drug overdose

Public health experts happy with the 2018 U.S. budget

March 28, 2018

Congress did right by public health in the FY 2018 budget it passed recently, according to the American Public Health Association (APHA). “By increasing funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and other health agencies, Congress has shown its commitment to improving the health of all communities and investing in activities that keep our country healthy and safe,” according to a statement released by the organization.

Safety 2016: A look back

How opioid abuse affects the workplace

Benita Mehta

July 5, 2016

Opioid abuse statistics can be alarming. According to the CDC, opioid overdose deaths have quadrupled since 1999, and it is estimated that 78 people die every day in the U.S.

CDC releases guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain

Recommendations to improve patient care, safety, and help prevent opioid misuse and overdose

March 22, 2016

Recommendations to improve patient care, safety, and help prevent opioid misuse and overdose As part of the U.S. government’s urgent response to the epidemic of overdose deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new recommendations for prescribing opioid medications for chronic pain, excluding cancer, palliative, and end-of-life care.

A NIOSH Science Blog post

The opioid overdose epidemic and the workplace

January 13, 2016

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released troubling statistics on the growing epidemic of drug and opioid overdose deaths in the United States. The origins of this epidemic have been linked to prescription opioids.

Injuries cost the US $671 billion in 2013

CDC study shows injuries and violence create substantial economic burden

October 26, 2015

The total cost of injuries and violence in the United States was $671 billion in 2013, according to two Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR) released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Clues to opioid abuse from state prescription drug monitoring programs

CDC urges early treatment of severely ill and high-risk patients

October 19, 2015

Drug overdose is the leading cause of injury death in the United States – mostly due to abuse and misuse of prescription opioid pain relievers, benzodiazepines (sedatives/tranquilizers), and stimulants. Information from state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) can be used to detect and measure prescribing patterns that suggest abuse and misuse of controlled substances, according to a report released today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Surveillance Summary.

CDC commits millions to combating nation’s prescription drug epidemic

September 8, 2015

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced the launch of Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States, a new program to help states end the ongoing prescription drug overdose epidemic.

Deaths involving heroin have almost tripled since 2010

April 9, 2015

From 2000 through 2013, the age-adjusted rate for drug-poisoning deaths involving heroin nearly quadrupled from 0.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 2.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).