Remember years ago when there was some buzz about publication bias in medical journals? Studies finding that drugs were effective were much more likely to get published. If you recall, we were promised that a new day was coming. Back in 2008, many people assured me change was coming and transparency was taking hold. After … Continue reading Partial truths drive use of meds and resistance to meds

Frequent emergency room visits is associated with overdose: According to the study from researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, the risk of dying from a prescription drug overdose was five times the rate for patients who visited the ER twice in the past year, compared to patients with one or fewer trips … Continue reading One reason why getting addicts good primary care physicians is so important

Rather than ‘can we cure?’ (hepatitis C), the question is now ‘who should we cure first?’. This question is driven partly by the prohibitively high cost of Direct-acting anti-viral (DAAs) treatment. If DAAs were cheap, then anyone who wanted treatment would be given treatment—but that is not the current reality. . . . . . … Continue reading Sentences to ponder

This is interesting. A physician posted a message to an ASAM discussion board about his dissonance related to working in a treatment facility that does not use opioid maintenance treatments. Specifically, buprenorphine. ASAM turned the message board post into a magazine article and summarizes responses to the message. There's a lot that one could respond to. However, … Continue reading We should re-examine policies for opioid addicted physicians?

"We are increasingly seeing signs of what appears to be a return to the epidemic levels of 10 years ago, when fentanyl-related drug overdoses were blamed for 236 excess drug deaths," Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen said in a statement. It just so happens that MAADAC's Spring Conference is focused on the opioid … Continue reading New wave of overdoses and a place to learn about the problem & solutions

Science writer John Horgan takes a look at the Gabrielle Glaser Atlantic article that's gotten so much attention. Here's his overview: The addiction-treatment industry is a racket, which cries out for critical investigation. But Glaser’s article is embarrassingly shallow and one-sided. She cherry-picks data and anecdotes to make A.A. look bad and alternatives look good. … Continue reading AA, evidence and Glaser

Keith Humphreys pours cold water on the miracle drug hype: Like everyone else, I constantly see headlines that the cure for some dread disease has been discovered. On those occasions when journalists interview me about such stories, I have a habit of dispensing cold water. For example, a few years ago, a small clinical trial … Continue reading Cold water for miracle meds

  This is a repost from earlier in the week that has been updated to include an exchange with a commenter that touches upon some important themes in responding to OD and opiate addiction. ================ From USA Today: Fulcher [an emergency room physician at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville, Ky.]says he generally supports … Continue reading Naloxone is not enough – updated

From USA Today: Fulcher [an emergency room physician at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville, Ky.]says he generally supports giving greater access to naloxone, which at one point his ER administered so often doctors felt like they were running a drive-through OD clinic. But he says new laws "totally ignore" the overall problem of … Continue reading Naloxone is not enough