October 6, 2017 Elizabeth Fite Members of the U.S. Senate Health Committee heard Thursday that more research will be needed if they are to combat the nation’s opioid addiction crisis. “Addiction is a powerful force, driven by the powerful ways in which opioids literally can rewire the brain,” said National Institutes of Health Director Dr. […]
NE Tenn. Gets $100K to fight opioid abuse
July 31, 2017 Lurah Spell BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. — More than $100,000 in federal funding will be used in Northeast Tennessee to fight what has been labeled a nationwide opioid epidemic. The 21st Century Cures Act, signed into law in December 2016, provides $1 billion in funding to prevent the abuse of opioids, heroin and other […]
Opioid Prescriptions Fall After 2010 Peak, C.D.C. Report Finds
July 6, 2017 Abby Goodnough WASHINGTON — The amount of opioid painkillers prescribed in the United States peaked in 2010, a new federal analysis has found, with prescriptions for higher, more dangerous doses dropping most sharply — by 41 percent — since then. But the analysis, by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also […]
Patients With Mental Disorders Get Half Of All Opioid Prescriptions
June 27, 2017 Vickie Connor Adults with a mental illness receive more than 50 percent of the 115 million opioid prescriptions in the United States annually, according to a study released Monday. The results prompted researchers to suggest that improving pain management for people with mental health problems “is critical to reduce national dependency on opioids.” […]
Technology helping medical professionals combat Tennessee’s opioid crisis
Aaron Wright May 20, 2017 KNOXVILLE – Multiple pharmacies, multiple prescribers. Professionals say those are the red flags to look for to stop doctor-shopping and prescription pill abuse in Tennessee, a state under siege because of opioid abuse. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, America makes up 4.6 percent of the world’s population but […]
How opioids took hold of Tennessee
Anita Wadhwani Tennessee’s opioid crisis: An abbreviated timeline 1995 Food and Drug Administration approves OxyContin for prescription use. Its active ingredient, oxycodone, has been deemed highly addictive since the 1960s. 1999 5 percent of people receiving state-funded addiction treatment are abusing prescription pain relievers. 342 deaths due to drug overdoses 2000 416 individuals receive state-funded treatment […]
Surgeon General Calls for End of Opioid Crisis
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murphy recently released a landmark report that details the latest information on several public health crises in the country. In the report, Facing Addiction, Murphy lists drug and alcohol addiction alongside several other public health crises, and calls the current epidemic a “moral test” for America. According to the report, […]
President Obama Calls For End of Opioid Crisis
Since 1999, the number of deaths from prescription drug abuse has quadrupled, with seventy eight Americans dying every day from opioid-related overdoses. To fight this epidemic, President Obama has proposed $1 billion in resources to help individuals suffering from addiction, with Tennessee being eligible to receive up to $24 million over two years in order […]
