Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Raises Doubts About Link Between Regulations On Prescription Opioids, Heroin Use
President Obama has committed to sign the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which includes among its provisions new policies to reduce inappropriate prescribing of prescription opioids such as Oxycontin and Vicodin. Given the ongoing epidemic of addiction and death caused by opioid painkillers, this seems like sensible public-health policy, but some critics charge that tighter prescribing rules simply cause prescription opioid users to switch to heroin, thereby feeding a second opioid epidemic. The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine recently published the first systematic analysis of this terrifying possibility. (Humphreys, 7/20)
When most people think of the victims of the nation’s opioid abuse epidemic, they seldom picture members of the Medicare set. But a research letter published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry found Medicare beneficiaries had the highest and most rapidly growing rate of “opioid use disorder.” Six of every 1,000 recipients struggle with the condition, compared with one out of every 1,000 patients covered through commercial insurance plans. (Heredia Rodriguez, 7/20)
And media outlets report on the epidemic in the states —
The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy plans to add synthetic opioids tied to recent overdose deaths across the country to the list of controlled substances in the state. The synthetic opioids called U-47700 and W-18 were developed by pharmaceutical companies as research chemicals. Although they were never distributed for humans, the formulas for the drugs were published in connection with medical studies. (Collins, 7/20)
Federal authorities have arrested a woman who they say was trafficking the powerful opiate fentanyl into Sacramento County, where earlier this year officials linked 14 overdose deaths to the drug. Mildred Dossman, 50, of Sacramento was arrested Tuesday after a grand jury returned a three-count indictment charging her with possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone and fentanyl, distribution of both drugs and using a cellphone to facilitate a drug trafficking offense, federal prosecutors said in a statement. (Serna, 7/20)
