November 28, 2017
Maureen Fitzgerald
ATTC Network Coordinating Office
NIATx
Did your recent holiday include a holiday from the news? Get caught up with these links to breaking treatment and recovery headline stories:
The Health 202: This hotel CEO thinks he can fix America's opioid abuse problem, Washington Post: "Gary Mendell, the chairman of HEI Hotels & Resorts who lost his son to drug addiction six years ago, has convinced four of the five major U.S. insurers – Aetna, UnitedHealth, Cigna and several of the Blue Cross plans – and a dozen smaller companies to sign onto eight principles of care for patients struggling with addiction."
In Ads, Tobacco Companies Admit They Made Cigarettes More Addictive from NPR: Tobacco companies launched a series of ads warning about the health effects of smoking and the dangers of second-hand smoke.
Where is the Prevention in the President's Opioid Report? New York Times: The report mentions some evidence-based prevention programs, but does not recommend any.
Scientists explore drug's value in treating both alcoholism and PTSD, from Baltimore Sun: Dr. Bankole Johnson of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is leading a team launching a five-year study of the effectiveness of a drug called pregablin for treating alcoholism and PTSD together.
White House report: Cost of opioid crisis over $500B from UPI: A report by the White House Council of Economic Advisors adjusts for underreporting of opioids in overdose deaths and incorporates nonfatal costs of opioid misuse.
Veterans help spur use of medical pot for PTSD from CBSnews.com: The American Legion is pressing VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana where it's legal.
Should Hospitals be Punished for Post-Surgical Patients' Opioid Addiction? From NPR: Some doctors and hospital administrators are now asking if opioid dependence is a medical error "along the lines of some hospital-acquired infections."
How Opioids Started Killing Americans, from Bloomberg: A Columbia University study analyzed clinical diagnoses and prescriptions for more than 13,000 adults in the Medicaid program in 45 states who died from an overdose from 2001 to 2007.
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The opinions expressed herein are the views of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), SAMHSA, CSAT or the ATTC Network. No official support or endorsement of DHHS, SAMHSA, or CSAT for the opinions of authors presented in this e-publication is intended or should be inferred.