Alex Watkins

New Report: Healthy North Carolina 2030 – A Path Toward Health

by Alex Watkins | Jan 29, 2020 | Content

For more than 30 years, the North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) has been the leading source of information and public policy recommendations aimed at improving population health, health care access and health care quality. The Healthy North Carolina 2030...

Updated North Carolina Statewide Overdose Surveillance Reports

by Alex Watkins | Jan 27, 2020 | Content

The Injury and Violence Prevention Branch of the Division of Public Health has recently revised the provisional data on opioid-related poisoning deaths (NC OCME), opioid overdose emergency department visits (NC DETECT) and statewide harm reduction data (NCHRC). The...

Babies Born Addicted to Opioids Cost U.S. $500M+ A Year

by Alex Watkins | Jan 24, 2020 | Content

A new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics finds that babies born addicted to opioids cost the United States health care system more than half a billion dollars a year. The rate of infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) was 6.7 per 1,000...

ASAM Submits Comments on Proposed Amendments to Federal Anti-Kickback Regulations

by Alex Watkins | Jan 22, 2020 | Content

On December 26, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) submitted comments on amendments to regulations under the Federal anti-kickback statute (AKS), which would modify and add new safe harbors under the statute, as well as make changes to encourage...

FDA Releases Enforcement Priorities for Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems

by Alex Watkins | Jan 20, 2020 | Content

On January 2, the Food and Drug Administration released its industry guidance regarding its enforcement priorities for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Notably, the guidance indicates that it will pursue action to clear the market of all flavored...