Researchers studying workers’ compensation claims have found that almost one in 12 injured workers who begin using opioids were still using the prescription drugs three to six months later. It’s a trend that, not surprisingly, can lead to addiction, increased disability and more work loss – but few doctors are acting to prevent it.
The latest Health Wonk Review features posts on healthcare issues in the presidential debates, efforts to contain US healthcare spending, and other healthcare topics.
Public Health Practice
Texas family planning cuts dismantling the safety net for women’s preventive care; researchers chronicle early impacts
In the west Texas city of San Angelo, Planned Parenthood has been serving local women since 1938. It was one of the very first places in Texas to have a family planning clinic. Now, due to state policy and funding changes, the clinic’s ability to serve all those in need is on shaky ground.
An Affordable Care Act provision taking effect this week will reduce Medicare reimbursements to hospitals with high readmission rates. But to what extent are readmissions under a hospital’s control?
Cancer
It’s official, 50 cancers added to eligible diseases covered by World Trade Center health program
In response to the findings and recommendations of a scientific expert panel, the World Trade Center Health Program will now consider certain cancers a covered health condition.
Another study, another support beam in the argument that access to insurance coverage matters — a lot.
In the final section of our new report “The Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety,” we end on a high note. We profile a number of new laws at the state and local levels to improve working conditions for Americans and protect them from serious health and safety hazards.
An NEJM piece offers some advice and cautions about health insurance exchanges — a key to the Affordable Care Act’s success — based on the experiences of the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Recent New York Times and Washington Post stories on activities at certain HCA hospitals and the nationwide use of anemia drugs show how profit-maximizing practices can sometimes put patients’ lives at risk.
Drug Safety
Medical marijuana progress under Obama not what advocates had hoped; recent crackdown puts patients in the middle
For years, Peter Rosenfeld was looking for an effective way to treat what doctors had diagnosed as severe and intractable migraines. He’d heard of medical marijuana, but thought it was a joke — that it was just a way for people to justify their marijuana use. Today, he’s a passionate advocate for medicinal marijuana and one of many advocates disappointed at recent federal actions.