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The article presents information on extended-release naltrexone which is also known as Vivitrol for the treatment of opioid use disorders (OUDs). Topics include concern regarding a paper by Alex Harris, M.D. titled "Specifying and Pilot Testing Quality Measures for the American Society of Addiction Medicine's Standards of Care," the ability of Vivitrol to prevent relapse, and the ASAM National Practice Guideline for the Use of Medications in the Treatment of Addiction Involving Opioid Use.

How one interprets the research finding that 28% of opioid‐related overdose survivors ages 18 to 21 in Massachusetts received a medication treatment in the year post‐overdose becomes a matter of perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol‐related liver disease is claiming the lives of more and more Americans, a recent study has found. From 1999–2017, death rates for alcoholic liver disease increased by 40.6% (from 6.4 deaths/100,000 to 8.9 deaths/100,000), according to "Life Expectancy and Mortality Rates in the United States, 1959–2017," which focused on midlife (ages 25 to 64 years), published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Nov. 26. Data for the study came from the National Center for Health Statistics, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a literature review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the release of a draft of report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to Congress on prenatal opioid exposure and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). The report was published in the January 19, 2017 issue of "Federal Register" and was required by the Protecting Our Infants Act enacted in 2015. Recommendations in the report are mentioned including studying the use of naltrexone in pregnancy.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York has added opioid use disorders (OUDs) to the list of approved conditions for which medical marijuana could be prescribed in the state, following the lead last month of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who limited such use as an "adjunct" to medications like methadone and buprenorphine (see ADAW, Jan. 28). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the optimal duration of treatment with methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone for opioid use disorder (OUD)? The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is asking stakeholders how to structure research to answer this question. Last month, NIDA issued a Request for Information (RFI) looking into this, with responses needed by Dec. 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development in technology allows surgical techniques that can be performed without sedation in an otolaryngology office as opposed to an in-hospital has advantages including saving on cost and time but adverse events may ocuur which need to be dealt with. Dr. Farhad Sigari offers his suggestions as he feels these events may rise he talks of evaluating the risk level, taking precautions and ways of dealing with these events by ensuring emergency equipments are available.

The article focuses on the study of state-level patterns in buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorders. Topics discussed include effect of payment mechanisms on care quality; the views of Brendan Saloner, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, on quality-of-care; the views of Stuart Gitlow, executive director of Annenberg Physician Training Program in Addictive Disease, on medication compliance.

The article discusses a study led by Amanda R. Mathew of Northwestern University to better understand co-occurring conditions of depression and smoking. The study investigates clinical issues and motivational mechanisms underlying smoking in adult smokers with elevated symptoms of depression. Review of literature indicates link between smoking and depression which can provide a framework to address lower smoking cessation rate in the group compared to the general population.

The article discusses a pilot program funded by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that will offer treatment with Vivitrol and counseling to inmates being released from prison. Topics cited include Vermont's hub-and-spoke system where evaluations and buprenorphine inductions are conducted and also houses the opioid treatment programs (OTPs) where methadone is dispensed. It cites claims that Vivitrol reduces craving for opioids.

The article discusses the pilot program of New Jersey's Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services aimed at providing education, training and distribution of naloxone rescue kits. Topics mentioned include the price negotiations for the kit that JSAS Healthcare executive director Edward J. Higgins had to deal with, the 1 million-dollar funding from the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (GCADA), and support for naloxone accessibility, as well as related rescues to treatment. INSET: Insurance fraud in Utah: Out-of-network and other problems....

Observing that classic psychedelics, such as LSD, have been around for a long time and there is significant scientific evidence about their effects, researchers sought to evaluate the prevalence of novel psychedelic use and its associated psychosocial characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Case name: Letter re: Educational Testing Service, No. 02‐15‐2328 (OCR 12/04/15). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on a new alternative payment model (APM) called Patient-Centered Opioid Addiction Treatment (P-COAT) proposed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the American Medical Association (AMA) for the treatment of opioid use disorders (OUDs). Topics include the use of evaluation and management (E/M) codes among physicians, opioid treatment programs (OTPs), and comments from Shawn Ryan of ASAM.

The article offers information on the study "Social Support Moderates Effects of Natural Disaster Exposure on Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: Effects for Displaced and Nondisplaced Residents" in the "Journal of Traumatic Stress." It mentions that participants were given self-report questionnaires to assess their experiences after hurricane Katrina. It shows that displaced people experienced more post-hurricane stressors.

The article reports that the health partnership is to offer an alternative depression treatment for the Americans .

The article discusses the need for opioid treatment in Putnam County, New York as of October 2015. Topics covered include the story about former athletes from the area who had become addicted to heroin through prescription painkillers for sports injuries and the 30-day stay involved in the Phase 1 of treatment at Saint Christopher's Inn.