 Fewer than two weeks remain before the Oct. 31 deadline to renew a Controlled Substances Registration (CSR) in Indiana. State law now requires those renewing a CSR to certify that they have completed two hours of CME on opioid prescribing and abuse within the previous two years. If you still need to earn these CME credits, the Indiana State Medical Association’s Online app offers an array of free video courses, podcasts and webinars to help fulfill the new mandate. Learn more here, and get started today.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently published a guide with best practices around reducing or tapering the dosage of long-term opioid analgesics. When a patient takes opioids for a prolonged duration, any abrupt change in their regimen may put the patient at risk of harm and should include a thorough, deliberative case review and discussion with the patient. HHS does not recommend opioids be tapered rapidly or discontinued suddenly due to the significant risks of opioid withdrawal, unless there is a life-threatening issue confronting the individual patient.
As the opioid epidemic continues in the United States, more cases of an infection that damages the heart are also being seen. According to an analysis of the largest publicly-available inpatient database in the United States, researchers have found that intravenous drug use is a particular risk factor for infective endocarditis. Between 2002 and 2016, rates of infective endocarditis doubled, with much of the increase occurring in young, poor, white men who also tended to have higher rates of alcohol abuse, hepatitis C and HIV. Nationally, the average age of patients with infective endocarditis was 68, but among those who also had drug use disorders, the average age was 38.
 Recovery housing is an intervention that is specifically designed to address the recovering person’s need for a safe and healthy living environment while supplying the requisite recovery and peer supports. This report identifies 10 specific areas, or guiding principles, to help states and federal policy makers define and understand what comprises safe, effective and legal recovery housing. The guiding principles in this document are meant to provide an overarching framework that builds upon and extends the foundational policy and practice work that had guided the development of recovery housing to date.
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