Latest California Healthline Stories
Suicide By Opioid: New Research Suggests Overdoses Should Be Classified As Self-Harm
Researchers combined the number of suicide deaths with those associated with drug overdoses in an effort to better grasp the overlap between these two public health epidemics.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Opioids, EpiPens And Health Funding
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss Senate action on health funding and opioid legislation, the state of the individual insurance market and consternation over expiration dates on EpiPens, the self-injected allergy remedy. Also, could an otter with asthma signal a potential public health crisis?
Rehabilitation Plus Rehab? Jails Dispense Drugs To Treat Inmates’ Addictions
Rather than go cold turkey, inmates increasingly have the option to take medication to help beat addiction to opioids and other substances. But some warn these substitute drugs serve as another crutch — and a costly one at that.
Babies Dependent On Opioids Need Touch, Not Tech
One doctor in Kansas works to make sure every hospital in the state can provide the soft start, ideally with their mothers, that babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome need.
Purdue Pharma’s Sales Pitch Downplayed Risks Of Opioid Addiction
Through a widely circulated brochure and a videotape of testimonials, the maker of OxyContin stressed patients’ right to opioid treatment for pain.
Clinicians Who Learn Of A Patient’s Opioid Death Modestly Cut Back On Prescriptions
A study published Thursday shows that doctors, dentists and other medical providers cut overall opioid dosages by nearly 10 percent after receiving notification of a death from a medical examiner and information on safe prescribing.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Listen: Inexpensive Nerve Drug Often Abused As Opioid Epidemic Grows
Gabapentin, a medication approved to help patients with nerve pain or epilepsy, is being abused by people addicted to opioids to help prolong their high or stave off withdrawal from other drugs. Kaiser Health News reporter Carmen Heredia Rodriguez talks about the problem during a wide-ranging health discussion on the NPR program “On Point.”
How Rival Opioid Makers Sought To Cash In On Alarm Over OxyContin’s Dangers
Fentanyl and other painkillers marketed as safer than Purdue Pharma’s blockbuster drug left their own trail of overdose deaths.
Pacientes con dolor crónico se sienten atrapados en el debate sobre opioides
Los pacientes que necesitan esta medicación se sienten afectados injustamente por la tendencia a recetarlos cada vez menos, como una estrategia para frenar la creciente epidemia de abuso de opioides.