Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth aims to improve patients' access to substance abuse treatment through a new partnership with Seminole County, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

Asking patients to be involved in deciding how many opioids they need could help lower opioid prescribing rates, according to a study published in The Green Journal.

Hundreds of hospitals have filed lawsuits separate from the ongoing federal opioid trial accusing drugmakers of fueling the opioid crisis, according to NPR.

Below is a timeline of opioid settlements that have been reached since January, reported by Becker's Hospital Review. The timeline doesn't include opioid settlements that are still pending or have been agreed to in principle, including a proposed settlement from Purdue Pharma and a global settlement from several drug distributors.

Four states agreed Oct. 21 on a framework for a $48 billion settlement with five drug companies over their alleged role in fueling the opioid crisis, according to The Hill.

Nearly half of women discharged with an opioid prescription after giving birth via cesarean section are over-prescribed, according to a new study.

The opioid crisis cost the U.S. at least $631 billion from 2015 to 2018, with healthcare costs constituting a third of the economic loss, according to a study released Oct. 15 by the Society of Actuaries. 

Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed in principle to a global settlement worth $23 billion to resolve all opioid-related litigation against the drugmaker.

A New Quest Diagnostics health trends report that most primary care physicians fear chronic pain patients will resort to illicit drugs if they don't have access to prescription opiods. 

The country's three largest drug distributors and one manufacturer reached a settlement to avoid the bellwether federal opioid trial set to begin in Cleveland Oct. 21, according to The New York Times.

Surgeons concerned that prescribing few opioids might hurt their patient satisfactions scores can breathe a sigh of relief, according to a new study.

The U.S. Department of Justice awarded $6.5 million to expand telehealth services and harm-reduction resources within West Virginia's Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Sit-based Program, according to local NBC affiliate WTAP.

Established in nearly every state across America, prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are used to track the prescribing, dispensing and use of opioids and other controlled substances.

The country's three largest drug distributors and two manufacturers have agreed with several states on the framework of a $50 billion settlement to resolve thousands of opioid-related lawsuits, according to The New York Times.

McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health are in talks to settle opioid litigation brought against them by states and local governments for $18 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

HHS published a five-page guide on how to safely taper patients off opioids Oct. 10.  

The National Institute on Drug Abuse appointed a former pharmaceutical lobbyist to its top advisory board, angering advocates who blame the pharmaceutical industry for the opioid crisis, according to Buzzfeed News.

OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma's settlement is under increased scrutiny after court filings revealed the Sackler family made $12 billion to $13 billion in profit from the company, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Jamestown, N.Y.-based UPMC Chautauqua was slated to open a methadone clinic to address growing opioid misuse among residents, but internal state decisions ultimately thwarted the plans, according to the Observer.

A federal judge on Oct. 2 ruled that Philadelphia's proposed supervised injection site does not violate federal law, representing a landmark decision that could alter how opioid use disorder is treated in the U.S., reports The Washington Post.