Heart infections linked to drug use have significantly increased nationwide, with the greatest increases occurring in the Midwest, reports a study published Sept. 18 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. 

Lawyers for Purdue Pharma said they will ask a judge to issue an injunction on any further lawsuits against the Sackler family during the company's bankruptcy hearings, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Lawyers representing drug companies and pharmacies in the upcoming federal opioid trial filed a motion Sept. 14 to remove a federal judge from presiding over the case, according to The Hill. 

The Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, wired at least $1 billion through various financial institutions in a possible attempt to shield its wealth as the family faced a growing number of lawsuits over the opioid epidemic, according to The New York Times.

A group of historians filed a court brief Sept. 12 asking that any settlement made between plaintiffs and defendants in the upcoming federal opioid trial include a requirement that all documents be kept and made public, according to STAT. 

The American Medical Association on Sept.9 released a report to guide policymakers and states in responding to the opioid epidemic, detailing successful strategies and lessons learned in Colorado, Mississippi, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Americans are seven times more likely to fill a prescription for opioids the week after surgery than Swedes, according to a study published in JAMA Sept. 4.

Physicians were more likely to prescribe opioids later in the day and when appointments were running behind schedule, according to a study published in JAMA cited by STAT.

HHS is giving states more than $1.8 billion in new funding to support programs that address the opioid crisis, the agency announced Sept. 4.

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare will hold a national "Crush the Crisis" opioid take-back day Sept. 7.

Families across the U.S. are paying thousands of dollars for addicted loved ones to attend largely ineffective drug rehab programs, according to Vox.

Opioids kill 130 Americans per day, and nurses play a critical role in screening and identifying patients with substance use disorders, according to AJC Pulse.

Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine will establish a new Center of Excellence in which psychiatry and radiology researchers will use PET imaging to study neurobiological changes associated with opioid use disorder.

Fatal overdoses involving synthetic opioids have increased sharply since 2013, according to a report from Rand Corp.

A recent blog post by TeamHealth reviews a discussion with David Samuels, MD, on his thoughts from a non-opioid anesthesiologist's perspective. 

The Ohio Development Services Agency announced Aug. 27 the winners of its Opioid Technology Challenge, each of whom will receive a $1 million prize to further develop their proposed projects to address the opioid epidemic.

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania has created the Opioid Learning Action Network.

Though the U.S. Justice Department has used data analytics to comb through prescription and billing information to detect healthcare fraud for several years, its recent data-driven approach to tackling the opioid crisis may be its most successful yet.

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and West Virginia University President Gordon Gee have formed a nonprofit to push any national opioid settlement to hospitals instead of state and local governments, according to the Dayton Daily News.

HHS issued a proposal Aug. 22 to loosen privacy rules around the treatment of substance use disorder.