-
Nov 6, 2024 | 
medium.com | Lauren Grawert
The answer might surprise you. Lauren Grawert, MD·FollowPublished inBlack Bear·4 min read·--Photo by Nicola Louise on UnsplashWhich medication in modern medicine saves the most lives? How do we even measure pharmaceutical life-saving ability? And why should you, as a patient or healthcare provider, care? We are lucky to live in an age with a growing number of both life-enhancing and life-saving medications. The weight loss GLP-1 drugs are just the newest addition to this growing list.
-
Oct 21, 2024 | 
medium.com | Lauren Grawert
We might have won the battle. But we have not yet won the war on this one. Lauren Grawert, MD·FollowPublished inBlack Bear·4 min read·--This is me-making the rounds on Capital Hill last week to advocate for continued telemedicine for addiction treatment.
-
Sep 27, 2024 | 
medium.com | Lauren Grawert
What can we do to prevent this? Lauren Grawert, MD·FollowPublished inBlack Bear·6 min read·--Photo by Joshua Sukoff on UnsplashIn May, the CDC released an showing that 2023 saw overdose deaths decrease for the first time in 5 years. This is no coincidence. In 2023, 63% of appointments for behavioral health were completed via telehealth (the highest percentage of any specialty), allowing millions of Americans to access addiction and psychiatric care for the first time.
-
Sep 21, 2024 | 
medium.com | Lauren Grawert
Nicotine pouches are the most recent addition to the nicotine industry, and they are soaring in popularity. These are non-tobacco containing nicotine (NTN) products designed as white, gum sized nicotine “pouches.” Each pouch contains various amounts of nicotine salt. The pouches are placed between the gums and teeth for 15–50 minutes at a time. Like nicotine lozenges or nicotine gum, the nicotine is absorbed directly into the body via oral saliva.
-
Aug 22, 2024 | 
medium.com | Lauren Grawert
Reading is one of my favorite ways to learn new information about the world. The field of mental health and addiction treatment is changing so quickly that it’s easy to get left behind. Below is my list of the very best books on mental health and/or addiction that I’ve read this summer:8. How to Eat to Change How You Drink by Brooke SchellerBrooke Scheller is a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition.
-
Aug 19, 2024 | 
opmed.doximity.com | Lauren Grawert |Nishant Pandya |Melissa Schiffman
When the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, it expanded access to health insurance and preventative health care services for millions of Americans. Two of the most popular and most utilized aspects of the bill include extension of health care coverage to age 26 for dependents and complete coverage of 22 key preventative health care services without any copayment or deductible.
-
Aug 14, 2024 | 
medium.com | Lauren Grawert |Mehmet Yildiz
Yesterday, my son’s summer camp counselor pulled me aside. She whispered, “We found poopy underwear in the middle of the bathroom floor today. None of the kids will fess up to it.”My young son insisted, “That was NOT me! I’m not a baby!” But a quick pants check revealed….no undies. He immediately began to cry. “I thought you’d be mad at me,” he sobbed. “And I was really mad at myself.”We all have those I’m really mad at myself (and the world) days. Healthcare is tough. Super tough.
-
Aug 14, 2024 | 
medium.com | Lauren Grawert |Mehmet Yildiz
There is a lot of well-deserved excitement around the arrival of the GLP-1 drugs. These newest players on the block have the potential to treat both obesity and addiction. The GLP-1s, which is short for “glucagon-like peptide-1,” are composed of a new class of medications that lower food cravings and possibly addiction cravings by mimicking the pancreatic hormone known as glucagon, which regulates satiety and reward.
-
Jul 31, 2024 | 
medium.com | Lauren Grawert
Over the last decade, the actual cost to produce most generic medications dropped substantially. Despite production cost reductions, retail sticker prices and patient co-pays continue to rise dramatically. Huh? Riddle me that. Why is this happening? And what is the solution? To understand how decreasing production costs result in increasing retail prices-a phenomenon that seems to defy basic economic principals-it's important to understand the role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs).
-
Jul 8, 2024 | 
medium.com | Lauren Grawert
This might save someone else's life. Or yours. Suicide is an uncomfortable topic. But sometimes, the most painful subjects are the ones we need to talk about the most. We are long overdue for an informative and compassionate dialogue on what is now the second leading cause of death in America for teens and young adults. Last week, the recovery community was jolted by the sudden suicides of two prominent senior executives in the addiction treatment space.
