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HHS is recommending the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) schedule synthetic kratom extracts, which are also colloquially known as a "gas station opioid," in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Rhode Island.
- District of Columbia: HHS is recommending DEA schedule synthetic kratom extracts, which are also colloquially known as a "gas station opioid." In July, DEA announced plans to temporarily classify 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a psychoactive compound derived from kratom, and other related compounds as Schedule I, which means it has no accepted medical use and high potential for abuse. In its recommendations, HHS suggested DEA use concentration- or ratio-based thresholds to determine how to schedule synthetic kratom extracts. "We listened to the public, followed the science, and developed a clear recommended threshold for temporary scheduling that targets concentrated 7-OH and MGPI [mitragynine pseudoindoxyl] without sweeping natural botanical kratom into Schedule I," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "The Trump Administration will continue taking decisive action against dangerous products that fuel addiction while making sure our policies are grounded in rigorous science." (Choi, The Hill, 10/9)
- Maryland: Johns Hopkins Medicine is partnering with OpenEvidence to advance the use of AI in medical education and clinical care. Through the partnership, the organizations will develop "human-first AI systems" that combine the best available evidence with a patient's medical history and Johns Hopkins' clinical best practices to improve care delivery. AI tools will help clinicians evaluate information more quickly, contextualize it, and make the best decisions for their patients, executives said. "On the clinical side, we're interested in exploring how we can bring evidence-based AI more directly into clinical workflows, helping clinicians access and apply the latest medical knowledge in the context of individual patient care," said Sara Murray, chief medical informatics and AI officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine. "Our goal is to work together to identify high-impact clinical use cases, develop solutions that fit naturally into how clinicians work and rigorously evaluate their impact on clinical decision-making, quality, and patient outcomes." (Landi, Fierce Healthcare, 10/13)
- Rhode Island: CVS Health has agreed to pay $315 million to settle lawsuits that alleged the company illegally filled prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances. This settlement resolves a 2019 lawsuit filed by Hillary Estright, a former CVS employee, and a subsequent 2024 complaint from the federal government. “Today’s settlement requires CVS to implement additional safeguards to ensure that prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances are dispensed only when medically appropriate," said Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate. "The remedial measures in this agreement — including proactive monitoring of opioid prescribing patterns — will provide critical protections for patients and federal healthcare programs." Notably, the settlement does not serve as an admission of guilt by CVS, and the company continues to disagree with the federal government's allegations. According to The Hill, several other major retailers, including Walgreens, Kroger, and Walmart, have agreed to opioid-related settlements in recent years. (Choi, The Hill, 10/13)
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