Healthcare Policy Issue Description-Opioid Crisis
The opioid crisis in the U.S. is one of the devastating public health issues that has hit the country in the recent past. The highlight of the opioid crisis was in 2019 when close to 50,000 mortalities attributable to opioid overdose were recorded in the country (NIDA, 2022). Also notable in this epidemic was the misuse and subsequent addiction of opioids such as synthetic fentanyl, prescription opioid analgesics, and heroin. The CDC report placed the economic burden of opioid misuse, encompassing addiction treatment, loss of productivity, healthcare costs, and costs on criminal justice to be over 78 billion dollars (NIDA, 2022). These statistics point to a worrying trajectory and beg the question: “how did we arrive at this?”
The genesis of the opioid crisis was when manufacturers of prescription opioid analgesics assured the public of the little likelihood of these medications causing addiction. The consequence was widespread use of these medications accustomed to increased prescribing. This led to widespread misuse until the realization of the addictive nature of these drugs. Subsequently, opioid overdose rose, and in 2017, over 47,000 lives were lost due to opioid use. Additionally, over 1.7 million Americans developed substance abuse disorders relatable to prescription opioid analgesics. Heroin abuse was also implicated in over 650,000 cases (NIDA, 2022). Current data reveals a high rate of opioid misuse among persons using prescription opioid analgesics for chronic pain. Close to 12% of these individuals develop substance abuse disorders. Additionally, up to 6% of these individuals will transition to more potent opioids such as illicit heroin.
These statistics point to a worrying trend and underpin the need to address this crisis. The economic burden of the opioid crisis, coupled with the significant morbidity and mortalities attributable to opioid overdose and addiction reinforces the need for prompt action. It also informs the importance of addressing the opioid crisis. This topic is of particular interest to me due to the vivid repercussions of opioid misuse on American communities and the need to address it. The opioid crisis continues to ravage American communities. Despite sustained efforts to address it, illicit opioids still get their way into American communities. Additionally, the incidence of illicit opioid use among younger people continues to rise. This calls for intensified efforts to curtail this epidemic.
Despite prescription opioid analgesics being the most commonly implicated form of opioid misuse and the major contributory factor to substance abuse disorder, illicit heroin also plays a major part in suffering resulting from opioids. Heroin use has resulted in functional debilitation among its users. Heroin has proliferated in American communities via well-organized narcotics trafficking enterprises that profit from the sales of this commodity. Other than the opioid-related effects that heroin has, it also presents other issues during its use. The injected heroin can sometimes present other health problems associated with the injection process. Injections increase the chances of contracting HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, skin infections like cellulitis and abscess formation at injection sites, and endocarditis (Cornford & Close, 2018). This shows how detrimental these illicit opioids can be and reinforces the need to address the problem.
In the wake of this opioid crisis, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has detailed a five-point intervention to curtail the detrimental effects of this crisis. The priority is to enhance access to treatment and recovery services for this person with substance abuse disorders relatable to opioid overdose or addiction. This will, in part, minimize mortalities resulting from these disorders. According to Compton & Jones (2019), approximately 6% of persons with low socioeconomic backgrounds misuse opioids. These individuals are also faced with challenges such as poor access to healthcare, accustomed to lack of insurance coverage, and limited funds. They are, therefore, more likely to suffer when they develop addiction or overdose on opioids. Prioritizing care access to such individuals may save their lives.
The HHS also promotes the use of opioid antidotes as a remedy to opioid overdose. This reverses the negative impacts of opioid use and enables the preservation of the lives of these individuals. The HHS also advocates for intensified surveillance to boost the understanding of causal factors for this crisis. This will enable the design and development of an elaborate strategy to remedy this situation. The HHS also supports innovative approaches to pain management and addiction and advances better pain management practices that are devoid of opioid use. These approaches will enable the minimization of opioid use by encouraging the use of other modalities that do not present public health challenges.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) has also been at the forefront of addressing this problem. The NIH advocates for non-addictive strategies for chronic pain management, innovative technologies and medication to treat opioid overdose, and improved intervention to reverse and prevent opioid overdose. The NIH has been in deliberations with pharmaceutical companies to exploit ways in which these proposals can be attained. Other government agencies, such as the CDC, have also enhanced their community education programs on the opioid crisis, intending to create awareness of the risks of prescription opioids and the need for rational use of these medications. The U. S. Department of State has also intensified its efforts to crack down on illicit opioid production in the U.S. and narcotic trafficking into the country.
The efforts towards combating the opioid crisis have been boosted considerably by legal provisions targeting the same. The Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act is legislation that combats several aspects of the opioid crisis. This regulation promotes the treatment of substance abuse disorders and advocates for preventive measures for these disorders. This act also addresses recovery efforts and law enforcement necessary to tackle this epidemic (Musumeci & Tolbert, 2022). Another legislation with similar provisions is the Opioid Crisis Review Act (OCRA).
The negative impacts of the opioid crisis necessitate a prompt plan of action to address it. Opioid misuse and subsequent overdose and addiction have been implicated in significant morbidities and mortalities. Addressing this issue will enable the preservation of many American lives. Federal agencies such as the HHS and NIH have been at the forefront in addressing this issue. Their efforts have been augmented by federal legislation such as the SUPPORT Act.
References
Compton, W., & Jones, C. (2019). Epidemiology of the U.S. opioid crisis: the importance of the vector. Annals Of The New York Academy Of Sciences, 1451(1), 130-143. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14209
Cornford, C., & Close, H. (2018). The physical health of people who inject drugs: complexities, challenges, and continuity. British Journal Of General Practice, 66(647), 286-287. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp16x685333
Musumeci, M., & Tolbert, J. (2022). Federal Legislation to Address the Opioid Crisis: Medicaid Provisions in the SUPPORT Act. KFF. Retrieved 19 June 2022, from https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/federal-legislation-to-address-the-opioid-crisis-medicaid-provisions-in-the-support-act/.
Opioid Overdose Crisis | National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2022). Retrieved 19 June 2022, from https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis.
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Question 
Assignment: Issue Description
Due Date: (June 19) by 11:59 pm ET
Directions: Identify a health policy issue that is of interest to you. — OPIOID CRISIS
Provide an explanation of the issue:
What is the issue? – Opioid Crisis
Why is it important?
Why is it of interest to you?
What has been proposed or attempted to address the problem, and by whom?
Healthcare Policy Issue Description-Opioid Crisis
Focus on the issue. (If you identify a specific bill addressing the issue, you can cite and discuss it, but don’t focus only on the bill—focus on the issue).
Your paper should be no more than 3-4 pages of text, double-spaced, and written according to APA format. (For this assignment, you do not need to include an abstract).
Include at least three sources. These do not need to be peer-reviewed journal articles, but they should come from an authoritative source. (Please do not cite Wikipedia, a personal blog, or a social media post).
This paper should serve as a starting point for your final paper.
Don’t worry if you don’t know yet about the policy process—i.e., about the workings of legislation, regulation, or court decisions. That will come later. For now, focus on the issue.