addiction treatment

After two weeks of recovery from an addiction to opioids prescribed by her surgeon, Katie Herzog takes a walk with her dog, Pippen.

Should Hospitals Be Punished For Post-Surgical Patients' Opioid Addiction?

11:11am November 26, 2017

by Martha Bebinger

Many surgeons prescribe strong pain medicine without knowing how much their patients actually need. A group of doctors says hospitals should be accountable for patients' long-term opioid use.

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One way to deal with the surging opioid epidemic is to let doctors use telemedicine to remotely prescribe addiction treatment medication. That approach has promise and some drawbacks.

Telemedicine For Addiction Treatment? Picture Remains Fuzzy

8:17am November 24, 2017

by Emily Forman

One way to deal with the surging opioid epidemic is to let doctors use telemedicine to remotely prescribe addiction treatment medication. The approach has promise and some drawbacks.

Dr. Terry Horton, chief of addiction medicine and medical director of Project Engage at Christiana Care Health System, testified about opioid addiction before a U.S. Senate committee in May.

Asking About Opioids: A Treatment Plan Can Make All The Difference

4:57am November 22, 2017

by James Morrison

Is it worthwhile for doctors to screen all the patients who come through the door about their use of opioids? Usually not, but direct connections to treatment can change the equation.

Julie Eldred is back at home in Massachusetts now. But she was sentenced to a treatment program for opioid addiction as part of a probation agreement, then sent to jail when she relapsed. Some addiction specialists say that's unjust.

Court To Rule On Whether Relapse By An Addicted Opioid User Should Be A Crime

5:00am October 26, 2017

by Deborah Becker

The high court in Massachusetts is weighing legal and scientific evidence to decide whether a woman convicted of larceny violated the terms of her probation by relapsing into drug use.

The contents of a drug overdose rescue kit at a May 13, 2015, training session in Buffalo, N.Y., on how to administer naloxone, which reverses the effects of heroin and prescription painkillers.

To Save Opioid Addicts, This Experimental Court Is Ditching The Delays

2:26pm October 05, 2017

by Eric Westervelt

Underscoring the severity of the U.S. overdose crisis, a first-of-its kind opioid intervention court aims to get drug-addicted criminal defendants into recovery before their criminal case is heard.

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The shelter at Houston's Convention Center, seen here Aug. 29, isn't equipped to provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid abuse.

Houston Methadone Clinics Reopen After Harvey's Flooding

9:36am September 06, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

Hurricane Harvey disrupted treatment for people addicted to opioids. Many need to get connected to a specialty clinic that can provide medication-assisted treatment.

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Dillon Katz, at home in Delray Beach, Fla., says recovering drug users in his group counseling meetings frequently used to offer to help him get into a new treatment facility. He suspects now they were recruiters — so-called "body brokers" — who were

Health & Safety

'Body Brokers' Get Kickbacks To Lure People With Addictions To Bad Rehab

6:49pm August 15, 2017

by Peter Haden

In South Florida, people with health insurance are the target of "body brokers" who can earn lucrative kickbacks — $500 per week — for referring vulnerable patients to centers that bilk insurers.

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A recent study in Delray Beach identified at least six sober homes on this street alone.

Beach Town Tries To Reverse Runaway Growth Of 'Sober Homes'

8:20am August 10, 2017

by Greg Allen

Some local and state officials in South Florida are calling for more regulation of addiction recovery residences to help combat insurance scams.

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Andrea Towson used heroin for more than three decades. After a near-death experience with fentanyl, she sought help.

'That Fentanyl — That's Death': A Story Of Recovery In Baltimore

6:36pm August 03, 2017

Andrea Towson was known in West Baltimore as the go-to person for help getting high. Last year, she nearly died from a fentanyl overdose. "Thank God for another day," she says.

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The morphine-like pain killer Oxycontin is just one of a number of opioids fueling a substance use crisis in the U.S. federal health officials say. And successful treatment for the substance use disorder can be costly.

Opioid Treatment Funds In Senate Bill Would Fall Far Short Of Needs

10:13am July 20, 2017

by Ben Allen

A Senate proposal to repeal Obamacare includes $45 billion to treat opioid addiction. But it wouldn't make up for deep cuts to Medicaid in that same bill that has funded much of that treatment.