State health department receiving $21M grant to combat drug overdoses
Money will go toward such uses as collecting more timely data on overdoses treated at emergency rooms and enhancing the state’s prescription-monitoring program.
Public Health
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Debunking medical myths all in a day’s work for IU’s Dr. Aaron Carroll
Carroll uses Twitter, a New York Times column, blog post, podcast, videos and books to publish his findings on just about any health issue he thinks needs explaining or correcting.
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Indiana Blood Center getting new name in rebranding move
The organization, based on North Meridian Street, is changing its name to Versiti Blood Center of Indiana in a move designed to boost the identity of blood operations in five Midwest states.
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Articles
Indiana gives pharmacists more power to help smokers quit
Indiana has one of the highest smoking rates in the country—nearly one in five Hoosiers smoke. Now, a new statewide policy makes it easier for smokers to get medication to help them quit. But some people want state leaders to do more.
Boom in overdose-reversing drug tied to fewer drug deaths
Prescriptions of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone are soaring, and experts say that could be a reason overdose deaths have stopped rising for the first time in nearly three decades.
IBJ Podcast: This IU pediatrician is a health care myth buster
Should you avoid red meat? No. Should you strive for 10,000 steps a day? Not unless you just want to. So says Dr. Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician and researcher at the Indiana University School of Medicine who sees it as his life’s calling to debunk what he considers health myths and weak medical research.
McConnell proposes national minimum age of 21 for tobacco
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday his bill will cover all tobacco products, including vaping devices.
Committee OKs bill that boosts age to buy cigarettes, e-liquids to 21
Senate Bill 425, authored by Sen. Randy Head, R-Logansport, would also prevent anyone under 18 from entering designated smoking areas in clubs and cigar stores.
Tobacco, opioid epidemics claimed 14,200 Hoosier lives in 2017, studies say
Two reports, sponsored by the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, say the state should not let up in fighting twin scourges that claim thousands of lives and cost billions of dollars in health care costs and lost productivity.
Hunger, food insecurity continue to vex Indiana residents
In Indiana, one million people face food insecurity, and in Indianapolis the number is approaching nearly 175,000—or more than 18 percent of the population.
New report moves Indiana out of top 10 fattest states
Of course, Indiana’s improved ranking doesn’t necessarily mean Hoosiers are slimming down, and could simply reflect that other states are getting worse.
Debate rages over Medicaid work rules as state rollout nears
An estimated 85,000 low-income Hoosiers who receive Medicaid benefits will soon need to find a job, volunteer, get job training, or go to school—or risk losing health care for a few months.
Dental care out of reach for many poor Indy residents
In Indianapolis’ 10 poorest census tracts, 60 percent of residents had not visited a dentist within 12 months, according to an IBJ analysis of CDC and Census Bureau research. But in the 10 tracts with the lowest poverty rates, just 25 percent hadn’t.
Indiana experiences record year for drug overdose deaths
Overdose deaths in Indiana rose 18 percent last year compared with 2016 and 37 percent over 2015. A vast majority of the overdoses were caused by opioids.
Health officials urge diners at downtown restaurant to get checked for hepatitis
A food worker at the restaurant tested positive for the virus and might have infected customers on Aug. 6, according to the Marion County Public Health Department.
Indianapolis-based health research group wins $33M federal grant
The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute said Tuesday morning it was chosen to receive the grant from the National Institutes for Health to fund its work in improving the health and economy of Indiana.
Health maintenance organization MDwise struggles to find way forward
The not-for-profit that helps low-income Hoosiers get health care coverage and social services lost $60 million in 2016 and cut about 80 jobs last year.
House panel approves bill to raise state smoking age from 18 to 21
Lawmakers stripped a provision from the bill that would have boosted the cigarette tax from 99 cents a pack to $2.99.
Food insecurity, hunger vex large swath of Indianapolis residents
Nearly 175,000 food-insecure people live in the city. About 47,000 of them are children, whose ability to learn and thrive can be hampered, according to panelists at a local hunger summit on Friday.
FDA’s consumer protection warnings falling under Trump
From January to July, the agency sent 265 warning letters to companies, notifying them of what it alleged to be serious violations of federal rules. That’s the lowest tally for the first seven months of any year since 2008.
State using big data to attack opioid epidemic
Indiana’s Management Performance Hub is organizing and analyzing data to help state agencies make better decisions about fighting the opioid scourge and other systemic problems.
Indiana lawmakers appear unlikely to increase cigarette tax
A proposed $1 per-pack hike in Indiana's cigarette tax appears likely to fail for a second straight year, dismaying public health advocates.