Latest California Healthline Stories
How Many Opioid Overdoses Are Suicides?
Opioid overdoses and related deaths are still climbing, U.S. statistics show. Teasing out which overdoses are intentional can be hard, but is important for treatment, doctors say.
Graphic: Opioid Painkiller Is Top Prescription In 10 States
Though opioid prescriptions appear to be on the decline, Vicodin and Norco remain popular, especially in the South. In more than half of states, Synthroid — a drug to treat hypothyroidism — came in at No. 1.
California Hospitals Grapple With Shortage Of Powerful Opioid Painkillers
As supplies of injectable morphine, Dilaudid and fentanyl dwindle, hospitals are struggling to shore up supplies or find alternatives to keep their patients out of pain.
Congress Tackles The Opioid Epidemic. But How Much Will It Help?
President Trump, speaking Monday, called for a tough-on-crime federal approach. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, legislative strategies to combat this pressing public health problem are gaining momentum, but experts are not certain these approaches will make a difference.
The Other Opioid Crisis: Hospital Shortages Lead To Patient Pain, Medical Errors
A nationwide shortage of injectable opioid painkillers has left hospitals scrambling to find alternatives — in some cases leading to dosage mistakes that may harm patients.
Opioid Maker Funds Efforts To Fight Addiction: Is It ‘Blood Money’ Or Charity?
Purdue Pharma, whose signature product helped fuel the opioid epidemic, now wants to help treat it — or at least salvage its own reputation.
A Battered Doctor, A Slain Patient And A Family’s Quest For Answers
An addiction-treatment physician fatally shot a troubled ex-Marine after the man pummeled him inside his California office, police records show. The tragedy illustrates how the limited number of clinics available to prescribe buprenorphine, a drug that all but erases opioid withdrawal, can become crowded, chaotic and dangerous.
Jury’s In: Opioids Are Not Better Than Other Medicines For Chronic Pain
A new study followed patients with severe chronic pain for a year and found that opioids relieved pain and increased function no better than common drugs like acetaminophen and lidocaine. But the opioids carry the risk of more serious side effects, including addiction and death.
Estudio: los opioides no son mejores que otras medicinas para tratar el dolor crónico
Una nueva investigación revela que estos crontroversiales medicamentos no son eficaces para tratar el dolor de largo plazo.
While Talk About Opioids Continues In DC, Addiction Treatment Is In Peril In States
The Trump administration has talked about prioritizing the opioid crisis, but states have seen little in the way of new resources. And, in some states, getting into treatment is becoming even harder.