By Linda Fischer I’ve been a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) for 23 years, most of that time as CIO of Huntington Hospital in Huntington, New York. When I was invited to join CHIME’s Opioid Task Force, I knew I had to accept, believing strongly that CHIME is uniquely positioned […]
Education
CHIME Kicks Off Opioid Task Force with Inaugural Meeting in D.C.
ANN ARBOR, MI, Jan. 31, 2018 – It started as a wish made last October as three longtime friends sat around a firepit after a commemoration for the late Timothy Kopetsky. Only 31, Tim had fought addiction to opioids for 10 years, and was in successful recovery for the last five years. In helping a friend […]
DrFirst Response to The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis Report
DrFirst wholeheartedly supports efforts to combat the national opioid crisis. While the focus on increasing awareness of this deadly epidemic is valuable, we must consider and address the underlying issues that have driven the situation to crisis proportions. Without that, we run the risk, as we are starting to see now, of prescribers and the […]
Addressing and Ending the Opioid Epidemic: Better Treatment and New Technology Aiding Prevention
In recent years, as everyone is aware, opioid addiction rates and related deaths have skyrocketed. One analysis from Blue Cross Blue Shield found that the number of people addicted to legal prescription opioids and illicit drugs climbed 493% between 2010 and 2016. Also, the CDC reports that the number of overdoses involving opioids has quadrupled […]
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – but not for everyone
“There’ll be much mistletoeing And hearts will be glowing When love ones are near It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” If you love the holiday season, you likely share Andy Williams’s enthusiasm for the wealth of celebrations and fun activities this time of year. But, as any fan of holiday movies know, […]
The Opioid Crisis in America’s Workforce
An April 2017 study by Castlight Health, Inc. provides insights into the impact that the ongoing opioid crisis is having on the American economy.
How a brain gets hooked on opioids
Pain and pleasure rank among nature’s strongest motivators, but when mixed, the two can become irresistible. This is how opioids brew a potent and deadly addiction in the brain.
The opioid epidemic: A new National Academies interactive guide
A new interactive guide from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine outlines trends in the intertwined prescription and illicit opioid epidemics, links to additional resources, and provides the report’s recommendations for action by federal and state agencies, research sponsors, health professional organizations, and more.
The importance of FHIR in closing medication data visibility gaps
If you have ever baked a cake from scratch, you can appreciate the value of a well-documented recipe. Consider how your cake might turn out if your recipe is incomplete and missing key details such as the number of eggs or the amount of sugar. While mixing your ingredients, you might have to stop and […]
As Overdose Deaths Pile Up, a Medical Examiner Quits the Morgue
CONCORD, N.H. — In the state morgue here, in the industrial maze of a hospital basement, Dr. Thomas A. Andrew was slicing through the lung of a 36-year-old woman when white foam seeped out onto the autopsy table. Foam in the lungs is a sign of acute intoxication caused by an opioid. So is a […]