Many pharmacists are not using monitoring systems designed to reduce prescription drug abuse, a study of Maine pharmacists suggests. The study found only 56 percent of those surveyed used their state system.
Almost 10 million Americans say they misused opioid medications in 2012-2013, according to a new study from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Nonmedical use of prescription opioids more than doubled over a 10-year period, the study found.
A growing number of older adults are becoming addicted to opioid painkillers, The New York Times reports. They are using the pills to deal with the aches and pains of aging and the anxiety that can come with retirement.
A New Jersey hospital emergency department has been treating pain with alternative regimens, in an attempt to reduce opioid use. The treatments include non-narcotic infusions and injections, ultrasound guided nerve blocks, laughing gas, and “energy healing,” according to The New York Times.
Almost 60 percent of Americans say they have opioid painkillers at home that they no longer use, according to a new survey. Twenty percent say they have shared their opioid pills with another person.
Top headlines of the week from Friday, June 3- Thursday, June 9, 2016.
States that use prescription drug monitoring programs have seen a 30 percent decrease in the rate of prescriptions written for opioid painkillers, a new study finds.
The news that toxicology tests concluded Prince died from an accidental fentanyl overdose could spur Congress to reach a deal on legislation to combat the opioid crisis, The New York Times reports.
Many patients who have undergone knee or hip replacement surgery are still taking prescription opioid painkillers up to six months after the operation, a new study finds. Some patients continue to use potentially addictive pain medications even though their hip or knee pain has improved, the findings suggest.
A new study that finds opioid use increases chronic pain in rats may have important implications for humans, according to researchers from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
The number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers is declining in the United States, a sign that the opioid epidemic may be peaking, The New York Times reports.
Congress is focusing on expanding treatment for opioid addiction instead of restricting access to painkillers in its efforts to address the opioid epidemic, The New York Times reports.
U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona is calling for a Senate hearing on the link between professional sports and prescription drug abuse, ABC News reports.
Almost half of parents whose child had unused prescription opioid painkillers left over from a surgery or illness keep the medication at home, a new poll finds.
A group of primary care clinics in West Virginia has an anesthesiologist on staff to treat patients with chronic pain, in an attempt to reduce prescription opioid addiction.
The U.S. House on Wednesday passed 10 bills designed to fight opioid addiction. They are part of a package of 18 bills expected to be approved this week, USA Today reports.
The U.S. House is scheduled this week to vote on 18 bills designed to combat opioid addiction. The measures are expected to be approved, The New York Times reports.
Prince’s addiction to opioid painkillers, which has come to light since his death, was hidden from even some of his closest friends, The New York Times reports.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday voted to recommend requiring doctors who prescribe opioids to receive training. Doctors’ groups have resisted mandatory training.
Top headlines of the week from Friday, April 29- Thursday, May 5, 2016.
Drug management programs that require at-risk individuals to use designated pharmacies or physicians for opioid prescriptions can protect patients from using harmful amounts of opioids while ensuring they still receive appropriate amounts of pain medication, according to the lead author of a new report on the programs.
A new national poll finds 44 percent of Americans say they personally know someone who has been addicted to prescription painkillers, CNBC reports.
A single 30-minute session with a trained therapist during an emergency room visit can motivate people who misuse prescription opioid painkillers to reduce their use, a new study concludes.
Opioid abuse could be costing U.S. employers up to $8 billion annually, according to a report by the benefits firm Castlight Health. Employees who abuse opioids cost employers almost twice as much in healthcare expenses on average, compared with workers who don’t abuse opioids, the report found.
In Missouri, the only state without a prescription drug monitoring program, the state senator blocking approval of the program argues it represents an invasion of privacy, NPR reports.
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