Report: Opioid Abuse Plagues The Rural South, Including North Carolina
A new study suggests North Carolina is home to four of the top 25 cities for opioid abuse, and the vast majority of cities on the list are located in the South.
opioids
'Extreme' Opioid Use And Doctor Shopping Still Plague Medicare
One-third of all Medicare recipients were prescribed opioids last year, the HHS inspector general says, with more than half a million getting high doses for at least three months.
Took The Wrong Medicine By Mistake? Study Finds Such Errors Are On The Rise
A study analyzing data from poison control centers finds that the rate of serious medication errors outside health care settings doubled between 2000 and 2012.
Opioid Prescriptions Falling But Remain Too High, CDC Says
U.S. doctors are prescribing opioid painkillers less often and at lower doses, but at rates that are three times higher than their European counterparts, the CDC says.
Without Medical Support, DIY Detox Often Fails
Treatment for opioid addiction can be expensive and difficult to coordinate. That might make some people tempted to think they can overcome the addiction on their own. This rarely works.
For Newborns Exposed To Opioids, Health Issues May Be The Least Of Their Problems
Dr. Joshua Sharfstein says worry less about the short-term withdrawal symptoms of babies exposed to opioids in the womb, and much more about the lives and mothers they go home to.
Doctor Who Wrote 1980 Letter On Painkillers Regrets That It Fed The Opioid Crisis
In 1980, Dr. Hershel Jick wrote a one-paragraph letter about low rates of addiction among hospitalized patients given narcotics. It was later cited as evidence that long-term opioid use was safe.
Why We Should Say Someone Is A 'Person With An Addiction,' Not An Addict
Journalists should quit calling a person who uses drugs an "addict," according to The Associated Press Stylebook. This follows a trend toward "person first" descriptions of people with diseases.
Ohio Sues 5 Major Drug Companies For 'Fueling Opioid Epidemic'
The state's attorney general filed the lawsuit Wednesday, alleging fraudulent marketing. "They knew they were wrong," Mike DeWine says, "but they did it anyway — and they continue to do it."
Poll: Doctors Are Still Prescribing Lots Of Opioids For Low Back Pain
More than half of Americans suffer lower back pain each year, the latest NPR/Truven Health Analytics survey finds. And they're often not going for treatments recommended as safest and most effective.