California Takes Steps To Increase Access To Anti-Overdose Medication
The California Department of Public Health issued a standing order for naloxone in a move geared toward helping parts of the state where there are physician shortages and treatment facilities often struggle to find a doctor who will write a standing order for the medication.
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Orders Opioid Overdose Antidote Naloxone Available Without Prescription
The California Department of Public Health on Thursday issued a statewide standing order for naloxone, the emergency antidote that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. The order, issued by agency Director Dr. Karen Smith, functions as a standing prescription that enables all California organizations that work to reduce or manage drug addiction — such as sober living facilities, needle exchange programs and residential treatment centers — to distribute naloxone to patients and members of the community. The facilities would no longer have to get a prescription from an individual doctor. (Ho, 6/8)
In other news on the crisis —
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Workers’ Comp Insurer Cuts Way Back On Opioid Spending
The State Compensation Insurance Fund, one of the largest providers of workers’ compensation insurance in California, has cut its spending on prescription opioids by 74 percent amid a broader push by insurers and doctors to reduce the long-term use of addictive prescription painkillers. (Ho, 6/8)