The Challenges of Prescribing Opioids: Finding a Balance Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Scott Gottlieb recently issued a statement calling for substantive and common-sense reforms to prescription opioid dispensation in the medical profession. The statement came on the same day the agency hosted a Patient-Focused Drug Development meeting [...]
Can Vivitrol Suppress HIV? Yale researchers have discovered the extended-release naltrexone, commonly known as Vivitrol may help maintain or improve suppression of HIV among individuals at risk for relapse receiving HIV antiretroviral treatment. The findings were part of a study of inmates in Connecticut who suffered from co-occurring HIV [...]
FDA Approves Lucemyra™ for Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms In a landmark moment for opioid addiction relapse prevention, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first-ever non-opioid medication to treat opioid withdrawal. The agency has expedited approval of Lucemyra™ (lofexidine hydrochloride) on May 16, 2018. Originally developed to treat [...]
Nation’s Addiction Experts Meet at 2018 ASAM Annual Conference The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) had their 49th annual conference in San Diego this past month. It was an event in which thousands of medical professionals in the addiction care landscape – including our CMO Dr. Carlos Tirado [...]
Texas Medical Association Maternal Health Congress – Substance Use Prevention and Treatment This video was published by the Texas Medical Association on April 17, 2018. Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Carlos Tirado, MD, Clinical Associate Professor and Amy Young, MD, Professor, at the University of Texas at Austin [...]
The Impact of Long-Term Opioid Use on Chronic Pain Management As many as one-third of all Americans suffer from chronic pain, a condition that is characterized by persistent pain that lasts longer than 12 weeks. While some patients achieve safe and time-limited pain relief through the use of opioids [...]
Specialized Addiction Healthcare: A New Approach in Austin Stigma-free care that is informed by the science of addiction and recovery AUSTIN, TX – April 3, 2018. CARMAhealth (Collaborative Addiction Recovery Management & Assistance) is announcing the grand opening of its new office for outpatient healthcare services on April 9, [...]
The Impact of Supervised Injection Sites in New York City New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has approved four supervised injection sites for intravenous drug users, joining cities like Seattle, Philadelphia, and San Francisco enacting a harm-reduction strategy aimed at curbing fatal overdoses and providing linkage to care [...]
Alternatives to Opioids for Pain Management Since 2014, America has seen record highs in opioid fatalities and the epidemic shows no signs of tapering. In 2016, there were over 50,000 fatal opioid overdoses, accounting for the overwhelming majority of the approximately 64,000 total fatal drug overdoses in the country. [...]
What Makes an Effective Substance Abuse Treatment Program? As the need for effective and safe addiction treatment becomes more and more apparent, clinicians and treatment professionals are working harder than ever to make innovations to help each and every type of unique patient. With more Americans succumbing to opioid [...]