Posts Tagged: opioid

Deadly opioid overdose epidemic overshadowed by COVID-19

Illustration: Hydrocodone pills and prescription bottles. (Image: Andy Dean Photography, via Shutterstock.)

by RANDAL PHAM posted 05.04.2021

OPINION: A record 3,200 Californians lost their lives to opioids in 2019 — well before the stress and disruption caused by COVID-19 caused overdose deaths to spike to new highs nationwide. By May 2020, powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl caused California’s 12-month all-drug overdose death rate to spike nearly 27%, significantly faster than the national average.

Pharmacy benefit managers target opioid crisis

An open bottle of prescription painkillers. (Photo illustration: Leigh A. Williams)

by JOHN D. JONES posted 06.11.2018

OPINION: One critical step championed by PBMs is requiring electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) of controlled substances in Medicare. E-prescribing of controlled substances helps ensure each prescription is written by a legitimate prescriber and filled by a legitimate pharmacy.

Hepatitis C Virus outbreak among millennials

Laboratory testing of HCV. (Photo: Jarun Ontakrai, via Shutterstock)

by ALEX MATTHEWS posted 08.17.2017

Millennials haven’t inherited the best batch of goods from baby boomers. They got a housing crisis, a shaky job market, and some enormous student loans. But until recently, viral hepatitis was the burden of boomers alone to bear. Now, millennials are also facing an outbreak of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).