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A long-troubled U.S. Indian Health Service hospital continued to be plagued by poor medical care, untrained staff and leadership turnover, despite improvements made there by top agency officials, a government watchdog said. A report being released Monday by the watchdog documents the intractable nature of some of the federal health system’s problems, even when additional resources are poured in. In a separate report, the watchdog found problems with how Indian Health Service hospitals prescribed opioids, saying that the agency’s failure to always follow its own regulations increased the risk of drug abuse and overdoses for patients. (Frosch and Weaver, 7/22)

Government hospitals placed Native American patients at increased risk for opioid abuse and overdoses, failing to follow their own protocols for prescribing and dispensing the drugs, according to a federal audit released Monday. The report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General doesn't draw any conclusions about actual abuse or overdoses. But it said all five Indian Health Service hospitals it reviewed had patients who were given opioids in amounts that exceeded federal guidelines. (7/22)

Kaiser Health News: How The Eastern Cherokee Took Control Of Their Health Care

Light pours through large windows and glass ceilings of the Cherokee Indian Hospital onto a fireplace, a waterfall and murals. Rattlesnake Mountain, which the Cherokee elders say holds ancient healing powers, is visible from most angles. The hospital’s motto — “Ni hi tsa tse li” or “It belongs to you” — is written in Cherokee syllabary on the wall at the main entrance. “It doesn’t look like a hospital, and it doesn’t feel like a hospital,” Kristy Nations said on a recent visit to pick up medications at the pharmacy. “It actually feels good to be here.” (Ridderbusch, 7/22)