Listen All of the major institutions that train doctors and other health professionals in Tennessee have agreed to begin teaching new best-practices on opioid prescribing. The state has asked schools to begin implementation this fall and fully adopt the 12 “core competencies” next year.
12 Lessons Tennessee Med Students Are Now Supposed To Learn About Opioids
Listen Tennessee students preparing for jobs in which they’ll prescribe medication may start spending much more time focused on the perils of addictive painkillers. A commission representing schools around the state has come up with 12 key points that need to be covered before graduation.
After Reining In Addiction Treatment Medication, TennCare Encourages Prescribers
Listen Tennessee’s Medicaid program is trying to make it easier for patients to get prescription drugs that help treat opioid addiction. The moves come after years of restricting access to the medication because of concerns about abuse and diversion.
Tennessee Attorneys Reveal Call Logs Of OxyContin Sales Reps In Case Against Purdue Pharma
Listen Purdue Pharma’s sales reps in Tennessee were pushing OxyContin even harder as the high-powered opioid came under more legal scrutiny in recent years. That’s among hundreds of claims made by the Tennessee Attorney General in a lawsuit filed in May and made public Thursday.
More Addiction Specialists Say Complete Abstinence Isn’t The Answer For Those Hooked On Opioids
Listen Even asking how best to wean drug abusers off opioids can raise hackles. Addiction specialists have straddled a philosophical divide over the use of pharmaceuticals in the process. But the side advocating against medication assisted treatment is shrinking in Tennessee and nationwide.
Overdose Deaths Nearly Double Among African-Americans In Tennessee
Listen Overdose deaths among African-Americans in Tennessee have roughly doubled since 2012. Fatalities from opioids are still growing among whites in the state, but deaths among blacks are surging twice as fast.
Tennessee Doctors In Training Mode As Nation’s Tightest Opioid Restrictions Take Effect
Listen Tennessee doctors are getting a crash course in the state’s new restrictions on opioids ahead of the law taking effect July 1. Physicians are concerned about new liability since the prescribing rules do away with much of their discretion.
The Technical Requirement That Nearly Killed Haslam’s Opioid Package
Listen The finer points of a bill to heavily restrict opioid prescribing came down to the final hours of the legislative session, with a hang-up over medical coding nearly killing Gov. Bill Haslam’s signature legislation for the year.
Opioid Prescribing Drops In Tennessee, But State Still Stands Out
Listen Doctors in Tennessee are putting patients on fewer addictive painkillers. An annual survey finds that opioid prescriptions dropped 8.9 percent in Tennessee last year, but the state still stands out for its high rate of prescribing.
Opioid Users Have Increased Risk of Deadly Infections, Vanderbilt Researchers Find
Listen Vanderbilt researchers have published a study that shows opioid painkillers — particularly in their most potent forms — put patients at significantly higher risk of deadly infections. The findings were released Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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