If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that there is strong evidence for the effectiveness of addiction treatment, and that the biggest obstacle we face in combating the overdose crisis is an overall lack of access to that treatment. Health insurance is of course a
Starting with the multiple guilty pleas from Purdue Pharma in 2020, thousands of lawsuits across the country have lead to a series of settlements from numerous pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors for their role in the opioid crisis. From just the first and second wave of settlements with Cardinal Health, Janssen,
Purdue Pharma. Johnson and Johnson. CVS. Walgreens. I could keep going. Drug manufacturers and distributors have rightly come under scrutiny in light of the opioid abatement settlements. As these companies start paying hundreds of millions of dollars out across the country, in an effort to try to make up for
SMART has made available a fact sheet on Xylazine, highlighting all the information we currently know on this drug, including trends, presentations, treatment, and more. Please download and share! Download PDF | Full Text
At the end of 2022, the CDC released new prescribing guideline for opioids, replacing their last set from 2016. Excluding patients with cancer and other terminal illnesses, this guideline strongly emphasizes alternatives to opioids and urges extreme caution for physicians considering new opioid prescriptions, while also recommending how to appropriately
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. has announced that the FDA has fast-tracked their application for an over-the-counter (OTC) version of their trademarked Narcan nasal spray, and are anticipating approval as early as March 29th, 2023. A week prior, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf issued an open call for such applications, promising to assign
Read the full article at The Tennessean. Changes to telehealth policy enable mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. This is crucial, as the rate of incarceration is increasing the most in rural areas. About two-thirds of all incarcerated Tennesseans meet the criteria for a diagnosable substance use disorder. This
If there’s one thing Tennesseans can agree on, it’s that the criminal justice system needs some improvements. In the summer of 2021, the Reentry Success Act and Alternatives to Incarceration Act passed; at the same time telehealth permissions expanded. Jeremy talks with Judge Duane Slone and Dr. Stephen Loyd about
Read the full article at The Tennessean. In 2020, there were only 1,007 providers in Tennessee capable of prescribing buprenorphine, a safe and effective medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). However, in that same year it was estimated that at least 70,000 Tennesseans had OUD. While this
Read the full policy brief here. Key Points Opioid overdose deaths (ODD) are best understood as three phases: first due to prescription opioid misuse, followed by a rise in heroin use, and currently due to contamination by synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Each phase has posed unique policy challenges. Numerous
