Many physicians are split on whether regulating opioid prescriptions and dosages is an effective way to address the opioid epidemic, according to a pair of op-eds published in The Wall Street Journal.  By Harrison Cook - 6/26/18

Just 20 percent of female patients who required pain medication after surgery were screened for substance-use disorder, according to a poll released by Morning Consult and Shatterproof.  By Megan Knowles - 6/26/18

The national opioid epidemic continues to run rampant, spurring leaders across private and public sectors to take action. Many are embracing electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) as a critical tool in response to the deepening crisis. Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on Imprivata's website.  By Staff - 6/25/18

On June 25, a high-ranking official in China's drug control agency responded to accusations of Chinese suppliers fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, according to CNN.  By Harrison Cook - 6/25/18

Nearly two-thirds of all opioid-related overdoses also include other drugs; within that two-thirds, there are certain combinations of opioids and other drugs that up an individual's chance of overdose by five times, according to a recent study published in JAMA.  By Harrison Cook - 6/25/18

On June 22, artist Domenic Esposito and gallery owner Fernando Luis Alvarez placed a 10-foot-long sculpture, depicting the spoon heroin addicts use to cook the drug before injecting it, outside Purdue Pharma's property, according to The New York Times.  By Harrison Cook - 6/25/18

In a recent press release, Schumacher Clinical Partners’ (SCP) most senior medical leaders, comprised of 23 physicians and nurses, including the company’s Enterprise Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Randy Pilgrim, and Founder & Executive Chairman, Dr. William C. “Kip” Schumacher, recently congregated to address head-on the rising abuse of opioids in the U.S. and how emergency department providers can help stem what President Trump has declared a “national public health emergency.”  By Staff - 6/22/18

Action is needed to tackle the ever-growing problem of opioid addiction, but the National Institutes of Health's initiative to combat the epidemic won't address its complex root causes, contends an anonymous editorial in Nature.  By Harrison Cook - 6/21/18

An analysis of opioid-related deaths and the zip codes where they happened illustrated a widespread rise in fatal overdoses all over Philadelphia, according to The Inquirer.  By Harrison Cook - 6/21/18

Since 2014, the number of children introduced into foster and state care systems has increased due to parent-related overdoses, relapses or prolonged recovery, according to The Hill.  By Harrison Cook - 6/21/18

Cigna wants to slash the number of opioid overdoses by 25 percent among its commercial members living in communities hit hard by the opioid epidemic.  By Morgan Haefner - 6/21/18

Among the medical community, there is a growing case against intravenous Tylenol, which gained popularity as hospitals shift away from prescribing opioids for pain management, according to The Washington Post.  By Harrison Cook - 6/20/18

On June 18, the New York Department of Health announced opioid use now qualifies patients for medical marijuana to treat chronic pain, according to WIVB4.com.  By Harrison Cook - 6/20/18

Starting June 19, Facebook users looking to purchase opioids or seek addiction treatment will be redirected to information about a federal crisis help line — a move to curb illicit drug sales on its platform, STAT reports.  By Megan Knowles - 6/20/18

A recent study conducted by the Ohio Alliance for Innovation in Population Health accounted for 519,471 years of lost life expectancy, according to Market Watch.  By Harrison Cook - 6/19/18

Methadone could be a more effective treatment than morphine for babies introduced to opioids in utero and born with withdrawal symptoms, known as neonatal abstinence syndrome, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.  By Harrison Cook - 6/19/18

Programs dedicated to monitoring prescription drug use in Kentucky, New Mexico, Tennessee and New York have significantly reduced opioid prescriptions, according to research published in Health Affairs.  By Harrison Cook - 6/19/18

A recent blog post by Allscripts discusses the recent Modern Healthcare Opioid Crisis Symposium and what stakeholders, business leaders, clinicians, health system leaders, and more had to say.  By Staff - 6/19/18

The previously accepted notion of using opioids to completely eradicate pain has caused U.S. physicians to prescribe 50 times more opioids than the rest of the world combined, Heather Tick, MD, clinical associate professor in both the departments of family medicine and anesthesiology and pain medicine at Seattle-based UW Medicine, and Jane Ballantyne, MD, a pain medicine physician in Seattle, wrote in an op-ed for The Seattle Times.  By Harrison Cook - 6/18/18

McKesson CEO John Hammergren will take a 10 percent pay cut in fiscal 2018 as the company faces a shareholder lawsuit for allegedly failing to audit controls for opioid-based painkillers, according to Bloomberg.  By Emily Rappleye - 6/18/18