June 26, 2017 Hank Hayes KINGSPORT — Tennessee’s largest health insurer let business leaders at a Fourth Friday Kingsport Chamber of Commerce breakfast know it wants to be part of a solution to the opioid crisis. “We’re not here to lecture you on the dangers of opioid abuse. Our guess is everyone in this room has […]
Emotions run strong at forum on opioid abuse
Daniel Connolly June 6, 2017 As the Shelby County chief medical examiner, Dr. Karen Chancellor has a close-up view of the increasing number of lives ended by drug overdoses. “Every day I come to work there is an overdose death, suspected overdose death or multiple ones,” she told the audience at the Tennessee Opioid Epidemic Forum Tuesday […]
Hep C rates climb in Tennessee amid opioid epidemic
Holly Fletcher May 11, 2017 Rural parts of Tennessee have been hit hard by a nationwide rise in Hepatitis C infections in pregnant women, likely a result of the opioid abuse epidemic, according to new study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Tennessee Department of Health. The presence of Hepatitis C at birth increased 89 […]
Tennessee To Receive $13.8 Million Aimed At Prescription Opioid Crisis
April 25, 2017 U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, M.D. has announced that the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will be awarded $13.8 million through the 21st Century Cures Act to help combat the prescription opioid epidemic in Tennessee. This is the largest single federal funding increase for opioid […]
Timeline: How the opioids crisis took hold
Anita Wadhwani and Ayrika L. Whitney In 1995, the Food and Drug Administration approved OxyContin for prescription use. Its active ingredient, oxycodone, has been deemed highly addictive since the 1960s. The drug hit the market at a time of increasing recognition by the U.S. medical community that many patients in pain were being inadequately treated. In 1996, […]
Reducing risks of addiction one prescription at a time
Jan. 6, 2017 Dr. Andrea Willis Prevention is preferable to cure.” These words are part of the modern Hippocratic Oath, which guide my work and the work of my fellow physicians across our state. Today we are facing a crisis that demands a preventive solution: prescription painkiller abuse. The stakes are real – I’ve heard […]
Opioid Abuse in Tennessee
The No. 1 public health crisis in Tennessee is opioid abuse. In 2014, more people died from opioid overdoses than car or firearm accidents. To address this problem, The Tennessean organized, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee sponsored an Opioid Epidemic Forum to discuss the issue of opioid abuse and the challenges it presents […]
Family and Friends Main Source for Opioids
Opioid abuse is a nationwide epidemic, and Tennessee is one of the top states for overdose deaths. Count It! Drop It! Lock It!™ (CLD) is focused on educating Tennesseans on what they can do to help stop abusers from having easy access to opioids. CLD encourages all Tennesseans to count their pills, store them in […]
Opioid Abuse in Tennessee
For many of the millions of Americans caught in the growing scourge of opioid abuse, the outcome is far worse. And few places have been hit harder than Tennessee. The state said at least 1,263 Tennesseans died from opioid overdose in 2014, the most recent figure available and one that points to rampant abuse, misuse […]
