Even as federal and state governments make efforts to stem the growing opioid epidemic through legislation to monitor and limit the availability of prescription painkillers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week released provisional estimates that indicate a continuing rise in overdose deaths, most notably...
Read MoreIn its recent report on leading causes of death in the United States, the CDC estimates that the number of potentially preventable deaths decreased from 2010 to 2014 for three of the five leading causes of death (cancer, stroke and heart disease). However, deaths due...
Read More
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s has published its reporting requirements for physicians authorized to prescribe buprenorphine at the increased limit of 275 patients. Previously, practitioners with the appropriate waiver could only prescribe buprenorphine for up to 100 patients per year. The recently finalized...
Read MoreIn order to shine a spotlight on the skyrocketing numbers of opioid-related overdoses, President Obama today declared the nation’s first Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week. Since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids, including prescription opioid pain relievers, heroin, and fentanyl, has...
Read MoreNewly gathered statistics show a rapid increase in the number of organs being donated from victims who died of opioid overdoses. According to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, 848 organ donors died of drug intoxication in 2015, a significant jump in this category of...
Read More