The prescription drug overdose epidemic claims nearly four dozen lives in the United States every day, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Meanwhile, states are considering a number of different policy options to combat this public health crisis.
For the AMA, the approach to addressing this issue “must include a strong emphasis on increasing access to substance abuse treatment and prevention efforts across the nation,” AMA President Robert M. Wah, MD, said in a statement. “This new data will help provide states and public health authorities with important information that can be used to reduce the crisis of prescription drug abuse, diversion, overdose and death."
According to the report, some state success has occurred as a result of policies that have led to closing illegal “pill mills” as well as opportunities to increase access to the overdose reversal drug naloxone, which can save lives.
“We recognize that this is a multipronged problem and have long-advocated for an evidence-based, public health approach to address this crisis,” Dr. Wah said. “We continue to work with national organizations such as the National Governors Association to advance such an approach.”
Just last month, the AMA participated in a White House summit on responses to the prescription drug abuse crisis, and the organization is making headway in its work with state medical associations, federal agencies and lawmakers to stop prescription drug abuse and preserve access to treatment for the patients who need it.
“Several elements of our policy are echoed in the CDC recommendations,” Dr. Wah said. He pointed to several components of the AMA’s comprehensive approach to the problem, including:
- Enhanced educational opportunities for physicians.
- Robust prevention efforts. Specifically, clinicians need improved clinical decision support tools as part of modernized, fully funded prescription drug monitoring programs so they can access their patients’ information at the point of care.
- Broader implementation of drug take-back programs.
- Increased overdose prevention measures, including access to naloxone.
The AMA also offers a number of educational activities for physicians, including a 12-module online pain management series and free archived webinars offered through the Providers’ Clinical Support System for Opioid Therapies, a group of health care organizations led by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry that received grant funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Recent AMA-hosted webinars include:
- Difficult conversations in opioid management: Limiting, reducing or stopping opioids
- Trends in state prescription drug laws
- Opioid safety with naloxone
