A record number of nearly 50,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose in 2017, according to new estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency said that the majority of the increase in painkiller overdoses between 2016 and 2017 was caused by synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. (more…)

Tags: fentanyl, hydrocodone, opioid crisis, opioid epidemic, opioids, overdose, oxycodone, painkillers, prescription painkillers, synthetic opioids
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The aggressive promotion of opioid painkillers by the pharmaceutical industry has played a key role in the U.S. opioid epidemic, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives over the last two decades. However, new data may indicate that legal action taken against manufacturers of prescription painkillers may be causing them to rethink these marketing tactics that helped caused the opioid crisis. (more…)

Tags: BioDelivery Sciences, buprenorphine, Endo Pharmaceuticals, fentanyl, Insys, Opana, opioid crisis, opioid epidemic, opioids, OxyContin, painkillers, Physician Payment Sunshine Act, Purdue Pharma, Subsys
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A new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that one in five patients who are prescribed a 10-day supply of opioid painkillers will use the drugs for a year or longer. This long-term use places opioid users at an increased risk of addiction or other complications caused by prescription opioids. (more…)

Tags: fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, methadone, morphine, opioid crisis, opioid epidemic, opioids, oxycodone, painkillers
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A Wisconsin doctor faces a lawsuit filed on behalf of four patients who died after being prescribed high-dose opioid painkillers. The lawsuit accuses Dr. Charles Szyman of fatally over-prescribing the opioid drugs to Heidi Buretta, Monica Debot, Mark Gagnon, and Alan Eggert while they were being treated at Holy Family Memorial Hospital in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. (more…)

Tags: fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, medical malpractice, morphine, opioids, oxycodone, painkillers, wrongful death
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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced that it will reduce its 2017 quota for the production of opioid painkillers by 25%. The DEA said that it was cutting the supply of prescription painkillers in the U.S. in response to the epidemic of opioid abuse, addiction, and overdoses that have plagued the country over the last two decades. (more…)

Tags: addiction, DEA, drug overdose, fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, morphine, opioids, oxycodone, painkillers, prescription drug abuse
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The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it will require a “black box” warning on the most widely prescribed class of opioid painkillers in an effort to curb the epidemic of fatal overdoses linked to these drugs. The new FDA warning will be required for all immediate-release opioid painkillers, including combination pills that combine opioid medications with non-prescription drug ingredients. (more…)

Tags: addiction, black box warning, FDA, fentanyl, hydrocodone, Janssen, morphine, Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome, opioids, overdose, oxycodone, OxyContin, painkillers, Purdue Pharma, Teva, Vicodin
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A large scale study of patients in Ontario, Canada has found that one in four male patients taking high dose opioid painkillers later died as a result of opioid-related causes. Dr. David Juurlink, a physician involved with the study, said that these results underscored the importance of restricting the use of powerful opioid painkillers like fentanyl and oxycodone in order to reduce the risk of overdose and other complications for patients. (more…)

Tags: fentanyl, opioids, overdose, overprescription, OxyContin, pain patch, painkillers
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A Hawaii family has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a physician in connection with the fentanyl overdose death of one of his patients. The family of Honolulu hedge fund manager Thomas O’Brien filed the lawsuit against Dr. Steve Rogoff and Hale Lea Medicine for allegedly prescribing hundreds of doses of fentanyl and other opioid painkillers despite clear evidence of addiction that eventually resulted in a fatal overdose. (more…)

Tags: fentanyl, Norco
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