Addressing Gaps in Evidence-Based Opioid Policy and Practice
Although evidence from health policy research should inform policymaking, researchers and policymakers don’t always communicate. A conference sponsored by the Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorder, HCV, and HIV (CHERISH) – a NIDA-funded Center of Excellence – and hosted by the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI) sought to […]
Increased Opioid-Related Inpatient stays and ED Visits
A recent statistical brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) provides valuable information regarding patient characteristics for opioid-related inpatient stays and emergency department (ED) visits in the US and within 44 states and the District of Columbia. The brief comes from AHRQ’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), which is the largest all-payer encounter-level collection […]
Monetary Conversion Factors for Evaluating Substance Use Disorder Interventions: New Resource for Researchers
The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that substance use disorders, comprising illicit drugs and alcohol use as well as smoking, cost the United States more than $740 billion per year. This includes the cost of crime, incarceration, lost productivity, and medical care. A recent study considered the economic consequences of heroin use specifically, finding […]
Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: Who is Receiving Which Treatment?
In response to the growing opioid epidemic in the United States, there is an increased focus on expanding evidence-based treatment using medications prescribed for substance use disorder, especially medications that can be prescribed in outpatient settings including buprenorphine and naltrexone. The Surgeon General’s report on facing addiction in America describes substance use disorders as chronic illnesses requiring […]
CHERISH Conference on Substance Use Disorder Treatment Research
In the opening plenary panel of the CHERISH (Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorder, HCV and HIV) conference on evidence-based policy and practice are (l to r) Daniel Polsky, PhD, moderator and Executive Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI); Tom McLellan, PhD, Chairman of the Board and […]
Philadelphia Task Force Issues Report on Opioids
The opioid epidemic is a national problem, but solutions may be local. In Philadelphia, the Mayor’s Task Force to Combat the Opioid Epidemic recently released a report with 18 recommendations for a “comprehensive and coordinated plan to reduce opioid use disorder and its associated morbidity and mortality.” The report focuses on Philadelphia, but draws on data […]
The Older Face of the Opioid Epidemic
In a recent report, the CDC tracks drug overdose deaths in the US between 1999-2015. The trends are not exactly what you might expect. Yes, given the recent press attention to the US opioid epidemic, the rates are predictable in that they are unacceptably high and increasing at a shocking rate. Age-adjusted drug overdose rates increased to 16.3 […]
Opioid-Prescribing Patterns of Emergency Physicians and Risk of Long-Term Use: Evidence from Medicare and Private Insurers
In 2015, over 20,000 Americans died of an overdose related to prescription pain relievers; approximately 1 person every 26 minutes. A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine highlights the correlation between emergency department prescribing practices and long-term prescription pain reliever use in Medicare patients. The research team from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health […]
Czarina Behrends, PhD and Benjamin Ukert, PhD Awarded Third Round of CHERISH Pilot Grant Funding
In collaboration with colleagues at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Dr. Czarina Behrends (above, right) will assess naloxone distribution patterns, outcomes and required resources in New York City. She will use these data to develop a model for optimal allocation of those resources in order to prevent overdoses. Her project will […]
Prescriber Mandates in Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs
To address the crisis of opioid misuse, abuse, and overdose, every state but Missouri has implemented a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) that collects data from retail pharmacies on all dispensed controlled substances. PDMPs can help prescribers identify patients who might misuse or divert controlled substances, as well as patients who need substance abuse treatment. […]
A Frightening Chart on Opioids
The danger of that first prescription “Just in case,” the oral surgeon said, as he prescribed the opioid hydrocodone for my 17-year-old son, who just had his wisdom teeth out. “But you might try Motrin first,” he added. Not knowing what the next hours, or days, would bring, we filled the prescription for 20 pills. […]
Methodology Consultation Success: Bulat Idrisov, MD, MSc
Dr. Bulat Idrisov (above, left) is a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) International Program INVEST Drug Abuse Research Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey Samet, CHERISH HCV/HIV co-director. Dr. Idrisov completed his medical training in pediatrics and internal medicine in Russia and received a Fulbright Scholarship to complete his Master of Science in […]
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