A major source of the opioid crisis is overprescribing by well-meaning doctors who want to relieve patients’ pain, but are insufficiently focused on the risks. Could behavioral economics help change that — and save lives? Almost 2 million Americans are …
The culture of clinicians treating pain as a fifth vital sign, targeting pain-free living through a prescription regimen, is acknowledged as a driving factor behind the rise of opioid addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine found 4 in 5 …
A national medical group Thursday abruptly canceled its plans to train doctors about marijuana for pain relief after a federal agency pulled its funding. The episode highlights an ongoing conflict between federal and state laws on marijuana. The American Academy …
State Compensation Insurance Fund, California’s stable provider of workers’ compensation insurance, reported that it had significantly reduced the number of opioid prescriptions for injured workers by 60 percent since launching its opioid-reduction program in 2014. State Fund implemented a comprehensive …
Illinois lawmakers have come up with an unusual solution to combat its opioid crisis, allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana instead of opiates as a way to curb a growing epidemic. Doctors could choose to temporarily prescribe cannabis for patients …
With issues like the opioid crisis and inflating drug costs at the forefront of discussion in workers’ compensation, several states, including Indiana and Pennsylvania, are currently considering legislation to establish workers’ compensation drug formularies. Some debate has arisen as to …
Opioids remain the most common type of prescription drug used to treat California injured workers with lost-time injuries, but sustained efforts to curb their use are paying off as new data show that in the past decade they fell from …
A yearlong study offers rigorous new evidence against using prescription opioids for chronic pain. In patients with stubborn back aches or hip or knee arthritis, opioids worked no better than over-the-counter drugs or other nonopioids at reducing problems with walking …
Will Michele Jacobovitz get out of bed today? That depends on how many painkillers she has left in her monthly prescription, which sometimes she’s forced to ration. Some mornings are harder than others. Jacobovitz, 56, has suffered from chronic pain …
The maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin said it will stop marketing opioid drugs to doctors, bowing to a key demand of lawsuits that blame the company for helping trigger the current drug abuse epidemic. OxyContin has long been the …