Many family members want the Sackler family to pay for their part in the opioid overdose epidemic. (Photo via CNN) |
The Sackler family, who owned Purdue Pharma, the maker of the synthetic opioid OxyContin, could "act today to compensate opioid overdose victims," write Regina LaBelle, J.D., and Madison Fields, J.D. in their opinion for MedPage Today. "The family could voluntarily establish a fund to compensate people harmed by Purdue's marketing of OxyContin and allow individuals to choose to release future claims. However, it appears that the family's insistence that they bear no responsibility for the overdose deaths involving OxyContin and their desire to be shielded from future civil litigation [through bankruptcy] will prevent this from happening. . . . Purdue has made the Sacklers one of the wealthiest families in the U.S., with a collective worth estimated at $11 billion."
As blood donations sink to their lowest level in 20 years, the American Red Cross has issued a blood shortage emergency. "There does not appear to be enough donated blood to meet demand among hospitals and patients in need," reports Jacqueline Howard of CNN. "Data from the national organization America's Blood Centers indicates that at least 17 community blood centers have a one-day supply or less. . . . One unit of blood, equivalent to about a pint, is typically collected during a donation, and experts estimate that a single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood."
Mobile medical units can reach more rural residents in need of addiction care. (HealthAffairs photo) |
Family medicine doctors who train in obstetrics could help fill care gaps. (UIC photo) |
Ian Cousins (Courtesy photo, Undark) |
The Environmental Protection Agency is set to "finalize an enforceable cap on PFAS in drinking water that will require thousands of utilities around the country to update their treatment methods," reports Charles Schmidt of Undark. Ian Cousins, an environmental chemist at Stockholm University and "one of the world's leading researchers on PFAS exposure, said the public might be better served by a policy that prioritizes hot spots of PFAS contamination."
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