This entry was one of the winners of our Summer 2023 student blog contest! Trends in Life Expectancy The recent decline in life expectancy in the United States is largely attributed to the well-known COVID-19 pandemic and opioid epidemic. However, these recent crises are not the sole drivers of the stagnation and subsequent drop in… Read More »
On this month’s episode of the Health Intersections Podcast, Samy Anand from the Medical Care Section recaps last month’s blog posts and previews September’s issue of the Medical Care journal. Check out these great reads. Next, Jess Williams, co-editor of the blog and podcast, interviews Dr. Cheryl Conner who is a Clinical Associate Professor at… Read More »
The opioid epidemic and substance use disorders have garnered national attention as overdose deaths continue at an alarming rate. Synthetic opioids – chiefly fentanyl – are the culprit in many of those deaths. The Commission’s report Earlier this month, the bipartisan Congressional Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, with representatives from many Federal agencies and… Read More »
Last week, we discussed three noteworthy trends from the past decade in treating the opioid crisis. The first was recognizing medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) as the standard of care. The second was formalizing an addiction medicine specialty. And the third was expanding the availability of MOUD. This week, we’ll consider three additional trends in… Read More »
Throughout the past decade, the U.S. has seen a dramatic shift in addiction medicine research, clinical practice, and related stigma in seeking care. In a pair of blog posts, we will explore the top six trends related to treating the opioid crisis. And we’ll consider what may be next. The Opioid Epidemic Opioid addiction has… Read More »
When a call came in from the county coroner, it was never good news. Every once in a while, her work included a shock big enough to share with the public health team where I served as Medical Director. This was the case that Monday afternoon. Two teenage deaths, likely from opioid overdoses, likely the… Read More »
The current requirements for social distancing affect support groups for people with substance use disorders, but online support groups may provide the perfect solution. This post is the first in a series of planned posts on telehealth for addiction. COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV2, is putting tremendous strain on all… Read More »
Research shows that decriminalization of drug possession, combined with other harm reduction efforts and treatment services, is an important component of efforts to improve public health and health equity. It was early in medical school when I encountered the first of many patients who had spent years in jail or prison for drug possession. On… Read More »
We announced last week that The Medical Care Blog has reached its 5-year milestone. As part of the editorial team, I’m excited to pause briefly and reflect on some great blog posts about healthcare that I think deserve to have been more widely read. Contributions from our authors have helped us reach more than 80,000… Read More »
The economic burden of the U.S. opioid epidemic likely exceeds $78.5 billion per year when considering its impact on healthcare, substance abuse treatment, the criminal justice system, and productivity costs. Although medication assisted treatment for opioid abuse (covered previously at our blog) may help to reduce these costs [pdf], the epidemic is likely to continue to negatively impact… Read More »
We are in the midst of a national epidemic concerning opioid misuse and abuse, and lawmakers are rushing to address this concerning situation. However, a recent report finds that only a few states are successfully implementing a balanced approach to curbing opioid misuse and abuse while maintaining access to pain relief for patients in need.… Read More »
For two years in a row, the United States has experienced a decrease in life expectancy, which researchers have largely attributed to the opioid epidemic. Life expectancy for the United States population was 78.6 years in 2016, a decrease of 0.1 year from 2015 [PDF]. Age-specific death rates between 2015 and 2016 increased for younger… Read More »
Opioid use is a serious concern that the executive branch of the United States government recently declared a public health emergency. Based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2016, 2.1 million people misused prescription opioids for the first time, and 42,249 people died from overdosing on opioids. Also in 2016, 170,000… Read More »
During my time as a community pharmacist in Maryland, I often encountered individuals who would approach the pharmacy in search of syringes. Although they would try to disguise their intentions by stating that they needed it for someone else or for an animal, it was apparent why they were there; they were going to use… Read More »