The United States only represents five percent of the world’s population; however, Americans consume 80 percent of the world’s opioids.1 The U.S. is the world’s leader in the use of opioid medications to cope with physical and emotional difficulties. And the recent Walgreens and Wal-Mart multi-state opioid settlement agreement disclosures have only hammered home the point. America continues to have an opioid addiction problem. In light of all these circumstances, the recent CDC
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Opioid Epidemic | EPCS | News, Analysis, Insights
5 Executives Share Their Behavioral Health Predictions for 2023
As the start of the new year kicks off, we asked 5 healthcare executives to share their top predictions and trends for 2023. Dr. Yusuf Sherwani, Co-Founder and CEO of Quit Genius Employers will expand SUD treatment for employees: For example, Cigna more than doubled Evernorth’s Behavioral Health Network in recent months, and employers are now the ones driving demand for better behavioral health benefits for their employees. Employees with substance use disorder have become a financial
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Why We Need Deflection to Reduce Overdose Deaths (and Drug Diversion) in 2023
The United States is still reeling from a devastating opioid epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that death from drug overdoses reached just under 108,000 between 2020 and 2021. That is enough to fill over four professional baseball stadiums. This staggering number of overdose deaths is due to many factors, including the sale of counterfeit medications and illegal drugs that often contain deadly doses of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and other
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30% of First-Time Opioid Prescribed Patients Developed Dependency
What You Should Know: - Gainwell Technologies, a leading innovator in healthcare technology solutions, has partnered with top academic institutions to drive research addressing some of the nation’s biggest healthcare challenges. - Using Gainwell’s advanced research platform and de-identified Medicaid claims data from select clients, Stanford concluded that 30 percent of patients prescribed opioids for the first time developed a dependency. This is a critical finding in the search for
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Enacting Care Coordination Policy to Curb the Drug Epidemic
The U.S. has reached a grim milestone with an estimated 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2021. With a post-pandemic spotlight on mental health and substance use disorder challenges, Congress and the Biden administration are working on multiple plans to address these issues. Earlier this year, the Biden Administration sent its first national drug control strategy to Congress, which focused on two pillars, one of which centered on addressing untreated addiction.
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Bicycle Health Secures $50M for Virtual Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
What You Should Know: Bicycle Health, a Boston, MA-based provider of virtual opioid addiction treatment raises $50M in Series B funding led by InterAlpen Partners, bringing the company’s total funds raised to $83 million. Other participants in the round include existing investors Questa Capital, Frist Cressey Ventures, and City Light Capital. Evidence-based, online suboxone treatment for opioid addiction Founded in 2017, Bicycle Health provides confidential, convenient and
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Outdated Pain Models & The Rise of New Science on Chronic Pain
More than 50 million adults in the United States – more than 20% – suffer from chronic pain, and more than 19.6 million adults have pain that interferes with their lives more days than not. The estimated cost of chronic pain is $635 billion – more than heart disease and cancer combined – due to the number of days missed from work, treatment costs, and other factors. Chronic pain is the leading cause of disability, but the current pain treatment system isn’t working. This is because it hasn’t
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Infrastructure Funding Will Improve Broadband Access for Telehealth & Combat Opioid Epidemic
The recently passed federal funding for infrastructure improvements signals a boon for healthcare providers and will expand access to care via telehealth. Once an ancillary functionality, telehealth is now a critical component for delivering patient care and the bill’s funding will expand the reach of high-speed internet, improving access for patients at a time when more rely on internet connectivity for their healthcare than ever before. However, as a board-certified physician in
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Learning from Financial Fraud Detection to Tackle Opioid Abuse Amid COVID-19
Despite falling from its prominent place in the headlines, America’s opioid crisis is still raging. Anxiety, stress, depression, and isolation caused by the pandemic have contributed to substance use disorders. At the same time, the Drug Enforcement Administration has loosened prescribing restrictions, including waiving the requirement for in-person visits and allowing clinicians to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine alone. Given these conditions, it is not surprising that over
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Bicycle Health Raises $27M for Virtual, Evidence-Based Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
What You Should Know: - Bicycle Health, a Boston, MA-based virtual care provider of evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder, today announced a $27 Million Series A investment led by Questa Capital with participation from City Light Capital, Emily Melton and previous investor SignalFire. - In addition, Bicycle Health is announcing national in-network insurance coverage from UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Medicare and Medicaid in select states, helping to make
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