CDC: Drug overdose mortality reaches new high
Editor’s Note Preliminary data, reported August 15, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that drug overdose mortality in the US hit record high levels last year, increasing to more...
View ArticleEffective interventions for postop opioid prescribing
Editor’s Note Interventions at the physician or organizational level (eg, workflow changes) were found to be better tools for creating change in postoperative opioid prescribing than interventions at...
View ArticleDespite concerns, patients see opioids as superior, expect them for postop pain
Editor’s Note Despite concerns about addiction and side effects of opioids, patients still expect them to be prescribed and believe them to be the most effective for postoperative pain relief, finds...
View ArticlePreop opioid, benzodiazepine use linked to postop mortality, opioid consumption
Editor’s Note Use of opioids and benzodiazepines 6 months before surgery was associated with increased short- and long-term mortality and an increased rate of persistent postoperative opioid...
View ArticleCDC: Drug overdose mortality drops for the first time in 20 years
Editor’s Note The US drug overdose mortality rate dropped 5.1% to 68,557 deaths last year, compared with 72,224 in 2017, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) reported on July 17. It’s...
View ArticleTackling the opioid crisis through community teamwork
The opioid epidemic has risen to alarming proportions in the United States, claiming 46,000 lives in 2018. Studies and federal reports documenting evidence of narcotics overuse and addiction in...
View ArticleStatewide initiative reduces postop opioid prescribing without increase in...
Editor’s Note Implementation of opioid prescribing guidelines in the state of Michigan reduced opioid prescription size without negatively affecting patient satisfaction or pain, this study finds. In 1...
View ArticleEffect of state legislation in Florida on opioid prescriptions after...
Editor’s Note Opioid prescriptions for patients having common outpatient surgical procedures at a large university hospital in Florida were substantially reduced within 6 months after implementation of...
View ArticleMedical marijuana research shows early promise for lessening opioid use
Editor’s Note Medical marijuana shows early promise for lessening opioid use and potential abuse in a meta-analysis presented October 20 at the Anesthesiology 2019 annual meeting in Orlando, Florida....
View ArticlePostop opioid prescribing, use drop after state imposed regulations
Editor’s Note A state-mandated policy restricting opioid prescriptions in Vermont greatly reduced opioid prescribing and use by surgical patients at the University of Vermont Medical Center without...
View ArticleAutomated software app reduces perioperative controlled substance discrepancies
Editor’s Note In this study, a software app that tracks perioperative controlled substance use and is integrated into the electronic health and pharmacy records and database systems was associated with...
View ArticleStudy confirms nurses at higher risk of suicide
Editor’s Note In this first national study of US nurse suicide, researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Health, Department of Nursing, found that...
View ArticleSurgeons reduce opioid prescriptions using new multipronged strategy
Editor’s Note A system-wide, multipronged pain management and opioid reduction program significantly reduced postoperative opioid discharge prescriptions written for more than 5 days, this study finds....
View ArticleEditorial
Amid so much uncertainty, one thing is clear: The virus has taken a toll on the mental health of many healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients. Here are highlights of some key studies and...
View ArticleUS rates of depression are triple pre-COVID-19 levels
Editor’s Note This study led by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health finds that depression symptoms in the US are three-fold higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic....
View ArticleCOVID-19 takes a toll on employees’ mental health
Editor’s Note The most recent Mental Health Index produced by Total Brain and the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions finds that employee mental health has plummeted in the wake of the...
View ArticleECRI issues recommendations on safely integrating IT with behavioral health...
Editor’s Note ECRI’s Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety and the Electronic Health Record Association, on February 8, released a white paper with five safe practice recommendations and strategies...
View ArticleCDC: Racial, ethnic disparities in prevalence of mental health conditions,...
Editor’s Note This study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of current depression, increased or newly initiated substance...
View ArticleEditorial
His strategy is laid out in a nearly 200-page document, “National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness” (www.whitehouse.gov). On January 26, Biden announced plans to increase...
View ArticleSupport programs multiply as pandemic strains health systems
Burnout among healthcare workers was on the rise long before 2020, but it has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, many healthcare organizations have stepped up efforts to support...
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