DEA raid on Baltimore pain clinic prompts city health department to issue alert about possible increase in overdoses

Health officials warned a network of medical providers throughout Baltimore this week of a possible increase in drug overdoses and withdrawals among local patients after a pain management clinic in North Baltimore was raided and closed by federal and local law enforcement, officials confirmed Wednesday.

The Baltimore City Health Department heard Tuesday from local law enforcement officials that they had closed a health care provider's office, and health officials immediately began notifying hospital emergency rooms, emergency service providers, treatment centers and others.

"We are on high alert for instances that can lead to an increase in overdoses in the city," said Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City's health commissioner. "We monitor for all potential spikes."

Todd Edwards, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman, confirmed that his agency partnered with Baltimore police — as well as Anne Arundel County police and the office of Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh — to raid the Westside Medical Group offices of Dr. Kofi Shaw-Taylor in the 4400 block of Falls Road about 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Read entire story.

Related Stories

Lead poisoning cases fell 19 percent in Baltimore last year, even as more children tested for exposure (Baltimore Sun)

The number of Baltimore children with lead poisoning fell 19 percent in 2017, even as more children were tested for exposure to the powerful neurotoxin.

Statewide, the number of Maryland children found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood held steady even as the number of children tested increased by 10 percent, according to a Maryland Department of the Environment report released Tuesday.

Read the entire story.

Azar Unveils Plan to Help Pregnant Patients Quit Opioids (MedPage Today)

States will get help from the federal government integrating services for pregnant and postpartum Medicaid patients with opioid use disorder under a pilot program announced Tuesday by Health and Hu

Trump declared an emergency over opioids. A new report finds it led to very little. (Vox)

To much fanfare last year, President Donald Trump ordered his administration to declare a public health emergency over the opioid epidemic. “As Americans, we cannot allow this to continue,” Trump said at the time. “It is time to liberate our communities from this scourge of drug addiction.”

When I’ve asked experts about these approaches, it’s not that any of them are bad. It’s that they fall short. For instance, Leana Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore (and soon-to-be president of Planned Parenthood), said that the Support for Patients and Communities Act “is simply tinkering around the edges.”

Read the entire story.