April 30, 2015:
The number of newborns suffering from drug withdrawal doubled nationwide in a four-year period, with Tennessee among states with the most cases, according to a new study.
Published in the national Journal of Perinatology, the findings also include a new estimate of health care costs of such births, pegged at $1.5 billion annually, with 80 percent of the infants enrolled in state Medicaid programs.
It’s the second time in a month that experts at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt have contributed to the national dialogue on opioid drug abuse.
The Department's Stephen Patrick is quoted.