Living in poverty or rural areas increases the odds of suffering from chronic pain, and one-fifth of adults in the U.S. live with the condition, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A bipartisan group of senators asked the CMS to expand the Medicare Advantage value-based insurance design model to include substance abuse disorder patients, saying it could help combat the opioid epidemic.

Think illicit fentanyl made in clandestine labs is the only thing fuelling opioid overdose deaths? Think again. A new study is shedding light on the role of prescription opioids, abused by patients or diverted to the streets, in the epidemic of fatal overdoses across the country, a growing scourge that killed nearly 4,000 people in Canada last year alone.

The University of Michigan Health System has agreed to pay a $4.3-million penalty to resolve allegations that it mishandled its prescription drug inventory — a claim that arose following the opioid overdoses of two hospital employees, including a nurse who died.

The Food and Drug Administration is planning new steps to encourage the development of nonaddictive alternatives to opioid pain medications, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in an interview.

Tucson Medical Center became one of the first hospitals in Arizona to file a lawsuit against some of the largest pharmaceutical companies and distributors in the United States, claiming they negligently and fraudulently created the opioid crisis that is “devastating communities” in the state and across the country.

Drug overdoses killed about 72,000 Americans last year, a record number that reflects a rise of around 10 percent, according to new preliminary estimates from the Centers for Disease Control. The death toll is higher than the peak yearly death totals from H.I.V., car crashes or gun deaths.

Johns Hopkins Hospital is recommending its doctors give patients far fewer opioids following surgery than they have in the past, after a panel including doctors, nurses and patients looked at the prescribing habits of physicians.

Zynex is an innovative medical technology company specializing in the manufacture and sale of non-invasive medical devices for pain management, stroke rehabilitation, cardiac monitoring and neurological diagnostics. The company continues to introduce several new products to its product portfolio in its efforts to address the pain and rehabilitation markets and the current opioid epidemic.

In 2019, we formalized what had been only small group discussions and my personal sense that there was a new approach that might make a difference in America’s opioid crisis. In March, we formally launched The Sandgaard Foundation to End the Opioid Epidemic.

Sometimes when people circle up and open up, it rocks. While we often think of a jam session as a ritual for musicians, it turns out the format has much to offer corporate leaders, professionals from other industries and concerned citizens, who are all seeking to understand and make a difference in the opioid crisis gripping our communities and our nation.

As a nation, we work hard to escape suffering, pushing pain away by focusing on anything other than the pain, including addictions to social media, work, alcohol and drugs. We all have someone we care about who is suffering right now, alone and ashamed—a friend, family, a co-worker, a neighbor.