DE Talk | Uncovering the Non-Traditional Workforce: Recruiting & Retaining Talent in Addiction Recovery
Kratom, a natural substance derived from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree, has recently gained notoriety for its potential dangers. While proponents cite its therapeutic benefits, concerns have surged about its...more
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a final rule intended to implement a 2020 modification to the federal substance use disorder (SUD) privacy statute. The final rule more closely aligns the...more
In 2020, over 142 million prescriptions for opioid medications were filled in the U.S. That same year, 16,416 people died from overdoses on prescription opioids—a 376% increase from 1999....more
In 2021, drug-related overdose deaths topped 107,000. Despite a nearly 50% decrease in opioid prescribing over the past decade, drug overdose mortality continues to trend in the wrong direction. In the face of these...more
In a shift from prior policy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proposed on February 22, 2022, new guidelines for prescribing opioid painkillers. The new guidance largely avoids figures on dosage strength...more
Last week, the Supreme Court (Court) heard oral arguments in companion cases Ruan v. United States and Kahn v. United States, concerning the application of the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA” or “the Act”) to medical...more
With drug overdose deaths reaching record numbers, policymakers and other stakeholders must increase their efforts to end the nation’s drug overdose epidemic with targeted, evidence-based interventions and emerging best...more
Editor’s Note: The COVID-19 pandemic drove significant expansion in state and federal telehealth policies, playing a critical role in ensuring access to substance use disorder (SUD) services, even during quarantine. ...more
On July 6, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-113 titled “An Act Concerning Opioids” (PA 21-113), which establishes pilot programs to help serve persons with opioid use disorder in urban,...more
Health workers with legal prescribing privileges have gotten newly revised federal guidelines — once again — making it easier for them to help those addicted to powerful opioid painkillers by prescribing buprenorphine,...more
The opioid abuse and drug overdose crisis has tarred yet another of the nation’s business titans: McKinsey, a globally renowned consulting firm, has discovered that providing corporate clients sketchy advice about addictive,...more
The DEA struggles to balance the pressing need to provide pain relief for those suffering from the novel coronavirus with the ongoing effort to reduce the opioid epidemic in the United States. I. Overview on the DEA and the...more
This week, we take a look at two Ninth Circuit decisions concerning the employer-employee relationship. In the first, the Court let the lawsuit against the NFL for its negligent handling of drug distribution to its injured...more
As Opioid Epidemic Rages On, Children Are Hidden Casualties - Before COVID-19, Americans were fighting another public health crisis: opioid abuse and addiction. Often pushed off the front pages by the pandemic, the opioid...more
In response to the opioid epidemic, many states, including Texas, created prescription drug monitoring programs to monitor high-risk patients and provider behaviors. The Texas Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (“PMP”) is...more
In Lebanon County Employees’ Retirement Fund, et al. v. AmerisourceBergen Corporation, the Delaware Court of Chancery ordered the inspection of the books and records of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, one of the leading opioid...more
In a 63-page decision issued on Jan. 13, 2020, in Lebanon County Employees’ Retirement Fund v. AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery found that stockholders of...more
In May of 2018, the Oklahoma Legislature enacted House Bill 2931 as part of an ongoing effort to combat the opioid crisis. HB 2931 is expected to help lessen the opioid crisis by combating forgery of paper prescriptions. ...more
In July, The Washington Post published data showing approximately 76 billion oxycodone and hydrocodone pills were purchased and sold in the Unites States from 2006 to 2012. The data came from the Automation of Reports and...more
An estimated 400,000 Americans have died due to opioid drug overdoses between 1999 and 2017 — and the fatalities only are increasing. By 2025, according to expert forecasts, there will be 700,000 more opioid deaths....more
In a bipartisan effort to combat the opioid crisis, H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act (the Act), was enacted on October 24,...more
The Florida legislature passed HB 21, which imposes a number of new requirements on prescribers and pharmacists regarding controlled substance prescribing and dispensing. Part of the law requires pharmacists to verify the...more
During a year in which legislative activity was restrained by a variety of factors, most notably the Senate’s inability to maintain a consistent majority, the New York State Legislature nonetheless still passed 641 bills,...more
Generally, federal law requires practitioners to obtain a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) registration or a waiver from the DEA registration to use narcotics to treat opioid addiction. ...more
This is the first episode in a series focused on the legal issues surrounding the nationwide opioid crisis. To begin the series, Carla DewBerry discusses the laws and regulations impacting health care providers caring for...more