AMWA participates in the White House’s Opioid Working Group

Dr. Diane Helentjaris provided an update of the last meeting of the White House Opioid Working Group. Opioid addiction continues to challenge the health of Americans across the country and across all segments of the population. On December 7, AMWA participated in the last meeting of the Obama White House’s Opioid Working Group, represented by past AMWA President Diane Helentjaris, MD, MPH. Looking ahead, it is likely that federal funding will be distributed to individual states to fight the epidemic of opioid addiction. With some areas of the country reporting as many as 1 of 6 adults addicted and up to 15% of live births suffering from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, among other opioid-related problems, there is much work still to do. Physicians wishing to investigate the option of providing treatment of patients addicted to opioids can find additional information at samhsa.gov.