Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Opiods / 01.04.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53598" align="alignleft" width="200"]Aparna Soni PhD, Assistant Professor Department of Public Administration and Policy School of Public Affairs American University Washington, DC Dr. Soni[/caption] Aparna Soni PhD, Assistant Professor Department of Public Administration and Policy School of Public Affairs American University Washington, DC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic. Opioids are responsible for nearly 50,000 deaths per year and present a substantial financial burden on hospitals. The rate of opioids-related hospital events has tripled since 2005. We are particularly concerned about rising hospitalizations because they may stem from a lack of access to treatment for individuals with opioid use disorder. Medication-assisted treatment is effective in treating opioid use disorder but can be unaffordable for people without health insurance.
Author Interviews, JAMA, Opiods, Pediatrics / 23.03.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53548" align="alignleft" width="133"]Leah Nelson, MD MS Addiction Medicine Fellow University of New Mexico Dr. Nelson[/caption] Leah Nelson, MD MS Addiction Medicine Fellow University of New Mexico MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: With the progression of the opioid epidemic over the past decade, more women of reproductive age are seeking treatment for addiction. Many more pregnant women are prescribed methadone and buprenorphine, two opioid medications that prevent relapse and overdose. Maternal use of mediations for opioid use disorder is recommended because it lowers the risk to the fetus from uncontrolled drug use and also allows the mother to engage with prenatal care and social work. Subsequently, the number of infants born after prenatal exposure to opioids is increasing. Several previous studies have shown measurable differences in the cognitive scores of children after prenatal opioid exposure. However, much of the previous work was done on convenience samples (easy to recruit rather than rigorously matched for comparability) and the demographic characteristics of both mothers and children in the exposed and unexposed groups varied widely on important factors such as maternal education, socioeconomics, employment, tobacco use, and infant gender. Each of these factors has been demonstrated to impact early childhood development in the absence of opioid exposure.
Author Interviews, Dental Research, JAMA, Pain Research / 19.03.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53575" align="alignleft" width="142"]Dr. Romesh P. Nalliah BDS, MHCM Associate Dean for Patient Services Clinical Professor Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation Michigan Institute for Data Science Director, Synergy Program Dr. Nalliah[/caption] Dr. Romesh P. Nalliah BDS, MHCM Associate Dean for Patient Services Clinical Professor Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation Michigan Institute for Data Science Director, Synergy Program MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We designed and conducted this study because there is a paucity of knowledge related to opioid prescribing for acute dental pain.
Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Heart Disease, Karolinski Institute, Opiods, PNAS / 18.03.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53563" align="alignleft" width="155"]Mikko Myrskylä PhD Executive Director, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research Professorial Research Fellow, London School of Economics Professor of Social Statistics University of Helsinki Dr. Myrskylä[/caption] Mikko Myrskylä PhD Executive Director, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research Professorial Research Fellow, London School of Economics Professor of Social Statistics University of Helsinki MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Life expectancy in the U.S. increased at a phenomenal pace throughout the twentieth century, by nearly two years per decade. After 2010, however, U.S. life expectancy growth stalled and has most recently been declining. A critical question for American health policy is how to return U.S. life expectancy to its pre-2010 growth rate. Researchers and policy makers have focused on rising drug-related deaths in their search for the explanations for the stalling and declining life expectancy.
Author Interviews, Opiods / 17.03.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53537" align="alignleft" width="200"]Amir Pashmineh, MBS Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Amir Pashmineh[/caption] Amir Pashmineh, MBS Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The opioid buprenorphine is a mu and nociceptin receptor partial agonist, and serves as an antagonist to kappa and delta receptors. These properties contribute to this medication being a first-line evidence-based agent in Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) treatment. There have been policy changes intended to increase buprenorphine (which goes by brand names Suboxone or Subutex) availability, but access remains below optimal levels. Relative to methadone, buprenorphine is more expensive. The “abstinence only” mentality of 12-step programs for addiction treatment continues to be influential. The objective of this study was to extend our pharmacoepidemiology knowledge regarding utilization and characterize the regional disparity in distribution in the U.S. over the last decade. Data was obtained from Drug Enforcement Administration’s Automated Reports and Consolidated Ordering System (ARCOS), a comprehensive drug reporting system of controlled substances from their point of manufacturing to point of sale and distribution.
Author Interviews, Emergency Care, Opiods / 13.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53157" align="alignleft" width="200"]Casey P. Balio, BA Department of Health Policy and Management Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health Indianapolis, IN Casey Balio[/caption] Casey P. Balio, BA Department of Health Policy and Management Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health Indianapolis, IN  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:   There are numerous studies that estimate the prevalence of various opioid-related outcomes including emergency department (ED) encounters, hospitalizations, and overdoses as well as risk factors for these. However, there is limited evidence about repeated opioid-related encounters. This study uses health information exchange (HIE) data for four hospital systems in the state of Indiana from 2012-2017 to identify individual, prescription, encounter, and community characteristics that may be associated with having repeat opioid-related encounters.
Author Interviews, Dental Research, Opiods / 10.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53085" align="alignleft" width="133"]Katie J. Suda, PharmD, MS Study Principal Investigator Professor of Medicine University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Dr. Suda[/caption] Katie J. Suda, PharmD, MS Study Principal Investigator Professor of Medicine University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:   Dentists are one of the top prescribers of opioids; prescribing 1 in 10 opioids in the United States. Dentists also prescribe a lot of opioids to adolescents and young adults which are a high risk population for substance misuse. This is especially true because studies have shown that non-opioid pain medications are similar or more effective for the treatment of oral pain.
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Opiods, Pain Research / 28.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52986" align="alignleft" width="140"]Dave Stack Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Pacira BioSciences David Stack[/caption] Dave Stack Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Pacira BioSciences  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cesarean sections (C-sections) are one of the most common surgeries in the United States, and research shows many women experience moderate to severe pain after this procedure. When postsurgical pain is inadequately managed for new mothers, it can interfere with recovery, maternal-infant bonding and may even lead to postpartum depression. Additionally, prescribing data reveals that postsurgical opioid consumption poses a great risk to women. We recently completed a Phase 4 study of EXPAREL in C-section patients, and results revealed adding EXPAREL to bupivacaine transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks for C-section delivery provided significant reductions in opioids and pain scores. Results of that study provided the basis for the design of this next-generation study, which was created to be completely opioid-free in the EXPAREL arm. The study was a Phase 4 multicenter, active-controlled study conducted in 18 clinical sites in the United States, with 169 enrolled patients undergoing elective C-section. The enrolled C-section patients were randomized to receive either 150 mcg morphine spinal anesthesia plus a standard of care postoperative pain regimen, 50 mcg morphine spinal anesthesia plus EXPAREL TAP field block, or opioid-free spinal anesthesia plus EXPAREL TAP block. Patients in the EXPAREL arms received a protocol-defined non-opioid postsurgical pain management regimen including ketorolac, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen. 
Author Interviews, Opiods / 15.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Paul Christine, MD, PhD University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In an effort to increase employment and "community engagement" among Medicaid enrollees, several states are seeking to implement new Medicaid work requirements. While many proposals make exemptions for individuals with substance use disorders, some require active treatment to qualify for an exemption and maintain Medicaid eligibility. Since many enrollees with substance use disorder would thus need to access treatment to maintain coverage, we sought to quantify the availability of treatment resources in states with and without Medicaid work requirements.
Author Interviews, JAMA, Opiods, Pediatrics / 06.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52629" align="alignleft" width="133"]Rachel H. Alinsky, MD, MPH Adolescent Medicine and Addiction Medicine Fellow Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Dr. Alinsky[/caption] Rachel H. Alinsky, MD, MPH Adolescent Medicine and Addiction Medicine Fellow Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We know that over 4,000 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15-24 are dying from an opioid overdose every year. Nonfatal opioid overdose has been identified as a potential touchpoint with the healthcare system when individuals can be drawn into treatment, yet very little is known about health care use following opioid overdose in youth. We were interested in figuring out the extent to which adolescents and young adults are receiving evidence-based treatment after an opioid overdose.
Addiction, Alcohol, Author Interviews, JAMA, Methamphetamine / 06.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52664" align="alignleft" width="200"]Eric Dawson, PharmD Vice President, Clinical Affairs Millennium Health Dr. Dawson[/caption] Dr. Eric Dawson, PharmD Vice President, Clinical Affairs Millennium Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has projected a drop in the number of overdose deaths for 2018; the first reported decline since 1990. They cite a decrease in prescription opioid deaths as the leading contributor to the overall reduction, but caution that deaths associated with synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, as well as stimulants appear to be increasing. In 2019, we reported a 798% increase in urine drug test positivity rates for nonprescribed fentanyl among results positive for methamphetamine and an 1850% increase among results positive for cocaine. In an effort to conduct ongoing surveillance of the polysubstance use landscape and help characterize these evolving trends in a more timely manner, we examined our UDT data as close to real-time as possible to observe trends in positivity for methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin, with and without illicit fentanyl.
Author Interviews, Opiods, Surgical Research / 30.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sunil Agarwal, MD Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network Ann Arbor, MI MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Excess opioid prescribing after surgery often leads to misuse and diversion into the community. To prevent excessive prescribing for acute pain, 31 states have implemented legislation that limits the duration of opioid prescriptions. Our study examined the effect of prescribing limits and postoperative opioid prescribing on surgical patients in Massachusetts and Connecticut, the first two states to implement opioid prescribing limits for acute pain after the CDC guidelines were released. 
Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Mental Health Research, Opiods, Pediatrics / 23.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Megan Land, MD, PGY 6 Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Emory University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
  • Much of the research on the opioid crisis has focused on the impact to adults; however, children and adolescents in the US are also negatively affected by the opioid epidemic.
  • The percentage of children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit increased over the study period as the clinical effects of the opioid ingestions increased in severity.
  • The primary intent of opioid ingestions was suspected suicide attempts in adolescents resulting in increasing admissions to a psychiatric hospital.
  • Opioids associated with the highest odds of needing an intervention in an intensive care unit were methadone, fentanyl, and heroin. 
Author Interviews, JAMA, Opiods, Pediatrics, University of Michigan / 19.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52464" align="alignleft" width="200"]Kao-Ping Chua, MD PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center University of Michigan Dr. Kao-Ping Chua[/caption] Kao-Ping Chua, MD PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Opioids are frequently prescribed to adolescents and young adults aged 12-21 years – in a recent study, 1 in 8 patients in this population were prescribed opioids during the year. At the same time, almost 30% of the 3000 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2016 among adolescents and young adults involved prescription opioids. Given the frequency of opioid prescribing and the risk of overdose, it is important to understand how to prescribe opioids safely to adolescents and young adults. However, there have been few studies that examine which opioid prescribing patterns are associated with prescription opioid overdose in adolescents and young adults. Prior studies examining these patterns have focused on older adults, particularly U.S. Veterans, so the generalizability of these findings to younger populations is unclear.
Addiction, Author Interviews, Opiods, Technology / 10.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52410" align="alignleft" width="148"]Anna Konova, PhD Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry & UBHC Core Faculty, Brain Health Institute Rutgers University - New Brunswick Dr. Anna Konova[/caption] Anna Konova, PhD Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry & UBHC Core Faculty, Brain Health Institute Rutgers University - New Brunswick MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Opioid reuse and relapse are common outcomes even when a person is seeking treatment for their addiction. These reuse events pose many health risks, as well as risk for treatment failure. We currently lack the much needed tools to understand and predict this reuse vulnerability. In this study, we used computer games that assess a person's decision making process, to get at psychological processes related to how people make decisions involving risks, when they transitioned between lower and higher reuse vulnerability states during the first few months of opioid treatment.
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Opiods / 05.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52356" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Rupa Radhakrishnan. MD Assistant professor of Radiology and Imaging Sciences Indiana University School of Medicine Dr. Radhakrishnan[/caption] Dr. Rupa Radhakrishnan, MD Assistant professor of Radiology and Imaging Sciences Indiana University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Opioid use in pregnancy is a major public health crisis. Opioids adversely impact maternal, fetal and infant health. Infants who were exposed to opioids in the womb, can have withdrawal symptoms soon after birth, and are also at risk for poor long term neurodevelopment outcomes. Our group studied the changes in brain function in infants exposed to opioids in the womb, to understand how opioids affect the developing brain. We used resting state functional MRI to study these infants. 
Author Interviews, Opiods, Rheumatology / 12.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52079" align="alignleft" width="142"] Dr. Bannuru[/caption] Raveendhara R. Bannuru MD, PhD, FAGE Director, Center for Treatment Comparison and Integrative Analysis (CTCIA) Deputy Director, Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (CCIM) Asst Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine Asst Professor of Clinical & Translational Science, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences Division of Rheumatology, Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Given the current controversy regarding the use of opioids in chronic pain, we wanted to delve deeper into the efficacy and safety profiles of oral opioid drugs in osteoarthritis patients. Temporal assessments like ours can reveal peak periods of efficacy, and can provide clinicians with a blueprint for optimal durations of treatment regimens. With respect to subgroup analyses based on strength of opioid binding affinity, we sought to explore currently held paradigms that strong opioids may be useful for the treatment of severe pain, and to specifically assess their relevance in OA populations. Knowledge of the relative efficacy and safety profiles of strong versus weak opioids can give clinicians the information they need to weigh benefits and harms of specific subgroups of opioids.
Addiction, Author Interviews, Opiods, Pain Research / 04.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52054" align="alignleft" width="145"]Jack E. Henningfield, PhD Vice President, Research, Health Policy, and Abuse Liability Pinney Associates Adjunct Professor of Behavioral Biology Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Dr. Henningfield[/caption]   Jack E. Henningfield, PhD Vice President, Research, Health Policy, and Abuse Liability Pinney Associates Adjunct Professor of Behavioral Biology Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Author Interviews, JAMA, Opiods, Primary Care / 30.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51102" align="alignleft" width="150"]Dr. Hannah T. Neprash, PhD Assistant Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management School of Public Health University of Minnesota Dr. Neprash[/caption] Dr. Hannah T. Neprash, PhD Assistant Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management School of Public Health University of Minnesota  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Physicians play a pivotal role in the opioid epidemic and it's important to understand what factors that drive opioid prescribing. Variation in opioid prescribing across physicians has been well-documented, but there’s very little research on variation within physicians…which is surprising, given the widespread concern about time pressure and cognitive fatigue having a potentially detrimental effect on the quality of care provided by physicians.
Author Interviews, Education, JAMA, Opiods, Social Issues / 28.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51077" align="alignleft" width="180"]Isaac Sasson, PhD Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Herczeg Institute on Aging Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv, Israel Dr. Sasson[/caption] Isaac Sasson, PhD Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Herczeg Institute on Aging Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv, Israel MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Life expectancy at birth in the United States has been declining steadily since 2014, which is very unusual for a high-income country in times of peace. In fact, the last time that life expectancy declined in the US was in the early 1990s, and only briefly. Studies from the past few years have shown that the rise in mortality is concentrated among middle-aged Americans and particularly the lower socioeconomic classes. Our study analyzed over 4.6 million death records in 2010 and 2017 to understand which causes of death account for the rise in mortality among white and black non-Hispanic US adults. In addition, given the substantial socioeconomic inequality in health in the US, we broke down our results by level of education, which is a good proxy for socioeconomic status. Essentially, our goal was to measure how many years of life were lost, on average, to each cause of death across different social groups. 
Addiction, Alcohol, Author Interviews, Cannabis, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Opiods / 21.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50985" align="alignleft" width="133"]Greg Midgette, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice University of Maryland Dr. Midgette[/caption] Greg Midgette, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice University of Maryland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This report estimates marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine use in the U.S. between 2006 and 2016 on three dimensions: the number of past-month chronic users per year, where "chronic" has previously been defined as consuming the drug at least four days in the past month, expenditure per drug among those users, and consumption of each drug. These measures are meant to aid the public and policy makers' understanding of changes in drug use, outcomes, and policies.  
Author Interviews, Opiods, Pediatrics, Surgical Research / 09.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50574" align="alignleft" width="140"]Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan Dr. Chua[/caption] Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Tonsillectomy is one of the most common surgeries performed in children. It is also one of the most common reasons children are prescribed opioids, even though randomized trials suggest that non-opioids like ibuprofen are equally effective for pain control. We were interested in understanding whether it is possible to safely reduce opioid exposure after tonsillectomy in children without increasing the risk of complications such as emergency department visits for uncontrolled throat pain, which could lead to dehydration.
Author Interviews, CDC, Opiods / 09.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_32722" align="alignleft" width="200"]Gery P. Guy Jr., PhD, MPH Senior Health Economist Division of Unintentional Injury CDC Dr. Gery Guy[/caption] Gery P. Guy Jr., PhD, MPH Senior Health Economist Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention CDC  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In 2017, among the 70,237 drug overdose deaths in the United States, 47,600 (67.8%) involved prescription or illicit opioids. Distribution of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone to reverse overdose is a key part of the public health response to the opioid overdose epidemic. The 2016 CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain recommended clinicians consider offering naloxone when overdose risk factors, such as history of overdose or opioid use disorder, higher opioid dosages, or concurrent benzodiazepine use, are present. However, recent analyses examining pharmacy-based naloxone dispensing are lacking. To address this gap and to inform future overdose prevention and response efforts, CDC examined trends and characteristics of naloxone dispensed from retail pharmacies at the national and county level in the United States.
Addiction, Author Interviews, Opiods / 08.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_43644" align="alignleft" width="200"]Brian J. Piper, PhD, MS Department of Basic Sciences Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Scranton, PA 18509 Dr. Piper[/caption] Brian J Piper, PhD MS Department of Medical Education Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Scranton, Pennsylvania  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: All states have a Prescription Monitoring Program to collect data about controlled substance prescriptions. Maine also had a Diversion Alert Program to obtain information about arrests involving prescription and illicit drugs. Buprenorphine is a treatment for an opioid use disorder. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist. Prior pharmacoepidemiology research found that buprenorphine accounted for half of prescriptions for males in their twenties in Maine.1 This study examined the current status of the opioid crisis using three complementary data sources: 1) Arrests as reported to the Diversion Alert Program; 2) Medical opioid use as reported by the Drug Enforcement Administration; and 3) Overdoses as reported to the medical examiner.
Addiction, Author Interviews, Occupational Health / 07.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50591" align="alignleft" width="200"]Devan Hawkins ScD Instructor of Public Health School of Arts and Sciences MCPHS University Dr. Hawkins[/caption] Devan Hawkins ScD Instructor of Public Health School of Arts and Sciences MCPHS University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As has been well established, mortality due to opioids has been increasing rapidly in recent years. We were interested in understanding whether mortality rates may be high among workers in certain industries and occupations for two primary reasons. First, if we were to find that mortality rates differed according to industry and/or occupation it might indicate that some aspect of these industries and occupations put workers at elevated risk for opioid-related overdose death. Second, interventions could be created to target these workers and hopefully prevent more deaths.
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Opiods / 06.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50561" align="alignleft" width="141"]Lauren A. Hoffman, Ph.D. Research Fellow Recovery Research Institute Center for Addiction Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Dr. Hoffman[/caption] Lauren A. Hoffman, Ph.D. Research Fellow Recovery Research Institute Center for Addiction Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: In 2017, an estimated 11.4 million Americans reported past-year opioid misuse1 and opioid-related overdose accounted for more than 47,000 deaths2. Prior research has helped further our understanding of the prevalence and consequences of opioid misuse, but we know substantially less about recovery from opioid use problems. Recovery-focused research conducted to-date has largely focused on alcohol use disorder, the most common type of substance use disorder. Characterizing recovery from opioid use problems and the pathways that individuals take to resolve such problems can ultimately help identify effective ways to address opioid misuse. Using data from the first national probability-based sample of US adults who have resolved a significant substance use problem (National Recovery Survey3), we provide the first national prevalence estimate of opioid recovery, and characterize treatment/recovery service use and psychological well-being in individuals who resolved a primary problem with opioids, relative to individuals who resolved a primary alcohol problem. We focused our cross-sectional investigation of service use and well-being on 2 time-horizons associated with continued vulnerability: <1 year since problem resolution (early-recovery) and 1 – 5 years since problem resolution (mid-recovery).
Author Interviews, Global Health, Opiods, Pain Research, Primary Care / 26.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50430" align="alignleft" width="133"]Marisha Burden, MD, FACP, SFHM Associate Professor of Medicine Division Head of Hospital Medicine University of Colorado School of Medicine Dr. Burden[/caption] Marisha Burden, MD, FACP, SFHM Associate Professor of Medicine Division Head of Hospital Medicine University of Colorado School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The United States has seen a marked increase in opioid prescribing since 2000 and while there has been a slight decline in prescribing since 2012, prescription rates for opioids still remain much higher than in the late 1990’s and are considerably higher when compared to other countries. The US continues to see opioid-related complications such as overdoses, hospitalizations, and deaths. Hospitalized patients frequently experience pain and opioid medications are often the mainstay for treatment of pain. Studies have suggested that receipt of opioid prescriptions at the time of hospital discharge may increase risk for long-term use.
Addiction, Author Interviews, Cannabis, Columbia, JAMA, Opiods / 18.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_28490" align="alignleft" width="165"]Silvia S. Martins, MD, PHD Associate Professor of Epidemiology Department of Epidemiology Mailman School Of Public Health Columbia University New York, NY 10032 Dr. Silvia Martins[/caption] Silvia S. Martins, MD, PHD Associate Professor of Epidemiology Department of Epidemiology Mailman School Of Public Health Columbia University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Prior studies have suggested t6hat medical marijuana legalization might play a role in decreasing opioid use. We aimed to test this hypothesis using individual level data on nonmedical use of prescription opioids and opioid use disorder  from the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health. 
Author Interviews, Pharmacology / 17.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50290" align="alignleft" width="200"]Craig A. Pedersen, RPh, PhD, FAPhA Manager, Sterile Compounding and Investigational Drug Service, Pharmacy Clinical Professor University of Washington Dr. Pedersen[/caption] Craig A. Pedersen, RPh, PhD, FAPhA Manager, Sterile Compounding and Investigational Drug Service, Pharmacy Clinical Professor University of Washington MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The ASHP national survey of pharmacy practice in hospitals originated with the Mirror to Hospital pharmacy, the first comprehensive, national audit of pharmaceutical services in hospitals, published in 1964.  Since that time, ASHP has conducted national surveys to document practices and technologies for managing the improving the medication-use system and the role that pharmacist play in that effort.  Beginning in 1998, the national survey became an annual project by ASHP.  This survey provides important information to pharmacists, managers, and external stakeholders to document the current state of pharmacy practice.