Category: Uncategorized

After a lengthy legal battle, the Washington Post has finally been granted access to the DEA Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS). This database has tracked the movement of every single oxycodone and hydrocodone pill in the nation, from manufacturer to pharmacy. Our very own Norton City, distributed 8,263,510 prescription pills from 2006-2012.… Continue reading Drilling into the DEA’s pain pill database

Testimony from a Lebanon woman battling opioid addiction from the young age of 13. Now 25 ½ months into recovery, she is on track to become a peer recovery support specialist. Even though the process is extremely difficult, she wants others to know that “there is hope and there is another side of addiction.” To… Continue reading Flooded with opioids, Appalachia is still trying to recover

SAVE THE DATE! The SWVA Graduate Medical Education Consortium's 20th Annual Head for the Hills CME Conference at Breaks Interstate Park is on October 17th-19th. About 75 regional primary care providers attend, in addition to residents and nurse practitioners. To look at the updated schedule and our panel of speakers, click Head for the Hills… Continue reading Updated Schedule: Head for the Hills 2019

A 2016 Study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that "only 5% of cancer patients accurately understood their prognoses well enough to make informed decisions about their care." Take a look at how an internist received the delivery of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, and why his reflections have led him to advocate for… Continue reading Kaiser Health News: Never Say ‘Die’: Why So Many Doctors Won’t Break Bad News

"The vast majority of patients are not from the culture of biomedicine… Routine clinical encounters are often the times when they are being asked to make major lifestyle changes.” Namratha Kandula, MD delves into Arthur Kleinman’s ‘Patient Explanatory Model’ in this older, but relevant article for all healthcare professionals. Kleinman's 'Eight Questions' will get the… Continue reading The Health Care Blog: The Patient Explanatory Model

Head for the Hills 2019 is fast approaching, and this year's event will be held October 17-19 at the Breaks Interstate Park. To register for this event, please click HERE.

College can feel like a lonely place, especially if you're a student of color, a low-income individual, a first-generation youth -- or all three. Educator Chitra Aiyar outlines how she encourages her students to cultivate spaces for other marginalized students to connect and help each other grow. Click HERE, to view this inspiring TED Talk.

An editorial from the Roanoke Times explores the impact of student debt on rural America. This is especially relevant to the shortage of medical providers that Southwest Virginia and other rural communities face. To read the full article, click HERE.

One Care of Southwest Virginia will be hosting a prescription drug and heroin misuse forum in Big Stone Gap, VA on June 23 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. For more information and to register, please click HERE.

Researchers from the University of Virginia conducted a statewide assessment of knowledge of Hepatitis C risk factors, and their findings have recently been published in the Journal of Community Health. Their findings show a critical knowledge gap in the general population, as only 38% of all respondents correctly identified HCV to be curable. Knowledge of… Continue reading New Research Discusses the Knowledge of Hepatitis C Risk Factors in High Incidence Regions