News

Prescription Opioid Use a Concern for Adolescent Surgery Patients

Nearly 5 percent of patients ages 13 to 21 who had common surgical procedures continued to receive opioid prescription refills three to six months after surgery, according to new data presented by Michigan OPEN research fellow Calista Harbaugh at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition and published in Pediatrics. This is the […]

Cutting Postoperative Opioid Prescriptions Dramatically, With No Increase in Pain

A new study, published in JAMA Surgery, reveals an interesting breakthrough from the Michigan OPEN team at the University of Michigan, in efforts to stop the national crisis of opioid addiction. The study found that reducing opioid prescribing by nearly sixty-six percent did not affect the patient’s level of postoperative pain control, which would mean […]

Dr. Brummett Awarded the 2017 James E. Cottrell Presidential Scholar Award

Michigan OPEN Co-Director, Dr. Chad Brummett, was presented with the 2017 James E. Cottrell Presidential Scholar Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists on October 23rd. The award was in recognition of his outstanding career as a leading academic physician anesthesiologist, whose research in pain medicine has significantly contributed to the field of anesthesiology. Congratulations, Dr. Brummett!

For 1 in 10 Cancer Patients, Surgery Means Opioid Dependence

More than 10 percent of people who had never taken opioids prior to curative-intent surgery for cancer continued to take the drugs three to six months later, according to a new Michigan OPEN study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The risk is even greater for those who are treated with chemotherapy after surgery. […]

Statewide Drug Take Back Event Nets 900 Pounds of Opioids & More

Michiganders from eight communities had a chance to drop unneeded medications off for free on September 30, as part of the largest drug take-back event ever spearheaded by the Michigan-OPEN initiative based at IHPI. The event, which included partners from healthcare and law enforcement in Ann Arbor, Commerce, Escanaba, Jackson, Livonia, Pontiac, Saginaw, and Traverse […]

Dr. Brummett Speaks at U-M Wolverine Caucus

It was a standing-room-only crowd on September 26 when a trio of University of Michigan (U-M) researchers who study the nation’s opioid crisis from many angles spoke in Lansing at a Wolverine Caucus event organized by U-M’s Lansing Service Center. The audience of health providers, policymakers and health plan leaders in the room came to hear […]

Michigan OPEN in collaboration with MSQC develops opioid prescribing recommendations

The Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (Michigan-OPEN) teamed up with the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative (MSQC) to develop a new evidence-based guide to assist providers in prescribing opioids after surgery. The guide, now available online for free, gives postoperative prescribing recommendations for 11 common procedures including: hysterectomies, laparoscopic appendectomies, and more. But, the groups are […]

Michigan OPEN sponsors “Navigating the New and Improved MAPS”

On July 18, Michigan OPEN was pleased to host Dr. Rebecca Haffajee, Assistant Professor of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Kim Gaedeke, Director of the Bureau of Professional Licensing at the Michigan Department of Licensing Affairs, for a discussion on Michigan’s new prescription drug monitoring program, the Michigan Automated […]

Dr. Waljee featured at PULSE: On the Front Lines of Health Care

Watch Dr. Jennifer Waljee, Co-director of Michigan OPEN, and Dr. Richard Barth, Chief of General Surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, discuss prevention efforts to curb the opioid epidemic.

Four hours. Six locations. 15,000 opioids out of circulation.

Six locations across the State of Michigan participated in drug take-back events on May 20, 2017. The free, no questions asked chance to get rid of opioids and other unneeded medicines out of the house took place in Ann Arbor, Jackson, Saginaw, Traverse City, Escanaba, and Pontiac. The results of the combined events were significant, […]

Surgery Plays a Key Role in Long-Term Opioid Use

A new study from Michigan OPEN researchers suggests that having surgery may come with an additional risk: the risk of becoming a long-term opioid user. The team reviewed data from more than 36,000 nonelderly adults with private insurance who had only one operation in a two-year period from 2013 to 2014. None had an opioid […]

Michigan OPEN receives funding as part of State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grant

In an effort to help reduce opioid use and abuse, Michigan recently received more than $16 million in federal funds. This is one step of many being taken to help more families find support and treatment for addiction. The funding itself was awarded to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services through the State […]