Insights
Elizabeth Hein Presents on AHLA Webinar Exploring Practical Pointers for Hospitals Handling the Opioid Crisis on Sept. 8
Elizabeth M. Hein, a member of the Firm's Health Care and Regulated Cannabis Practice Groups, served as a member of the faculty on the September 8, 2017 webinar, "Practical Pointers for Hospitals Handling the Opioid Crisis." The webinar was hosted by the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Public Health Law Program and the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA).
Prescription drug overdoses in the United States have quadrupled since 1999. The CDC reports that nearly half of all opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. this year have involved prescription opioids. As health care workers, hospitals and other facilities, and practitioners across the health system grapple with this issue, it is critically important to consider the legal issues at play, and regulatory and policy approaches being implemented to reduce the number of deaths related to opioid overdose.
The webinar provided an overview of the public health issues surrounding the current "opioid crisis," and highlighted current CDC initiatives. The webinar's faculty also provided an overview of the legal issues at play, offered information on ways for hospital to address physicians who are overprescribing, addressed how drug-seeking patients can impact a hospital's patient satisfaction/quality scores, and explored practical pointers about how hospitals can partner with law enforcement to combat these problems.