Rhode Island medical journal (2013)
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New Rhode Island regulations require physicians and other licensed practitioners to make significant adjustments to comply with new requirements for prescribing narcotics for chronic pain. Responding to the opioid epidemic, the new rules are intended to improve patient safety by changing physicians' prescribing patterns. ⋯ The new regulations call upon physicians to make use of consultation services, which are also of limited availability. Although well intentioned, the new rules may contribute to treatment-access problems, and patients with chronic pain may resort to higher-risk "street" drugs when they are unable to access safe but effective medical treatment. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-10.asp].
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In response to the unprecedented rates of illicit drug use, including opioid addiction and overdose in Rhode Island, local healthcare institutions, led by the Warren Alpert Medical School (AMS) of Brown University, collaborated to present "Bridging Health Disparities to Address the Opioid Epidemic." This symposium sought to educate a wide array of healthcare providers and professionals around opioid use disorder, including the state of the opioid crisis in Rhode Island, national efforts around opioid misuse and how providers can work together to stem the opioid crisis in the state. ⋯ This symposium is one of the first steps that a consortium of healthcare institutions, including AMS, will take to address the opioid crisis in Rhode Island. Feedback from the event was elicited to identify gaps in healthcare provider knowledge and will be used to design and implement further interventions. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-04.asp].
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Loperamide (Imodium) is a non-prescription opioid receptor agonist available over-the-counter for the treatment of diarrhea. When ingested in excessive doses, loperamide can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and is reported to produce euphoria, central nervous system and respiratory depression, and cardiotoxicity. There is an emerging trend in its use among drug abusers for its euphoric effects or for self-treatment of opioid withdrawal. We report a case of ventricular dysrhythmias associated with loperamide abuse in a 28-year-old man who substituted loperamide for the opioids that he used to abuse. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-04.asp].
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While laboratories play an important and recognized role in many public health programs that require surveillance of disease spread or monitoring of environmental conditions, the role of public laboratories in assessing and advancing health equity is not well understood. Yet, public laboratories collect, provide or generate much of the data used to determine health equity status and monitor heath equity trends in multiple settings and disciplines. RI State Health Laboratories, a division of the RI Department of Health, operates programs that help measure and address health disparities. ⋯ This article will review the role of laboratory programs in advancing health equity in the state. Specific examples of laboratory contributions to health equity programs will be provided and examined. Future trends and unmet needs will also be discussed. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2016-11.asp].