground,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. (Rodriguez, 12/8)
NPR: The White House Unveils A New System To Track And Better Prevent Opioid Overdoses
For decades, the U.S. struggled to create a national system for tracking opioid overdoses. Critics including Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) say the lack of accurate, real-time data has made it harder for health officials to respond as black market pain pills, heroin and illicit fentanyl flooded communities. "It is absolutely a monstrous failure of government," Trone said in an interview with NPR. "The excuses are unending. "Thursday morning, the Biden administration moved to close the data gap, unveiling a new website that will track non-fatal opioid overdoses. (Mann, 12/8)
In other news about opioid abuse —
MedicalXpress: People With Disabilities Who Misuse Opioid Drugs 73% More Likely To Attempt Suicide, National Study Finds
People who take medical opioid drugs without a doctor's prescription are 37% more likely than non-users to plan suicide—and the risk is even greater for those with disabilities, who have 73% higher odds of attempting to take their own life. The findings are from a study of over 38,000 adults who took part in the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2019, published in the journal Substance Use and Misuse. (12/8)
