Changing Prescribing Habits is Key to Solving Opioid Problem
The tragic problem of opioid addiction is a national challenge that requires attention from all parts of healthcare. I was inspired to read about Intermountain Health’s initiative to reduce opioid prescribing at its nearly two dozen hospitals and hundreds of clinics. The healthcare system has set an admirable goal of prescribing five million fewer pills by 2018.
Opioid medications play a critically important role in pain management for some patients. However, the medical community’s thinking about opioids has changed as we have come to appreciate the highly addictive nature of these medicines.
Studies find that the likelihood of developing an opioid dependency grows substantially the longer a patient is on the medication. And over the past decade, doctors have been prescribing substantially more opioids than patients need to manage their pain, in large part due to the lack of training in safe opioid prescribing. This pattern has led to a glut of opioid pills in medicine cabinets around the country, which are often diverted inappropriately. In fact, 75% of all opioid misuse begins with people using medication obtained from a friend, family member or dealer, not from a pharmacy. These findings underscore how critical it is that we make advancements in prescriber education to ensure our nation’s doctors prescribe opioids to the right patients and in just the right amounts to avoid the risk of addiction and oversupply.
The opioid epidemic is a multi-faceted problem that certainly can’t be solved by the physician community alone. The ultimate solution must be a comprehensive approach that includes pharmacists, distributors, opioid manufacturers, industry regulators and patients (who are responsible for using the medication as prescribed and keeping opioids out of the hands of others).
At McKesson, we are working hard to do our part, collaborating closely with stakeholders across the industry. We ensure that the drug supply chain is secure, work collaboratively with the federal government to identify any suspicious activity, and we equip our customers with robust tools and education. But there is much more to be done and we look forward to partnering with others to help combat this public health challenge.
Senior Manager, Marketing and Business Development at McKesson Canada
7yYes, partnership and education/awareness is the key element. We can all play a part in the solution.
Medical doctor, entrepreneur, healthcare advisor/mentor, angel investor,children's book writer, board game designer
7yAs a UK-based doctor and prescriber I am saddened to read about the opioid issues happening in the US. I am also perplexed by it. In the UK we have known for years that opioids risk dependence and most patients needing analgesia typically have their pain titrated through a range of medicines before opioids. I find it hard to believe that US citizens are any less resilient than their UK counterparts and need extra strong doses, nor that many Brits are hobbling around with under-treated pain. So I can only presume that either there is something inadequate about the training US doctors receive around pain relief , or that the pain gurus have been in ascendancy and insist that everyone needs a bazooka-dose of analgesia for the slightest itch, or that the healthcare system has skewed incentives that make opiod prescribing the obvious choice. Certainly it doesn't feel like reckless storage of the medicine by the patient is a core driver of this problem. That is simply a symptom, the inevitable result of flooding the system with opioids. Whatever the reason it's a real tragedy.
Serial Entrepreneur
7yWhen insurers start paying for real pain management services and products we will see a change. As Doctors become educated on what works then can then refer a patient to a better process A properly trained acupuncturist can relieve more pain than the insurance version called dry needling. Dry needling is a joke and barbaric. Acupuncture Works. Good intentioned physicians give into making patients happy and writing a script thinking they are doing good by their patient when they are just making it worse. Opioids were never designed for long term use and we are seeing the consequences as a society.
Vice President of Sales at VLMS Global Healthcare | Medical Coding | RCM
7yWe have a great new way to control pain, recent FDA cleared device. Time to look outside of Rx products. www.bielcorp.com
Experienced retail and home infusion pharmacist
7yI don't believe that scaring physicians into not prescribing, and scaring Pharmacist's into not filling opiates is the answer to good patient care. I fear that the "panic" behind fixing this problem is causing the issue to be battled from the wrong end. Focusing more on taking the pills away, and not enough on why they were given to begin with.