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Tag: opioid overdose deaths

  • How One County Reduced Opioid Deaths By 50%

    How One County Reduced Opioid Deaths By 50%

    The statewide effort to provide more access to medication-assisted treatment and harm reduction programs has saved lives. 

    One county in rural Vermont reduced opioid overdose deaths by 50% last year, using a combination of strategies meant to stop opioid abuse and reduce harm to people who choose to continue using. 

    In Chittenden County, which includes the state capital of Burlington, opioid overdose deaths dropped from 35 in 2017 to just 17 last year. Bob Bick, CEO of the region’s largest treatment provider, said that a number of interventions paid off significantly. 

    “You’ve had this coming together of a whole bunch of strategies that were directly targeting active users and high-risk users,” Bick told VT Digger. 

    One of the most effective means of intervention was offering people the chance to start medication-assisted treatment (MAT) as soon as they expressed interest.

    Rather than having to wait to get into a MAT program, people in Chittenden County could receive MAT at any time through two area emergency rooms, at University of Vermont Medical Center and Central Vermont Medical Center. The program has since been expanded to all emergency rooms in the area. 

    Dr. Stephen Leffler, MD, chief population health and quality officer for the health network that includes the two hospitals, said that the program makes a big difference for people who have a moment of wanting help. 

    “They are already showing positive results,” he said. “This is a statewide, team effort.”

    In addition to connecting people with treatment quickly, the county also focused on reducing deaths among people who chose to continue using drugs. They did this by distributing fentanyl test kits to active users.

    “We know that relapse is part of the recovery process,” Bick said. “So we wanted to make these widely available.”

    He noted that people reported not using drugs that tested positive for fentanyl. A program called Safe Recovery in the state also provides naloxone and clean needles to people to request them. While this is harm reduction in and of itself, people who came in for needles were also offered the chance to begin MAT immediately. 

    “We are seeing the people who need us the most, and we need to be able to see them when they ask for help,” Program Director Grace Keller said at a panel recently. 

    Vermont has been praised for its hub-and-spoke model to curb opioid addiction, which has since been replicated in other states around the nation.

    Under the model, primary care providers serve as the “spoke” who provide ongoing treatment and channel people toward “hubs,” like Safe Recovery, that provide medication-assisted treatment. 

    “The parallel universe would be cardiology or infectious disease, where if you get sick and your primary care doc can’t take care of you, you’d get referred to a cardiologist,” John Brooklyn, a family doctor and addiction specialist in Vermont who helped design the system, said in 2017. “The nexus of this was really to try to integrate substance use treatment in primary care.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Feds Undertake Four-State Study to Address Opioid Crisis

    Feds Undertake Four-State Study to Address Opioid Crisis

    The $350 million research project aims to find a way to reduce opioid deaths by 40% within 3 years.

    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is gearing up to dole out $350 million to Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio to figure out how to stop opioid deaths by 40% in those states over the next three years.

    By disbursing the money to the University of Kentucky, Boston Medical Center, Columbia University and Ohio State University, the NIH hopes to curb fatalities from drugs like fentanyl and heroin, which took the lives of about 47,600 people in the U.S. in 2017.

    Researchers will get deeply involved with 15 communities that have been hit hard by the opioid crisis to figure out how best to effectively prevent and treat addiction there. They’ll also take a hard look at how factors like unemployment and the justice system contribute to the continued crisis, and experiment with distributing anti-overdose medications to first responders, police, and even schools.

    “The most important work to combat our country’s opioid crisis is happening in local communities,” said Alex Azar, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary. “We believe this effort will show that truly dramatic and material reductions in overdose deaths are possible, and provide lessons and models for other communities to adopt and emulate.”

    The program will proceed no matter what kind of budget cuts the NIH faces, according to Azar. This is welcome news as some experts believe there is no time to waste.

    “We are in such a period of crisis that we need to know in real time what is working and what is not working,” said Dr. Alysse Wurcel of the Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

    The opioid crisis is a major issue that requires a multi-faceted approach to solve. On his show, Last Week Tonight, John Oliver called for holding members of the Sackler family, the minds behind OxyContin, accountable for their alleged aggressive and irresponsible marketing of their powerful opioid painkiller. Oliver had several celebrities dramatize testimony given by Richard Sackler.

    “The launch of OxyContin tablets will be followed by a blizzard of prescriptions that will bury the competition,” performed Michael K. Williams, repeating Sackler’s infamous proclamation. “The prescription blizzard will be so deep, dense and white.”

    Some solutions to the opioid crisis may seem unorthodox and unintuitive, such as a Canadian public health expert’s suggestion to install opioid vending machines in Vancouver, home to “one of North America’s densest populations of injection drug users.” Only proven chronic drug users could scan themselves to get clean drugs for safer consumption.

    “We’re acknowledging people will go to any extreme to use this drug. To tell them not to use because it’s unsafe is ridiculous,” said program mastermind Dr. Mark Tyndall.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Opioid Vending Machines Proposed By Health Expert

    Opioid Vending Machines Proposed By Health Expert

    The safe supply program has already secured a $1.4 million federal grant. 

    Can a free supply of “safer drugs” help push back rising rates of drug overdose and death? What if they were dispensed by high-tech vending machines?

    A leading Vancouver-based public health expert is pushing this proposal, faced with the challenge of reducing drug-related harms among the drug-using population in Vancouver, Canada’s Downtown Eastside—described as “one of North America’s densest populations of injection drug users”—and beyond.

    Today’s illicit drugs pose a new challenge for public health officials like Dr. Mark Tyndall. According to the BC coroner, in 2018 fentanyl was detected in 4 out of 5 illicit drug deaths in British Columbia. “The plight of people using drugs didn’t change four years ago. The drugs they’re using changed,” Tyndall said in a new interview with Wired.

    Pre-approved participants who have proven that they are chronic drug users and have obtained a doctor’s prescription can access the opioid vending machines with a biometric scan of the veins in their hands to confirm their identity. They must undergo regular urine tests to prove that they are taking the drugs.

    While Tyndall, a long-time public health advocate and former executive medical director of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), has already secured a $1.4 million federal grant for the BCCDC from Health Canada to test his safe supply program—giving a regular supply of hydromorphone pills—the national health agency is still reviewing his vending machine proposal.

    Safe supply programs already exist throughout Europe, and some Vancouver clinics are testing this idea as well. Some require daily visits to the clinic to get the daily dose. But under Tyndall’s proposal, participation in the free-opioid program would not need to happen under medical supervision. The key to Tyndall’s plan is that participants may access the drugs and use them without going to a designated clinic.

    While creating designated spaces for supervised drug consumption (also known as supervised injection facilities) have helped prevent drug overdose deaths and given people easy access to treatment options, Tyndall says there is still a segment of the drug-using population that will not step foot in such a place. 

    “We’re acknowledging people will go to any extreme to use this drug. To tell them not to use because it’s unsafe is ridiculous,” said Tyndall.

    Insite, North America’s first official supervised injection facility, is just one of several such sites throughout Canada.

    Tyndall says no matter what his detractors say, it’s all about keeping people alive. “To me, its only ethical,” he said.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • "192aDay" Campaign Spotlights Heartbreaking Toll Of Addiction

    "192aDay" Campaign Spotlights Heartbreaking Toll Of Addiction

    The campaign aims to spread awareness about addiction and offer resources for recovery and treatment options.

    Each day, 192 people die from a drug overdose in the United States.

    “That’s like a plane crashing each day, day after day,” write the leaders of #192aday, an initiative from the Addiction Policy Forum, an organization that aims to bring awareness to drug addiction and fight for better treatment.

    The friends and relatives of people killed by addiction penned an open letter, highlighting the things they wish they had known. “We hope that this knowledge, painfully earned, can help you and your family,” they write.

    It’s important that family members and friends familiarize themselves with the signs of addiction. Although they can be hard to spot, follow your intuition if you feel there is something more going on, the family members write.

    “We now know that we should’ve been more proactive in the very beginning,” said Barbara. Her son died of a fentanyl overdose at 46, but a teacher had first expressed concern decades earlier, when he was in 8th grade.

    Even experimenting with seemingly harmless substances like cigarettes or marijuana can be cause for concern, the family members say.

    And once you realize your loved one is abusing drugs, don’t wait until they hit rock bottom to offer them help. “Now with fentanyl, rock bottom was an overdose, a fatal overdose,” said Justin, who lost her son Aaron to an overdose at 20.

    When your loved one is ready for help, realize that recovery takes time. “I wish I would’ve known that recovery is not about 3 months, 6 months, a year in rehab. It’s a lifetime. When they release someone from rehab, it’s not the end. It’s the very beginning,” said Karla, whose daughter Alicia overdosed at 28.

    Finding quality treatment can be lifesaving, so talk with other families and organizations to identify the best treatment option for your loved one. “Resources are much easier to find these days because people are finally talking about the disease,” said Katie, whose brother died of a drug overdose.

    Family members should be open to all courses of treatment, and help their loved one connect with the type of treatment that is most likely to help him or her succeed. “I’d thought medication-assisted treatment (MAT) was ludicrous, just trading one addiction for another, but I was wrong,” Katie said. “Since losing my brother, I often wonder if MAT would’ve helped Zachary succeed. When someone has cancer, we don’t choose between chemo and radiation—we layer treatments.”

    Even failures can be important for recovery, or serve as warning signs for the family. Aimee D’Arpino found out after her son died that he had received Narcan at least seven times in prior overdoses. “That is seven missed opportunities to intervene and save our son’s life,” she said.

    Although it’s difficult to talk about, family members need to be open about the connection between substance use and suicide, said Jim, whose son Scott died by suicide. “His relapse led to his suicide,” Jim said.

    Lastly, no matter how your loved one is doing in managing their recovery, it’s important that family members seek out their own support and resources.

    “It feels like you’re drowning when you’re worried about your kid and desperately trying to find help,” said Doug Griffin, whose daughter Courtney died from an overdose. “And the stigma around this disease can mean backlash and judgment from some of the people closest to you, but help does exist. Reach out. There are so many people right next door who are dealing with addiction too and so much support we can give each other.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Americans Are Unhappy And The Opioid Epidemic May Be A Factor

    Americans Are Unhappy And The Opioid Epidemic May Be A Factor

    For the third straight year, the U.S. has dropped in the rankings of the World Happiness Report.

    The United States is now the 19th happiest country on Earth, its ranking falling for the third consecutive year. 

    This is according to the most recent World Happiness Report, released on Wednesday (March 20) or the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness.

    The Washington Post reports that the seventh annual report surveyed 156 different countries and took into account six factors: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, the freedom to make life choices, social support, generosity and perceptions of corruption.

    The top 10 countries in the report were Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada and Austria.

    “We finished 19th on the list behind Belgium,” Jimmy Kimmel said on his late night show. “The people who feel the need to put mayonnaise on their french fries are happier than we are. Cheer up, everybody.”

    While the report doesn’t specify why each country ranked where it did, the authors of the report have speculated in a news release that substance use disorder and the opioid epidemic contributed to America’s ranking.

    “This year’s report provides sobering evidence of how addictions are causing considerable unhappiness and depression in the U.S.,” said Jeffrey Sachs, a Columbia University professor and the author of the “Addiction and Unhappiness in America” section of the report. 

    “The compulsive pursuit of substance abuse and addictive behaviors is causing severe unhappiness. Government, business, and communities should use these indicators to set new policies aimed at overcoming these sources of unhappiness,” Sachs added.

    Sachs also noted that the results of the report serve as building blocks for countries moving forward. 

    “The World Happiness Report, together with the Global Happiness and Policy Report offer the world’s governments and individuals the opportunity to rethink public policies as well as individual life choices, to raise happiness and wellbeing,” Sachs said. “We are in an era of rising tensions and negative emotions (as shown in Chapter 2) and these findings point to underlying challenges that need to be addressed.”

    According to the news release, this year’s report specifically honed in on happiness and the community, taking into account how technology, social norms, conflict and government policies have played a role in shaping each country. 

    “The world is a rapidly changing place,” Professor John Helliwell, co-editor of the report, said in the news release. “How communities interact with each other whether in schools, workplaces, neighborhoods or on social media has profound effects on world happiness.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Opioid Prescriptions Drop Drastically In Ohio

    Opioid Prescriptions Drop Drastically In Ohio

    Ohio’s prescription drug monitoring program played a major role in the state’s success. 

    In Ohio, a state that has been ravaged by opioid addiction, the number of opioid prescriptions has decreased by 41% since 2012, according to new data. 

    “We all have a role to play in battling this public health crisis, and this continued downward trend in opioid prescriptions demonstrates that Ohio’s prescribers are making significant progress in their efforts to prevent addiction,” Governor Mike DeWine said in a statement reported by 13 ABC News.

    “When this crisis first emerged, prescribers were led to believe that opioids were not addictive, but we know today that is not the case. It is encouraging to see such substantial progress to limit opioid prescriptions to stop painkiller abuse and diversion.”

    The data was drawn from the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy’s Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System, which monitors prescriptions being written and filled. The reporting system also showed that “doctor shopping” had decreased dramatically in the state—down 89% last year alone. 

    Steven Schierholt, executive director of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, told the Sandusky Register last year that the prescription reporting system is an important part of monitoring the drug crisis. 

    “In order to fight our way out of this issue, we have to do so with the help of the prescribers,” he said. “There’s too much of a correlation between prescription drugs and illegal drug use to be ignored. Our goal is to provide physicians with the tools to be a part of the solution.”

    The monitoring system was established in 2006, but in 2015 it became mandatory for prescribers to use it. 

    “If you’re a prescriber you can check this system and see what controlled substance prescriptions a patient has been prescribed. That information makes for a better interact[ion] between pharmacy, doctor and patients,” Schierholt said. 

    He added that part of the reason the Ohio prescription drug monitoring program has been so successful is because it is easy to use. 

    “Now if you’re sitting with your physician she [can] see your [prescription] history with a click of button,” he said. “We know a doctor’s time is valuable and want to make it easy to check.”

    However, some data suggests that prescription drug monitoring is no longer an effective way to reduce overdose deaths, since many people have turned to illicit opioids as prescription pills become harder to access. 

    One study found that the opioid epidemic will continue to get worse if policy continues to focus only on prescription drug abuse. 

    “This study demonstrates that initiatives focused on the prescription opioid supply are insufficient to bend the curve of opioid overdose deaths in the short and medium term,” said Dr. Marc Larochelle of the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center in a press release. “We need policy, public health and health care delivery efforts to amplify harm reduction efforts and access to evidence-based treatment.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • UFC Launches Opioid Awareness Campaign

    UFC Launches Opioid Awareness Campaign

    In the video, UFC president Dana White highlights statistics about the toll taken by the opioid crisis and offers resources for those in need of help. 

    The mixed martial arts organization Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has joined in the fight against the national opioid crisis by launching its own public service campaign to heighten awareness about the impact of opioid dependency.

    The campaign, which kicked off in Las Vegas on March 2, 2019, featured UFC President Dana White, as well as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services’ (SAMHSA) National Helpline.

    The campaign fulfills the UFC’s 2018 commitment to create a public service campaign as part of its relationship with the Trump Administration’s Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse.

    In a press release, UFC stated that future announcements will feature UFC athletes and take advantage of the company’s sizable social media audience of 75 million followers and widely viewed live events to “spread the message of prevention, treatment, and recovery related to opioid addiction.”

    The video featuring White premiered before the UFC 235: Jones vs. Smith event on March 2.

    In October 2018, the UFC was among a group of lawmakers and representatives from more than 20 major stateside companies, including Amazon, Facebook and Blue Cross Blue Shield, to appear at a White House ceremony where President Trump signed into law the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which was intended to provide help for opioid treatment and recovery initiatives.

    White, who spoke at the Republican National Convention in support of Trump’s bid for the White House, pledged his company’s assistance in helping to combat the epidemic. 

    “Opioid addiction does not discriminate,” said White at the 2018 ceremony. Millions of Americans are impacted by this tragic crisis. UFC is committed to helping President Trump in the fight to end opioid abuse.” At the time of the ceremony, UFC announced that it would roll out its public service campaign before the end of 2018.

    In the video, White highlights statistics about the toll taken by the opioid crisis – drug overdoses are currently the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50, and two-thirds of drug overdose deaths are caused by opioids – which is followed by the National Helpline number and SAMHSA’s web address.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Black Balloon Day Pays Tribute To Lives Lost To Addiction

    Black Balloon Day Pays Tribute To Lives Lost To Addiction

    Families and loved ones across the country are taking part in the growing Black Balloon movement which memorializes lives lost to addiction.

    Diane Hurley, a Peabody, Boston resident, lost both her son-in-law, Greg, and her son, Sean, to overdoses. Hurley wanted to find a way to both memorialize the two men and remind people that drug addiction is a crisis.

    Hurley, her son, and her two daughters hung black balloons outside of their homes on the first anniversary of Greg’s death. Greg was a father of four and 38 years old at the time of his passing. “I thought of death,” Diane Hurley told The Daily Item. “And then I thought of black.”

    The simple gesture turned into Black Balloon Day, a national movement every March 6th. Hurley and her children spread the word online about displaying black balloons in 2016, and over 42,000 people responded and joined the memorial.

    Every year on the 6th, families around the country send photos of the black balloons they have anchored to float outside, alongside the hashtag #BlackBalloonDay.

    “I had this vision that you wouldn’t be able to escape the balloons, just like you can’t escape this epidemic,” she told The Salem News, explaining how addiction doesn’t discriminate and touches everyone.

    “In one way or another, I feel like everyone I talk to has dealt with this pain,” Hurley said. “I work in a nursing home and, including myself, there are seven or eight women who have all lost a child or a sibling to addiction.”

    And this year, Hurley tragically lost her son Sean to addiction, after being sober for five years. The recent death of a friend had unmoored him and although he was doing well, according to Hurley, he overdosed and died at age 30. He’d had a second child on the way.

    Hurley wrote her son’s obituary transparently, hoping to spread awareness. “When he used to tell me he had a disease, I would tell him not to say that and not to compare himself to people who actually have diseases, like cancer. I never really understood it.” 

    “I learned that it wasn’t a choice, it’s a disease,” said Hurley. “When people say: ‘They made this choice, it’s their problem,’ most of them do not understand that many people who suffer with addiction have some sort of underlying health issues.”

    Hurley and the Black Balloon movement are now a nonprofit organization and will be raising money to put Narcan in public bathrooms, one of the most common places for overdoses to occur.

    “We can’t be ashamed about addiction,” said Hurley. “We need to talk about it. It’s killing a whole generation of people and we have to do something.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Illicit Mexican Fentanyl Taking Its Toll on Arizonans

    Illicit Mexican Fentanyl Taking Its Toll on Arizonans

    The number of fentanyl deaths in Arizona tripled between 2015 and 2017.

    At a party in Arizona, a small group of people took a few blue pills together, unaware of what was in them. Police were able to save three of them by applying naloxone, but it was too late for a fourth, 19-year-old Aaron Francisco Chavez.

    Investigators discovered that the group believed they had gotten their hands on oxycodone, a relatively less powerful opioid. The deaths, authorities say, are part of a massive fentanyl epidemic sweeping the state.

    “It’s the worst I’ve seen in 30 years, this toll that it’s taken on families,” said Arizona-based DEA agent Doug Coleman. “The crack (cocaine) crisis was not as bad.”

    The pills are reportedly gaining steam among partygoers in the state, which some experts believe is due to the delivery system.

    “There’s less stigma to taking a pill than putting a needle in your arm, but one of these pills can have enough fentanyl for three people,” said Lt. Nate Auvenshine of the Yavapai County Sheriff’s office.

    The blue pills that are taking over Arizona have an “M” on one side and a “30” on the other side, done to intentionally fool users into thinking that the meds are legitimate. These pills are the newest product from the notorious Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel, claims Tucson Police Lt. Christian Wildblood. The reason they are particularly deadly is simple—they adhere to no standards, made with pill presses bought online, so the amount of fentanyl in each pill isn’t very exact.

    “There is no quality control,” said Lt. Wildblood.

    The main way Mexican fentanyl enters the United States is in hidden compartments inside vehicles crossing through official border crossings, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). About 85% of the stuff comes in through the San Diego crossing, but the Drug Enforcement Administration notes that Arizona’s crossings are seeing a sharp rise in fentanyl seizures.

    Between 2017 and 2018, the DEA saw seizures rise from 172 pounds, or 54,984 pills, to a whopping 445 pounds, or 379,557 pills.

    The Sinaloa cartel continues to smuggle drugs despite the extradition of its leader, El Chapo, who recently received a life sentence in the U.S. This is a testament to their ability, says Coleman. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • In Massachusetts, Opioid Deaths Decline For Second Year

    In Massachusetts, Opioid Deaths Decline For Second Year

    Officials applaud the state’s progress but acknowledge that there’s still a long way to go in the fight against the opioid crisis.

    Officials in Massachusetts are celebrating after state figures showed that opioid overdose deaths declined for the second year in a row, which officials say is due to interventions throughout the state that limit access to opioid prescriptions, increase access to opioid-overdose reversal drugs, and help connect people with treatment for opioid use disorder. 

    The data, which includes confirmed and estimated deaths from opioid overdoses, showed that 1,974 Bay Staters died from opioids in 2018, down about 4% from 2017. Between 2016 and 2017 there was a 2% decline in overdose deaths. 

    Monica Bharel, Department of Public Health Commissioner, told WGBH she was pleased with the progress and hopes that opioid overdose deaths continue to decline. 

    “When you look from 2016 to now, we are making progress. We are making progress and fighting this devastating opioid epidemic. We’ve seen a 6% decrease, we know the efforts we have in place are beginning to work, and importantly, to me, from a public health point of view, we have to continue our sustained work to bring those deaths down further.”

    Since Massachusetts improved its Prescription Monitoring System in 2015, there has been a 35% decline in Schedule II prescriptions, which include opioids. Gov. Charlie Baker praised this in a statement, while acknowledging that there is a long way to go. 

    “While we are encouraged to see fewer opioid-related overdose deaths for a second consecutive year and a 35% decrease in reported opioid prescriptions since 2015, the opioid epidemic continues to present a very serious challenge that is made more difficult due to the presence of fentanyl,” the governor said. 

    Although the progress is positive, there were some dire statistics released. Fentanyl is now present in 89% of opioid deaths in the state, up from less than 30% in 2014.

    Among people aged 25-34 opioids account for a staggering 40% of all deaths. In that demographic, opioid overdoses are still increasing. In addition, overdose deaths are increasing among black men. 

    Bharel said that the state needs to focus on these groups. 

    “For us at the state level and also at the community level, that gives us the opportunity to say, ‘Let’s make sure we’re engaging and investing in every community,’” she said. “There are some of us who are at highest risk. We want to make sure our work focuses on them.”

    That includes education, she added, particularly about synthetic opioids. 

    “One of the most important public health interventions is awareness and education. When people are using illicit drugs, they have to be aware of fentanyl, that fentanyl is deadly, that fentanyl is present in almost all of the opioid deaths right now.”

    View the original article at thefix.com