Advocacy 

The Social Security Administration requests public comments and supporting data related to the consideration of pain and documentation of pain in the medical evidence used in connection with claims for benefits.

Nominees will be considered to fill three year terms beginning in August 2019 and will replace positions opened through completion of current member terms.

Through some 30 new funding opportunities within the Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking research ideas for curbing opioid abuse and addiction from basic science to implementation research across all disciplines.

Review key provisions of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (“SUPPORT”) for Patients and Communities Act.

Opioid prescribing remains high and varies widely by specialty, according to a new study, “Opioid Prescribing by Specialty and Volume in the U.S.,” in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

In a report issued September 14, the CDC estimates that 20 percent of US adults (50 million) have chronic pain and 8 percent (20 million) have high-impact chronic pain.

The FDA has released a statement addressing efforts against drug shortages.

FDA commissioner, Dr. Gottlieb, issued a statement on how new regulatory authorities will assist the agency in more forcefully addressing opioid crisis; included as part of the newly enacted Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act.

The CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control has developed and released Quality Improvement and Care Coordination: Implementing the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.

Beginning October 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Injury Center is providing funds through the Research Grants for the Primary or Secondary Prevention of Opioid Overdose.

The FDA has awarded a contract to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to help advance the development of evidence-based guidelines for appropriate opioid analgesic prescribing for acute pain resulting from specific conditions or procedures.

The FDA recently announced it plans to withdraw a 2014 guidance document for developing pain medicines in favor of a more focused approach to promote nonopioid drugs.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its final Opioid Analgesic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS).

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control has developed and released the Quality Improvement and Care Coordination: Implementing the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.

According to Robert Saner of the Pain Care Coalition (PCC), the House and Senate leaderships are trying to push an opioids package through before, and not after, the upcoming House recess for the mid-term elections.

NIH Director Francis Collins provides an update on the HEAL initiative.

U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Bill Nelson introduced legislation this week to allow doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to prescribe medical marijuana to veterans in the 31 states that have established medical marijuana programs.

The Wall Street Journal reported on August 16 that President Trump asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to file a major lawsuit against some drug companies.

Read a summary of the key findings from the HHS report on opioid use in Medicare.

The Trump Administration has proposed that U.S. drugmakers cut production quotas of the six most abused opioids by 10 percent next year.