Advertisement

Blog Viewer

Counting Our Opioid Predicament by Numbers

By Elizabeth Tien posted 05-21-2018 12:51

  
Counting Our Opioid Predicament by Numbers
Elizabeth Tien, PharmD, BCPS and Chenshan Zhou, PharmD


The opioid epidemic began with one plant, the opium poppy. Long known throughout history for its medicinal properties, early scrolls documented its analgesic and euphoric uses.1 Isolation of its active ingredient, morphine, did not occur until 1805 by Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Sertürner, and mass production of morphine followed several decades later.1 Gaining more wide spread use as time passed, the presence of addiction arose during the time of the Civil War.2 As we continue into the twenty-first century, abuse and misuse of opioids have rapidly grown and continue to be a public health battle.

The statistics gathered from the past few years underscore the severity of the opioid epidemic. Data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) reported that deaths due to drug-related overdose in 2015 have increased more than 2.5 times from 1999.3 In 2015, 52,404 Americans died from drug overdose, and 63.1% of these deaths were related to opioid use.3 Additionally, it was reported that 11.8 million Americans misused opioid medications in 2016.As pharmacists, we can make a direct impact on this public health issue. Our training and skills make us ideal proponents in reducing opioid misuse, medication overdose, and infectious diseases related to intravenous drug use. In recognition of our skill set, pharmacists and legislators are currently working at the local and national levels to combat this epidemic.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) along with other national pharmacy organizations support the efforts of programs that address these issues, such as the recently introduced Expanded Access to Opioid Abuse Treatment Act of 2017 (H.R. 3991). This bill would further expand the Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA), which grants qualified physicians the ability to prescribe treatment for opioid dependence and abuse. DATA privileged prescribing was extended to nurse practitioners and physician assistants in 2016 under the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA). H.R. 3991 would allow trained pharmacists the same waiver established for advanced practice providers under CARA for opioid abuse treatment. ASHP believes that as medication experts, collaboration between pharmacists and other health care professionals in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs and in routine interprofessional practice is essential to successfully treating the opioid epidemic.

Pharmacist contributions in ensuring appropriate prescribing, treatment, monitoring, and education are vital across all health-system practice settings. As new practitioners, it is important to advocate and find ways to improve patient care in clinical practice and policy change at all levels. Get involved by reaching out to your local legislators. Educate them on our training, clinical abilities, and the impact we currently make on a daily basis. Illustrate how expanding our scope of practice will improve health care. Petition their support for H.R. 3991. 

Collectively, we can find strength in numbers to enhance patient outcomes in this public health epidemic.




References
  1. Brook K, Bennett J, and Desai SP. The Chemical History of Morphine: An 8000-year Journey, from Resin to de-novo Synthesis. J Anesth Hist. 2017;3(2):50-55.
  2. Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction in Opioid Treatment Programs. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2005. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 43.) Chapter 2. History of Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64157/
  3. Hedegaard H, Warner M, Miniño AM. Drug overdose deaths in the United States, 1999–2015. NCHS data brief, no 273. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm655051e1.htm
0 comments
17 views

Permalink