The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Dear John,
Two articles in the November issue discuss opioids.
Opioid Prescription Guidelines & NOWS
In their Health Affairs paper, Tarlise Townsend and coauthors investigated the implications of the CDC’s Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. Overall, they found that the guideline was
associated with substantial reductions in dispensing opioids, including a reduction in patients’ rate of receiving at least one opioid prescription.
Sarah Loch and coauthors examined the association of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) with infant entry into foster care. They found that "an increase of one NOWS diagnosis per ten births in a county was associated with a 41 percent higher rate…of infant foster care entry" and that rural counties have higher rates of foster care entry than urban counties.
"This study provides further evidence that the opioid crisis is taking a toll on maternal and child well-being beyond clinical settings," they concluded.
Today on Health Affairs Blog, Alexander Pomerantz and coauthors propose a comprehensive care payment program that would support collaboration between nursing homes and hospitals.
Soeren Mattke discusses the anatomy and limitations of cost-effectiveness analysis and argues that the nature of this particular approach to health technology assessment has the potential to distort innovation.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) Director Daniel Tsai discuss their proactive policy agenda for CMCS, which focuses on three key areas: Coverage and Access, Equity, and Innovation and Whole-Person Care.
In a new GrantWatch post, Sophie Wheelock and coauthors write about the New York State Health Foundation's discussion with staff at New York City's health department about applying COVID-19 vaccination lessons to 2021–22 seasonal flu vaccinations.
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Sabrina Poon On The Controversial Two-Midnight Rule &Its Effects On Hospital Admissions
Listen to Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interview Sabrina Poon from Vanderbilt University Medical Center on the effects of the controversial Two-Midnight rule and whether it attained its objective.
Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewedjournalat the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.
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