In 2016 alone, one in five deaths among Americans age 24 to 35 involved opioids. That statistic caps a 15-year rise in deaths attributable to opioids, from 9,489 in 2001 to 42,245 in 2016. It also represents 1.68 millio
n years
of life lost, according to a study in
JAMA
. The authors say opioid-related premature death “imposes an enormous public health burden across the United States.” This week, CMS gave guidance to states so they could access funds to combat the opioid crisis.
(
JAMA Network
;
Healthcare Finance
)
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More than 200 commonly used prescription drugs
taken for reasons that have nothing to do with depression or suicide nonetheless have those listed as potential side effects. Researchers found that 15 percent of adults who take three or more of these drugs—like birth control pills, blood pressure and heart medications, antacids and painkillers
—simultaneously experienced depression, compared to 5 percent not taking the drugs. Many drugs with these side effects are also available without prescription. The authors say more research should be done so health care professionals can recognize the risk for depression or suicide when patients take medicines that increase risk, so they can advise patients appropriately.
(
US News and World Report
)
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Innovation & Transformation
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Augmented and virtual reality applications immerse and individualize experience for gamers, but there's immense potential for health care, too. Clinicians are already incorporating AR to practice techniques on a virtual cadaver at Case Western Reserve University. Potential applications for VR and AR: Surgery workflow could be enhanced and streamlined; patients could use VR for pain relief and addiction treatment, too. There are safety pitfalls with AR/VR, but with better understanding and appreciation, the potential for applications are many.
(
Deloitte blog
)
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Two studies show that editing genomes with the CRISPR-Cas9 system can trigger cancer. The edited cells are intended to be used to treat disease, but the studies show that successfully edited cells have potential to seed cancer when they replace disease-causing DNA with healthy versions. The tests were done on different types of human cells, but both found the same issue. While scientists say they can address the problem, the stock markets reacted quickly with a 12-point drop in CRISPR company stock.
(
STAT
;
MarketWatch
)
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The American Medical Association has long held the policy that physician-assisted suicide is “incompatible with the physician's role as healer." But current leadership appears to be re-thinking the position, tabling a resolution this week that would keep the current policy. Six states and the District of Columbia have legalized physician-assisted suicide. An AMA study committee recommended the organization change the wording in its policy to “aid in dying” and take a neutral position on the matter; the AMA’s House of Delegates voted to table it instead, kicking a decision in either direction down the road
.
(
Modern Healthcare
).
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Feelings like hunger may be more closely tied to emotional experiences than we thought, according to new research on being “hangry,” or irrationally upset because of hunger. Researchers who tested “hangriness” on a group of college students found those who were simultaneously stimulated by negative circumstances (thus triggering “hangry” feelings) but who were aware of their emotions weren’t as prone to overreaction as their peers without the emotional outlet. The authors say other internal signals, like feeling pain, or feeling hot or cold, may also be affected by emotional context.
(
National Public Radio
)
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Maryland gets OK to expand all-payer care
:
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services gave the nod to Maryland to expand its All-Payer Program to include outpatient services—putting the state fully at risk for total cost of care for Medicare beneficiaries. The program will be tested from 2019 to 2026, with a decision made after the first three years whether to expand it, test it differently or return to the traditional payment mode.
(
Healthcare Dive
;
CMS announcement
)
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Your liver says “yes” to coffee
:
Three or more cups of coffee each day may be good for your liver. While there’s no direct cause-and-effect tie between coffee and liver health, association of moderate coffee intake and positive effects on the liver arises from a major national heart study that tracked patients over 26 years.
(
HealthDay
)
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Envision sells for $5.6B
:
Nashville-based Envision Healthcare, which provides physician services to hospitals and surgery centers, was acquired by private equity firm KKR & Co. this week.
KKR recently acquired WebMD and, in an investment with Walgreens Boots Alliance, PharMerica
.
(
USA Today
)
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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released patient safety data this month, saying national efforts to reduce hospital-acquired conditions saved $2.9 billion and prevented an estimated 8,000 deaths between 2014 and 2016. Of the 10 conditions measured in the nationwide effort to improve hospital safety, only pressure ulcer and urinary tract infection rates increased.
(
Fierce Healthcare
;
AHRQ announcement
;
AHRQ National Scorecard data
)
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MarketVoices...quotes worth reading
“It's the track we want to be on, but there's still quite a few harms that happen. While we're positive and excited about this, it's not satisfactory to anybody." Rear Adm. Jeff Brady, M.D., director of AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Safety, as quoted by
Fierce Healthcare
.
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Editor
Sandy Mau
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