CDC News

Pro-Painkiller Echo Chamber Shaped Policy Amid Drug Epidemic

For more than a decade, members of a little-known group called the Pain Care Forum have blanketed Washington with messages touting prescription painkillers‘ vital role in the lives of millions of Americans, creating an echo chamber that has quietly derailed …

Effects of Global Warming Making US Sick

Man-made global warming is making America sicker, and it’s only going to get worse, according to a new federal government report. The 332-page report issued Monday by the Obama administration said global warming will make the air dirtier, water more …

Nearly All Doctors Prescribe Opioids for Longer Than Recommended

Most doctors – 99 percent – are prescribing highly addictive opioid medicines for longer than the three-day period recommended, according to a national survey. Twenty-three percent prescribe at least a month’s worth of opioids. Also, according to the survey by …

Fast-Acting Opioid Painkillers to Carry Strong New U.S. Warnings

Short-acting opioid painkillers will carry strong new warnings under U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements announced on Tuesday that will bring information about addiction and abuse in line with that on long-acting pills. The FDA’s action comes a week after …

CDC Opioid Guidelines Could Aid in Workers’ Comp Claims Mitigation

Recently published U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines effectively address the epidemic of prescription opioids in the initial treatment of chronic pain. However, workers’ compensation insurers, claims managers, employers and beneficiaries may be scratching their heads about application …

Study Finds Hospitals Skirt Penalties When Patients Get Sick Due to Lax Reporting

For years now, health care reformers have been pushing hospitals to do what should be obvious: protect patients from hospital-bred infections that make them sicker than they already are. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that about 4 percent …

CDC Says Lumber Liquidators Flooring Has Higher Cancer Risk

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. flooring, tested for formaldehyde, was found to have a three times higher risk of causing cancer than previously stated, U.S. regulators said in reversing their own finding from earlier this month. A report released Feb. 10 used …

CDC Chipotle Probe Ends Without Source Being Found

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has concluded its investigation into two E. coli outbreaks that sickened dozens of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. customers and thrust the chain into a crisis that wiped out more than $10 billion …

Report Says FDA Fails in Ensuring Safety of Medical Devices

America’s system for ensuring that medical devices are safe failed at every turn when dirty endoscopes began spreading deadly superbugs, according to a Senate investigation released today. The report, from Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, blames device manufacturers, hospitals, …

Holidays Bring Big Risks of Buzzed, Drunk Driving

The holiday season is in full gear and so too are state and federal highway safety programs focused on reducing the incidence of drunken driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) holiday traffic safety campaign, Driver Sober or Get …