Many surgeons continued to write excessive opioid prescriptions for patients after surgery amid skyrocketing rates of overdose deaths in the U.S., according to an analysis from Kaiser Health News.

The FDA is proposing a tougher regulatory process for approving new opioids, the agency announced June 20.

Lawyers representing cities and counties suing drugmakers, distributors and retailers over their alleged roles in the opioid crisis have proposed bringing all 24,500 communities across the U.S. into negotiations to reach a comprehensive national opioid settlement, according to The New York Times.

Post-discharge opioid use is far more likely among patients who are given opioids during their hospital stay compared to patients who do not receive opioids, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health and Kettering Health Network, in partnership with Google sister company Verily, opened the first two facilities of the OneFifteen opioid addiction treatment system on June 14.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy announced on June 12 the eight finalists in the first stage of the Opioid Detection Challenge, which is offering $1.55 million in prizes for an automated tool to detect opioids in international mail.

The claim that medical marijuana laws are linked to lower rates of fatal opioid overdoses may be wrong, according to a study published in PNAS.

Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health achieved a systemwide decrease in opioid prescriptions since launching an initiative to monitor opioid use in January 2017, according to NPR affiliate 89.3 WFPL News.

The New Jersey Innovation Institute received a $6 million grant from two state agencies to help lead New Jersey's EHR interoperability program that aims to decrease opioid overprescribing.

The FDA has started its two-day advisory committee meeting to determine if higher doses of opioids should be limited or removed from the market.

For the fifth consecutive year, the number and strength of opioids prescribed has declined, according to the American Medical Association's 2019 Opioid Task Force Progress Report.

Most people who live near the proposed area for Philadelphia's supervised injection site are in favor of its opening, according to a study published in the Journal of Urban Health.

While a vast majority of executives and providers are concerned about drug diversion in U.S. hospitals, only 20 percent believe it is an issue where they work, according to a new survey commissioned by the BD Institute for Medication Management Excellence and conducted by KRC Research.

Since March, five drugmakers and distributors have reached settlements in opioid-related cases brought against them by various states and the federal government.

Redox will integrate OpiSafe's opioid risk reduction platform with its interoperable healthcare network to help providers prevent opioid abuse.

The American Medical Association (AMA) Opioid Task Force released recommendations on May 30th, 2019 calling on policymakers to eliminate barriers to treatment and to take additional steps to end the opioid epidemic.

Opioid prescription intelligence software that is designed to integrate data from prescription drug monitoring programs into EHR systems is helping healthcare providers identify opioid-use disorder and improve prescribing practices, according to a KLAS Research report.

A Philadelphia-based hospital implemented a specialized pain management program for patients who underwent robotic surgery for urologic cancers, which resulted in a majority of patients being discharged home without opioids.

The Georgia Department of Public Health is teaming up with Appriss Health to integrate the state's prescription drug monitoring program into EHR systems across Georgia.

Only about one-third of Americans with opioid use disorder reported receiving treatment in 2017, with the main obstacle being cost concerns, according to a report from USAFacts.