Background: There were approximately 46,000 opioid overdose deaths in 2017. It is known that opioid overdose risk is increased in patients with a diagnosis of substance use disorder, prior opioid overdose, and high suspicion of risk as assessed by clinical teams. The Risk Index for Overdose or Serious Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression (RIOSORD) is a validated […]

Background: Prior studies have found racial disparities in how patients are assessed for pain and prescribed opioids from emergency department and surgical settings. However, we do not know whether similar disparities exist among general medicine inpatients. We examined opioid prescriptions at discharge among adults admitted to the general medicine service at our medical center, with […]

Background: Prescription opioids have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years due to the rise in use and misuse which has resulted in significant morbidity and mortality. There have been several efforts by government agencies to address this such as the FDA issuing a Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for extended release/long acting (ERLAs) opioids […]

Background: The field of medicine is continuously evolving. Hospital medicine is in the forefront of transforming care delivery. To continuously improve practice, hospitalists need to participate in accredited continuing medical education (CME). Accredited CME is required for maintenance of licensure, credentialing, and other professional privileges. The Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE) is a regulatory requirement […]

Background: Background Fatalities caused by drug-overdose have increased in recent years across the US and are now the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. Drug related deaths with cointoxicants are being seen more often and the increase in prevalence of opioid overdoses with possible concomitant medication use is a public health concern […]

Case Presentation: A 45‐year‐old man with history of hepatitis C presented with a 7‐day history of worsening pain in his right arm and chest. His symptoms initially began as a sharp stabbing pain in his right bicep that within 2 days was associated with overlying warmth, swelling, and erythema. The patient was started on oral […]

Background: To curb the growing opioid epidemic, hospitalists need to re-examine inpatient opioid use and increase utilization of alternatives to opioids for pain management. Of 1.1 million nonsurgical inpatients across 286 US hospitals from July 2009 to June 2010, 51% received an opioid during hospitalization and more than half with inpatient exposure were prescribed opioids […]