Apr 18, 2018
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 115 Americans die each day from an opioid overdose—almost five every hour—and the numbers are increasing, A wide range of U-M researchers are working to tackle the root causes of, and potential solutions for, this national crisis. One of these solutions, Opioid Prescribing Recommendations for Surgery, […]
Apr 9, 2018
Michigan OPEN co-directors, Jenn Waljee MD and Chad Brummett MD, alongside Chris Priest (Medicaid Director for the Department of Health and Human Services), and Tom Leyden (Director II, Value Partnerships Program at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan) were featured presenters at the National Prescription Drug and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Georgia last week. This […]
Mar 9, 2018
Jennifer Waljee, one of Michigan OPEN’s co-directors, was featured as one of four doctors who gave their insight on how to reduce opioid prescriptions in a healthline interview this March. She provided her ideas for how surgeons can reduce the amount of opioids are prescribed after surgery, by highlighting some of Michigan OPEN’s research. “I […]
Dec 12, 2017
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 […]
Dec 12, 2017
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 […]
Nov 15, 2017
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!
Nov 8, 2017
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. […]
Oct 27, 2017
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 […]
Oct 15, 2017
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 […]
Oct 6, 2017
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 […]
Jul 19, 2017
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 […]
Jun 16, 2017
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.
