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Medicaid and other health insurers require doctors to file time-consuming paperwork before allowing them to prescribe drugs that help people quit opioids. That delay fosters relapse, specialists say.
A Miami doctor spent five years working to pass a needle exchange law for Miami-Dade County that he hopes will reduce HIV and other infections. The doctor’s battle inspired a patient who was infected with HIV and Hepatitis C from a shared needle.
Practicing surgery on a piece of pork — that's how some doctors are learning to implant a new drug that curbs opioid cravings. It's not a skill set typically used in addiction medicine.
Most medical schools offer very little education on treating opioid addiction. Stanford University's medical school is trying to ramp it up.
As a Democratic senator and governor, Tim Kaine has backed the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion and better access to mental health treatment for people in crisis.
The rate of hospital treatment for mental health conditions or substance abuse problems was four times higher for people with diabetes aged 19 through 25 than for those without the disease.
With rising awareness of opioid abuse, some pain patients say doctors are less likely to prescribe them. One Montana sufferer goes to great lengths to get his prescription — he flies to California.
The incidence of opioid use disorder is growing rapidly within the Medicare population.
Researchers found that nearly 15 percent of seniors filled prescriptions for an opioid painkiller after leaving the hospital and of those, 42.5 percent had the order refilled later.
Patrick Kennedy, a former congressman from Rhode Island, and Newt Gingrich, who was once the House speaker, are advancing policies to combat this national crisis.
Though the CDC’s new prescribing guidelines follow a theme of less is more, another federal agency’s patient satisfaction surveys include questions about pain management that some say encourage doctors to prescribe the highly addictive medicines.
Georgia has stopped licensing new clinics that provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction. Some call the state's move irresponsible. Others say the clinics aren't regulated enough.
New research also highlights the public’s lack of knowledge regarding the proper ways to store and dispose of these highly addictive prescriptions.
More emerging prisoners are covered by Medicaid, but they still face barriers in navigating the health system, researchers said.
Deaths from opioid overdoses are on the rise, and we know that because of data on death certificates. States determine who fills them out and what information they record. And that can vary widely.
With the nation’s opioid crisis worsening, officials want you to dispose of unwanted or expired prescription drugs. But finding a convenient take-back site requires time and patience.
The FDA could soon approve an implantable form of a drug used to treat opioid addiction. While the approach helped patients avoid relapse in tests, its price may be prohibitive for some, doctors say.
Advocates emphasize peer support and community reintegration for people with behavioral health problems.
Prison helped Richie Tannerhill overcome substance abuse, but that was just the beginning of rebuilding his life.
In 2013 and 2014, people ages 45 to 64 accounted for about half of all deaths from drug overdose, according to the CDC.
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