- Industry Voices—As COVID-19 flare-ups continue, healthcare organizations must double down on drug diversion (fiercehealthcare.com)THE CONSEQUENCES OF COVID-19 ON THE OVERDOSEEPIDEMIC: OVERDOSESAREINCREASING (files.constantcontact.com)
Yet, while we’re hyper-focused fighting COVID-19, our country’s opioid epidemic is growing worse...A report released...suggests that overdose deaths have increased due to COVID-19. The Washington Post reported that suspected overdoses jumped 18% in March, 29% in April and 42% in May. The figures are based on data from ambulance teams, hospitals and police...What’s not being reported is the potential threat of drug diversion within healthcare settings, which is often undetected and underreported...Given the social, economic and healthcare implications of COVID-19, it’s not hard to see how drug diversion might escalate...data suggest a rise in depression and mental health disorders with the coronavirus stemming from isolation, "shelter at home" guidelines and the economic fallout of the pandemic. Healthcare providers, who are more likely to treat patients with COVID-19, may be more susceptible to mental health issues such as depression and burnout...READ MORE
- Buprenorphine Dispensing Barriers Among Community Pharmacies in Rural Kentucky (drugtopics.com)New Study Reveals Pharmacy-level Barriers to Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Appalachian Kentucky (uknow.uky.edu)
A recent study identified pharmacy-level barriers to treatment for opioid use disorder in rural areas, indicating a need for policy changes regarding buprenorphine access and monitoring...The case study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, looked at buprenorphine dispensing practices in 12 rural Kentucky counties across 15 community pharmacies. The investigators aimed to determine whether dispensing patterns were influenced by features of the rural risk environment...“Concerns about exceeding a ‘Drug Enforcement Administration cap’ on opioid dispensing stifled dispensing,” the investigators wrote. The other factors that influenced dispensing were distrust of pharmaceutical companies and prescribers of opioid analgesics and a general stigma against individual who use drugs and/or against the medications to treat substance use disorder...READ MORE
- Studies Examine Association Between Opioid Prescriptions and Obesity (drugtopics.com)
In the first study...suggested that obesity contributed significantly to incident long-term prescription opioid use...Joint pain, back pain, injury, and muscle/nerve pain were identified as the highest contributors to the excess use observed among adults with obesity...The second study...looked at the pain conditions underlying this increased likelihood of opioid prescriptions for individuals with higher BMIs...the risk of receiving prescription opioids increased progressively with BMI... Addressing the opioid crisis will require attention to underlying sources of demand for prescription opioids, including obesity, through its associations with pain...READ MORE
- A $50 Billion Opioid Deal Gets Backing From 7 More States (news.bloomberglaw.com)
Opioid makers and distributors who proposed paying almost $50 billion to resolve U.S. lawsuits over the addictive drugs are drawing more support from states, including California and New York, as pressure mounts for a deal before a trial starts next month...But nearly two dozen states and most of the cities and counties suing to hold the industry responsible for the havoc and high costs of the opioid epidemic say the terms still aren’t good enough...READ MORE
- HHS Awards Over $101 Million to Tackle the Opioid Crisis (drugtopics.com)
...the...Department of Health and Human Services awarded more than $101 million to 116 organizations in order to address substance use disorders (SUD) and opioid use disorders (OUD)...The awards...will go to organizations in 42 states, particularly in highly afflicted rural communities. HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy supported 89 rural organizations in 38 states with $89 million as part of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Implementation..."President Trump has focused on expanding access to treatment for Americans with substance use disorders, including opioid use disorder, and that commitment continues during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Alex Azar, MD, secretary of HHS. "The pandemic has created particular stresses for many Americans struggling with substance use disorders, and these HRSA awards will help strengthen prevention, treatment, and recovery services, especially in rural America, at this difficult time."...READ MORE
- Coronavirus prompts Canada to roll out safe drugs for street users (reuters.com)
...British Columbia was already battling an opioid epidemic when the new coronavirus hit, compounding the threat to drug users, many of whom are homeless and particularly vulnerable during the pandemic...In March, the Canadian government urged provinces to lower barriers to prescription medications - allowing doctors to provide prescriptions for controlled substances by phone and pharmacists to deliver them - to better help citizens to practice physical distancing and self-isolation...B.C. is the first province to apply those guidelines to support people who use street drugs. Healthcare providers are ramping up the supply of prescription drug replacements for those who live with addictions to drugs like heroin, and even dispensing some of them via unique vending machines...READ MORE
- Florida law limiting first opioid prescription linked to drop in use (reuters.com)Changes in Opioid Use After Florida’s Restriction Law for Acute Pain Prescriptions (jamanetwork.com)
A Florida law restricting the quantity of opioids a doctor can prescribe for acute pain to three days’ worth may have led to overall reductions in opioids dispensed to patients in the state,..After the law was passed in July 2018, doctors wrote fewer and shorter prescriptions for opioids...“The policy was intended to reduce the quantity prescribed but it was not expected to decrease opioid use overall,” said study coauthor Dr. Juan Hincapie-Castillo of the University of Florida College of Pharmacy...“But fewer people were getting opioids. That means the law led not only to a reduction in the quantity dispensed, but also to a reduction in the initial decision to prescribe.”...READ MORE
- Fentanyl deaths in Clark County jump during first half of 2020 (reviewjournal.com)
The Southern Nevada Health District released data Monday showing an alarming uptick in deaths in Clark County involving fentanyl — despite opioid deaths falling in the last five years...According to the data, in just half a year, the county nearly tied the number of fentanyl deaths for all of 2019...Between January and July, amid the statewide shutdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, fentanyl killed 63 people in Clark County, a 125 percent increase from the 28 deaths seen last year during the same time, according to the health district...Fentanyl is cheap, easy to find, and, the Drug Enforcement Administration has said, is often added to other drugs to increase potency...“Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don’t know that they are purchasing fentanyl – which often results in overdose deaths,” according to the DEA...READ MORE
- ASHP Urges Action to Address Shortages of Supportive Ventilation Medications (drugtopics.com)
...in the letter, Abramowitz explained that, although ASHP is grateful for the action the Administration has taken to provide hospitals with necessary personal protective equipment and ventilators, they “will be rendered useless without an adequate supply of the medications…that must administered concomitantly with mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients…to ensure the successful use of this life-saving supportive care.”...Medications used in conjunction with ventilator include opioids, sedatives, and paralytics...This week, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it will take additional steps to allow for the increased production of controlled substances used in COVID-19 care...READ MORE
- Informed Pharmacists Can Reduce Barriers to Naloxone in Rural Communities (drugtopics.com)Availability of Naloxone at Rural Georgia Pharmacies, 2019 (jamanetwork.com)Pharmacist Naloxone Dispensing Law Associated with Increased Access (drugtopics.com)
Despite increased access to naloxone, many individuals in rural communities continue to face barriers to obtaining the medication…However, informed pharmacists can serve as an educational resource, even if their pharmacies do not have the medication in stock...Ongoing efforts to expand prescribing methods through the United States have helped to improve naloxone accessibility. In Georgia, specifically, a standing order decrees that any individual may obtain naloxone from a licensed pharmacy without a prescription. Despite the standing order, pharmacies have been slow to adopt stocking naloxone and dispensing the medication…READ MORE