When healthcare providers and payers forge strong collaborations, it quickens the amount of time it takes to turn medical research into usable procedures, according to a report from the Alliance of Community Health Plans.
Fatal drug overdoses have fallen nationwide over the last six months, according to a CDC report. However, health experts warn against early claims of the opioid and drug epidemic ending.
Hospitals are increasingly implementing clinical documentation improvement technologies, according to a Black Book survey.
The comprehensive opioids bill passed by the Senate and Congress includes a provision to protect opioid use disorder patients from a predatory practice known as patient brokering, according to The Washington Post.
Many people still want opioids to manage pain after surgery despite heightened media coverage surrounding addiction risk and the opioid epidemic, according to survey results presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists' annual meeting in San Francisco.
Fitbit unveiled a connected wearables health platform on its new Fitbit Plus app Sept. 19, which integrates health coaching, activity tracking and virtual care services to help users manage chronic conditions.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will stop covering the prescription opioid OxyContin beginning January 1, 2019.
Consumers continue to embrace digital health tools, with 90% of respondents in a new Rock Health survey using at least one last year, up from 80% in 2016.
A study published in JAMA examined the frequency of opioid overdoses after discharge from surgery.
Massachusetts currently leads the nation in decreasing opioids prescription, according to a Blue Cross Blue Shield report cited by The Boston Herald. Blue Cross Blue Shield's survey illustrated 51 percent fewer opioid prescriptions written in Massachusetts in 2017 than 2013; specifically, Bay State physicians wrote 193 opioids prescriptions per 1,000 Blue Cross-insured members. The national average is 394 per 1,000 members. The study, published in Preventive Medicine, analyzed data from over 1,000 Americans. In a survey, the researchers queried respondents' attitudes on needle exchanges, (where people can dispose of used syringes and get sterile ones), safe injection sites (where people can use drugs under medical supervision) and broader opinions on addiction.