2018 DEA Drug Threat Assessment: Key Findings
Jan 9, 2019 9:04:33 AM by John Cole
In November of 2018, the DEA released the results of the 2018 National Drug Threat Assessment. The 164 page report highlighted the threats posed to the United States by domestic and international drug trafficking and the abuse of illicit drugs. The DEA’s acting administrator, Uttam Dhillon, said the assessment “underscores the magnitude of the nation’s opioid crisis and highlights the necessity of using all the tools at our disposal to fight this epidemic.”1
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Opioids: A Global perspective. Treating Pain and Battling Addiction.
Jan 2, 2019 2:34:09 PM by Jody Lutz
The Opioid Epidemic in America is a topic covered extensively, each and every day in the news. AffirmHealth covers this topically frequently as well, most recently in our, "Where are We Now?" article.
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Teens and Opioid Abuse
Dec 18, 2018 3:34:22 PM by Jody Lutz
Historically, research has shown that nearly 1 in 4 high school seniors in the United States have been exposed to prescription opioids through either medical or non-medical use. On November 12, 2018 a JAMA abstract reported: Between 1997 and 2012, the rate of hospitalization due to opioid poisonings nearly doubled in US children and adolescents. Opioid use early in life is associated with a higher likelihood of opioid misuse in the future. Read More
The Opioid Epidemic at the End of 2018: Are We Making Progress?
Dec 11, 2018 9:31:00 AM by Mario Ramirez, MD
For those of us involved in the opioid epidemic as caregivers, patient advocates, and researchers, there was an interesting moment earlier this year when a series of news stories noted some optimism in the fight against overdose deaths.
In mid-October, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar commented on preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that suggested “that the U.S. may be ‘beginning to turn the tide’ on the opioid crisis.[1]” “The seemingly relentless trend of rising overdose deaths seems to be finally bending in the right direction…We are so far from the end of the epidemic, but we are perhaps at the end of the beginning.[2]”
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The Future of Managing Pain: Novel Treatments & Reformulations
Nov 28, 2018 2:26:19 PM by Jody Lutz
As the opioid misuse and overdose epidemic impacts communities across America and has sweeping global implications, practitioners are looking to the future of pain management and the novel treatment options that may be on the horizon.
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The Controversial Approval of Dsuvia by the Food and Drug Administration
Nov 21, 2018 8:23:13 AM by Mario Ramirez, MD posted in Opioid Epidemic, Opioid Therapy, Raeford Brown, dsuvia, FDA
Earlier this month on November 2nd, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Dsuvia, a new sublingual version of an older drug, sufentanil, that has been in use since 1984.
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MIPS and Improvement Activity Data
Nov 13, 2018 3:28:24 PM by Jody Lutz
Last week on the AffirmHealth Blog we discussed MIPS and PDMP Usage and promised a follow up on additional Improvement Activities. So this week we look at an Improvement Activities Data overview as well as a handful of activities potentially pertinent to providers prescribing opioids or other controlled substances.
Let’s start at the beginning…
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MIPS and PDMP Usage: How they work together.
Oct 30, 2018 12:46:41 PM by Jody Lutz
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