Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospitals' Pain Assessment Guidelines Leading To Dangerous Overprescribing Practices, Groups Say
Critics of how prescription painkillers are administered in the U.S. are calling on health officials to phase out hospital procedures and questionnaires used to manage pain. They say the current system inadvertently encourages the overprescribing of addictive drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin, fueling an epidemic of overdoses tied to the opioid medications. Deaths linked to misuse and abuse of prescription opioids increased to nearly 19,000 in 2014, the highest figure on record, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Perrone, 4/13)
Elsewhere, doctors in Virginia have received new guidance on prescribing opioids, and, in Ohio, pain pill prescriptions will be limited to 90 days —
As prescription painkillers and heroin take more lives through overdose than any other type of accident, doctors and government officials around the country are scrambling for solutions. On Tuesday, hospital emergency departments across Virginia received new guidelines aimed at curbing opioid misuse and addiction. The 14-point guidelines, which encourage doctors to avoid prescribing painkillers and to give patients no more than a three-day supply in extreme cases, were endorsed by the Virginia Hospital & Health Care Association along with the Virginia College of Emergency Physicians. (Ramsey, 4/12)
Ohio will reinforce the drug war by limiting prescriptions of narcotic pain pills to 90 days, improving access to medication-assisted drug treatment, and tightening pharmacy licensing requirements. (Johnson, 4/13)
