Health quick hits: Sacklers could compensate opioid victims, but deny responsibility; blood donations sink to 20-year low

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)

A new study by the University of Colorado shows that one way to help rural areas fight addiction is to send more mobile methadone clinics to remote areas, reports Julia Milzer of CU Anschutz Medical Campus. "The research focused on the impact of adding new treatment services exclusively to rural Louisiana, where, like in many other remote parts of the country, there are limited care infrastructures and barriers to transportation. . . . The analysis revealed mobile methadone would have a distinct impact in rural communities if these locations were prioritized and recommended operators collaborate with state and local policymakers regarding where to locate them to help maximize their impact." To learn more about mobile methadone, click here.

Family medicine doctors who train in obstetrics could
help fill care gaps. (UIC photo)

A key to solving some of the rural maternal health care shortage could be obstetric training for family physicians. "In the 1980s, about 43% of general family physicians who completed their residencies trained in obstetrics," reports Sarah Jane Tribble of KFF Health News. "In 2021, the American Academy of Family Physicians' annual practice profile survey found that 15% of respondents had practiced obstetrics. . . . In July, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a nearly $11 million investment in new rural programs, including family medicine residencies focusing on obstetrical training."

 Ian Cousins
(Courtesy photo, Undark)

Removing forever chemicals from drinking water is expensive, with consumers the most likely target for paying the bill. Some experts are suggesting a different course to avoid the extreme cost.

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."