Latest KFF Health News Stories
Meth In The Morning, Heroin At Night: Inside The Seesaw Struggle of Dual Addiction
Many users now mix opioids with stimulants like meth and cocaine — and researchers believe opioids kicked off this new stimulant wave.
Surgeons’ Opioid-Prescribing Habits Are Hard To Kick
A new data analysis by KHN and Johns Hopkins researchers shows that even as the CDC issued warnings, surgeons handed out many times the number of opioid pills needed for post-op pain.
Opioid Operators: How Surgeons Ply Patients With Painkillers
Even as awareness of the opioid crisis grew, prescribing habits of surgeons changed very little from 2011 to 2016, found a data analysis by KHN and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Use this interactive tool to search by doctor or practicing hospital.
Federal Grants ‘A Lifesaver’ In Opioid Fight, But States Still Struggle To Curb Meth
The federal government has doled out at least $2.4 billion in state grants since 2017 to address the opioid epidemic, which killed 47,600 people in the U.S. that year alone. But local officials note that drug abuse problems seldom involve only one substance.
Readers And Tweeters: No Rush To Judge Patients Who Leave The ER Without OK
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Drug Users Armed With Naloxone Double As Medics On Streets Of San Francisco
The widespread availability of naloxone, which reverses overdoses, has radically changed the culture of opioid use on the streets, giving drug users a sense of security and inducing them to seek out the more powerful high of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Oklahoma’s ‘Precedent-Setting’ Suit Puts Opioid Drugmakers On Trial
As states struggle to respond to the national drug crisis, officials around the country are watching Oklahoma. The state’s attorney general says opioid drugmakers helped ignite a health crisis that has killed thousands of residents.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Use Of Buprenorphine To Treat Opioid Addiction Proliferates In California
Buprenorphine is becoming an increasingly popular choice among doctors in California for treating opioid addiction. Use of methadone, while still more common, has not gained ground in recent years.
Opioid Prescriptions Drop Sharply Among State Workers
New data from the California agency that manages health benefits for 1.5 million public employees, retirees and their families shows that doctors are writing far fewer opioid prescriptions, reflecting a national trend of physicians cutting back on the addictive drugs.
Why Missouri’s The Last Holdout On A Statewide Rx Monitoring Program
For the seventh year in a row, Missouri will retain its lonely title as the only state without a statewide prescription drug monitoring program. Fears about privacy violations and gun control scuttled the bill yet again, leaving a pastiche of half-step measures in place to fill the void in the fight against prescription drug abuse.
Needle Exchanges Find New Champions Among Republicans
More Republicans, at the statehouse level, are saying research and results support their endorsement of a once-controversial plan to limit disease among drug users.
Addiction Medicine Mostly Prescribed To Whites, Even As Opioid Deaths Rose Among Blacks
A study looked at who gets Suboxone prescriptions and found that whites are almost 35 times more likely to get the addiction treatment than African Americans.
Meth Vs. Opioids: America Has Two Drug Epidemics, But Focuses On One
In the West and Midwest, 70% of local law enforcement says meth is the bigger threat. It’s also a more difficult addiction to treat.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Amid Opioid Prescriber Crackdown, Health Officials Reach Out To Pain Patients
After dozens of health care workers were charged with illegally prescribing opioids in Appalachia, local health agencies are trying to make sure chronic pain patients don’t fall through the cracks.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
