Â鶹ŮÓÅ

A bipartisan Senate bill unveiled Thursday would impose strict limits on some opioid prescriptions, a small tweak to federal law that is part of an ongoing effort in Congress to curb overuse of the drugs. The legislation, introduced by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), would bar doctors from supplying more than a week’s supply of an opioid drug to patients suffering from acute pain. Refills for those patients would also be prohibited, but prescriptions to treat chronic illnesses and end-of-life care would not be subject to the rules. Several states, including New York and Arizona, have already enacted similar policies. (Reid, 4/13)

Fatal drug overdoses increased 38 percent in Virginia between 2015 and 2016, an alarming jump that state health officials attribute to abuse of synthetic opioids, heroin and prescription fentanyl. A new report from the state medical examiner found an even bigger increase — 175 percent — in deaths from several varieties of fentanyl, a pain medication significantly more potent than morphine. (Sullivan, 4/13)