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Research Brief

Understanding America's Surge in Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids

Oct 7, 2019

Although overdose deaths from heroin and prescription opioids have declined, deaths involving synthetic opioids are on the rise. Much of the current wave of overdoses is linked to one synthetic opioid: fentanyl.
Commentary

Policies That Punish Pregnant Women for Substance Use Don't Help Mother or Baby

Jan 28, 2020

About half of all U.S. states now have policies that criminalize substance use during pregnancy, consider it grounds for civil commitment, or consider it child abuse or neglect. But research suggests that punitive policies aren't beneficial for infants or their mothers.

Explore Opioids

Commentary

Want to Know If a New Drug Crisis Is Growing? Check the Wastewater

Few people foresaw how quickly fentanyl would displace heroin, doubling or tripling opioid overdose deaths in some pockets of the United States from 2013 to 2017. But we could have been warned—if only we'd checked our wastewater.

Mar 26, 2020
Journal Article

Association Between Opioid Prescribing in Medicare and Pharmaceutical Company Gifts by Physician Specialty

The value of opioid-related gifts given to physicians varies substantially by provider specialty, as does the relationship between payment amounts and prescriber behavior in the following year.

Mar 13, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Initial Opioid Prescriptions Among U.S. Commercially Insured Patients, 2012–2017

Our study provides a snapshot of trends in the rate at which opioid therapy was initiated among commercially insured patients during a period of heightened attention to the dangers of opioids and the prominent release of prescribing guidelines by the CDC.

Mar 5, 2020
Journal Article

Heterogeneity in Prescription Opioid Pain Reliever Misuse Across Age Groups: 2015–2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Results demonstrating heterogeneity in prescription opioid misuse characteristics across age groups highlight the need for a diverse range of clinical and policy responses.

Mar 5, 2020
Blog

Russian Subversion, Truth Decay, Supervised Drug Consumption Sites: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on responding to Russian subversion, how the media can help fight Truth Decay, the first supervised drug consumption site in the United States, artificial intelligence, and more.

Feb 28, 2020
Journal Article

Legal Requirements and Recommendations to Prescribe Naloxone

We conducted a systematic legal review of state laws that mandate or recommend that healthcare providers prescribe naloxone to patients with indicators for opioid overdose risk.

Feb 21, 2020
Blog

Infectious Diseases, Zimbabwe, Students with Disabilities: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the U.S. response to infectious diseases, Zimbabwe after Mugabe, the support for students with disabilities, and more.

Feb 14, 2020
Brochure

Effecting Change, Improving Health

The RAND Corporation is dedicated to transforming the wellbeing of all people by improving health care systems in the United States and abroad.

Feb 7, 2020
Journal Article

We Need a Taxonomy of State-Level Opioid Policies

Developing and using a state-level opioid policy can facilitate the design and implementation of more effective state-level policies-an essential tool in addressing the opioid crisis.

Feb 7, 2020
Journal Article

Five-Year Outcomes Among Medicaid-Enrolled Children With In Utero Opioid Exposure

Children with in utero opioid exposure had a predicted probability of being diagnosed with a pediatric complex chronic condition similar to that among children with tobacco exposure and those with neither exposure (20.4%,18.7%, and 20.2%, respectively). Our findings were consistent when we examined a subgroup of opioid-exposed children identified as having neonatal opioid withdrawal symptoms.

Feb 6, 2020
Blog

State of the Union 2020: Insights from RAND

The final State of the Union address of President Trump's four-year term may be viewed through the lens of the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the evening. But the speech touched on a range of policy challenges that will remain, regardless of how politics play out in 2020.

Feb 5, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

The Impact of Morphine Equivalent Daily Dose Threshold Guidelines on Prescribed Dose in a Workers' Compensation Population

Passage of morphine equivalent daily dose guidelines was associated with significant decreases in high dose opioid prescribing among workers' compensation claimants with chronic non-cancer related pain.

Jan 31, 2020
Blog

Australia's Fires, Artificial Intelligence, Fentanyl: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Australia's devastating fires, how artificial intelligence could manipulate the masses, the fentanyl crisis, and more.

Jan 24, 2020
Testimony

Testimony

Addressing the U.S. Opioid Crisis: Using an Integrated Systems-Based Approach: Addendum

Document submitted January 21, 2020, as an addendum to testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Opioids on December 17, 2019.

Jan 20, 2020
Blog

U.S.-Turkish Relations, Airports, Opioids: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the future of the U.S.-Turkish partnership, helping America's commercial airports meet rising demand, the opioid crisis, and more.

Jan 17, 2020
Essay

Fentanyl: The Most Dangerous Illegal Drug in America

America's fentanyl crisis is unlike previous drug epidemics and is likely to get worse. Deaths involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have surged from around 3,000 in 2013 to more than 30,000 in 2018. Solving the problem requires innovative approaches and unprecedented resources.

Jan 13, 2020
Journal Article

Growth and Distribution of Buprenorphine-Waivered Providers in the United States, 2007–2017

This study sheds light on the distribution of buprenorphine-waivered prescribers over the past decade. Growth has been rapid in communities affected by the opioid crisis, but slower in rural communities, and those with lower levels of education.

Jan 8, 2020
Periodical

Periodical

RAND Review: January-February 2020

Feature stories spotlight research on America's fentanyl crisis and new approaches to clinical guideline development. The Commentary column features terrorism expert Colin Clarke on the threat of white supremacists in the United States.

Jan 6, 2020
Blog

Preventing the Winter Blues, North Korea, Opioids: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how to ward off the winter blues, Kim Jong Un's latest threat, how to spend opioid settlement funds, and more.

Jan 3, 2020

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