ATForum

North Texas addiction treatment centers are working hard to keep facilities open during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal: to give some of the highest-risk patients access to medications that treat opioid addiction. The opioid epidemic hasn’t been supplanted by the pandemic. Rather, the pandemic has worsened an already existing crisis. In the Dallas area, the pandemic is … [Read more...] about ‘I am Alone’: Opioid Relapses on the Rise as COVID-19 Interrupts Drug Addiction Recovery in Dallas

Starting August 14, methadone patients face the very real possibility that their long-protected privacy will be gone. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) final rule on the regulation 42 CFR Part 2 allows opioid treatment programs (OTPs, known as methadone clinics) to put patient information into prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). … [Read more...] about Methadone Patients’ Data Poised to Be Entered Into PDMPs

Current federal funding levels to combat the opioid crisis do not meet the alarming demand brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report. The Bipartisan Policy Center on Wednesday released a report that found federal opioid funding grew only 3.2% in fiscal year 2019, for a total of $7.6 billion. Three-quarters of that funding went toward … [Read more...] about Federal Funds to Fight Opioid Crisis Don’t Meet Demand

Here's some heartening news on the opioid painkillers front: Abuse of the prescription medicines in the United States fell by more than one-quarter between 2007 and 2018. "Prior research has shown slight reductions in abuse rates, but our analysis shows we're tracking statistically significant year-to-year declines in abuse, indicating that the decrease is not an anomaly and … [Read more...] about Signs America’s Prescription Opioid Epidemic Might Finally Be Waning