http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/finance/saving-lives-and-saving-money
As a crackdown on prescription drugs drove the cost of pills like oxycodone higher, the cartels began banking on users opting for heroin instead. It was cheaper, more readily available and relatively easy to procure. Now, fentanyl, which can be made in a laboratory without the hassle of growing poppy, is a more lucrative — and deadly — iteration.
The addiction treatment industry is at a crossroads. A major spike in opioid addiction has pushed the industry into the eye of a storm that appears to be getting larger and more unmanageable by the day
The need to bolster primary care in the United States is critical. Among the 10 countries in this survey, the United States has the youngest population, yet it has the highest incidence of chronic disease and spends 50-150 percent more on health care per capita than the other nine countries in the survey. This survey highlights another unwanted distinction: US primary care doctors felt among the least prepared to treat people with multiple chronic conditions and reported being among the least prepared to manage conditions associated with aging outside of hospital or nursing home settings.
HENRY KOTULA 