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Latest - Apr 23, 2024
Take A.C.T.I.O.N. Naloxone Training Travels to Community High School for First All-Teen Training
On Wednesday, April 10th, Dr. Gina Dahlem, Clinical Associate Professor at University of Michigan School of Nursing, brought the Take A.C.T.I.O.N. Naloxone In-Person Training to Community High School, where a group of students grades 9-12 gathered together to learn about the importance of carrying naloxone. Students discussed a variety of topics, including how the drug […]May 24, 2019
Opioids: Policy to Practice Summit 2019
On Friday May 10, 2019, the Opioids: Policy to Practice summit was held in Ypsilanti, MI. The event, co-sponsored by the University of Michigan and Harvard University, brought together hundreds of in-person and online attendees to learn about best practices and solutions regarding opioid prescribing and prescription drug monitoring, drug overdose detection, and access to […]May 11, 2019
Thousands of Unused Medications Returned Throughout Michigan for Medication Take Back Event
On Saturday, April 27 2019, Michigan residents in 34 counties brought opioids and other unused and expired prescription medications out to this spring’s Medication Take Back Event. The 54 simultaneous statewide events helped hundreds of families to properly dispose of a total of 3000 pounds of medication, including approximately 46,200 opioids. The event raises needed […]Feb 1, 2019
New Opioid Prescribing Recommendations for 2019
Michigan OPEN’s Opioid Prescribing Recommendations for 2019 are now available. Visit our Prescribing Recommendations page to download as a PDF. What’s new for 2019? Recommendations for ten additional procedures, totaling 25 procedures overall Updated numbers for several previous recommendations Important to note are the revisions to previous recommendations. Michigan OPEN constantly aims to improve upon […]Jan 18, 2019
Michigan OPEN Awarded the 2018 Eagle Award for Visionary Leadership
Michigan OPEN was among the 2018 honorees at the Greater Detroit Area Health Council’s annual Salute to Healthcare on November 8. The ceremony recognizes individuals and organizations who are working to improve the health and well-being of the southeast Michigan community. The Michigan OPEN team was awarded the 2018 Eagle Award for Visionary Leadership. The […]Nov 21, 2018
Patients Use Only a Fraction of Opioids Given After Surgery — But Prescription Size Affects Use
Many surgeons write prescriptions for opioid pain medications four times larger than what their patients will actually use after common operations, a new study shows. And the size of that prescription may be the most important factor in how many opioid pills the patient will take – outweighing their pain scores, the intensity of their […]Nov 9, 2018
Hundreds of Families Bring Back Unused Medications for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
On Saturday, October 27, Michigan residents in 32 counties had a chance to get opioids and other unused and expired prescription medicines out of their medicine cabinets through 60 simultaneous events held around the state. The collective effort resulted in hundreds of families safely removing over 3,000 pounds of medication, including approximately 40,000 opioids, from […]Aug 7, 2018
Those who fill an opioid prescription for wisdom tooth removal are nearly three times as likely to keep using
A new study recently published in JAMA by Michigan OPEN researchers finds a link between filling an opioid prescription after wisdom tooth extraction and long-term opioid use Young people ages 13 to 30 who filled an opioid prescription immediately before or after they had their wisdom teeth out were nearly three times as likely as […]Jul 30, 2018
Older Adult’s Experiences with Opioid Prescriptions: National Poll on Healthy Aging
Did you know that millions of adults in the United States live with daily pain? Injuries, surgeries, and procedures are common among older adults, and can result in acute and chronic pain. In March 2018, Michigan OPEN teamed up with the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging to ask a national sample of […]Jul 26, 2018
Reducing Opioid Prescriptions for One Operation Can Also Spill Over to Other Procedures
Dr. Michael Englesbe, co-director of Michigan OPEN and a transplant surgeon at the University of Michigan, has recently taken major strides in curbing the negative outcomes of the opioid epidemic. Describing the role of physicians in mitigating these consequences, he stated that, “Every surgeon, no matter what specialty or procedure they do, dentists included, needs […]Jun 20, 2018
Michigan OPEN Research Featured in NY Times
“We believe patient-reported outcomes are a better way to guide than expert consensus” -Michigan OPEN Co-Director Chad Brummett, MD. In the midst of the Opioid Epidemic, much fueled by the over prescribing of painkillers after surgery, surgeons and researchers are searching for evidence-based guidelines regarding optimal prescription sizes after surgery. Michigan OPEN, with collaborators MSQC […]Apr 28, 2018
Statewide Drug Takeback Event Brings in Over One Ton of Unused Medications
On Saturday, April 28, Michigan residents in 17 counties had a chance to get opioids and other unused and expired prescription medicines out of their medicine cabinets through 27 simultaneous events held around the state. The collective effort resulted in hundreds of families safely removing a total of 2000+ pounds of medication, including approximately 54,000 […]Apr 20, 2018