In a Perspective piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the authors state that the federal government’s elimination of the “X waiver” at the end of 2022 was a significant step towards improving addiction treatment. The X waiver required physicians and other prescribers to undergo uncompensated training and obtain a special license, creating… Continue reading Expert calls for reforms to address the overdose crisis
Tag: opioid overdose
After Naloxone, When Can Opioid Overdose Patients Be Safely Discharged?
Naloxone has saved thousands of lives. But can patients be safely discharged from the Emergency Department (ED) just an hour after they receive the medication that curtails drug overdoses? According to the St. Paul’s Early Discharge Rule developed in 2000, that’s how long providers should observe patients after naloxone treatment, so long as their vital… Continue reading After Naloxone, When Can Opioid Overdose Patients Be Safely Discharged?
No Evidence Opioids Are Effective for Chronic Pain
A National Institutes of Health white paper that was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in January 2015 reported little to no evidence for the effectiveness of opioid drugs in the treatment of long-term chronic pain, despite the explosive recent growth in the use of the drugs. A release from the University of Connecticut… Continue reading No Evidence Opioids Are Effective for Chronic Pain