As the nation continues to grapple with its epidemic of opioid misuse, overdose and death, physicians gathered in Chicago for the 2015 AMA Annual Meeting supported additional steps to address this pressing public health issue.
More than 16,000 deaths in the United States annually involve prescription opioids, and more than 8,000 additional deaths involved heroin-related causes in 2013 (the most recent year of data), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Total drug overdose deaths in 2013 stood at nearly 44,000.
Physicians at the AMA meeting underscored their commitment to reverse the overdose epidemic. Among the policies adopted to this end were ones that called for increased reliance on prescribing data, more robust education and adequate coverage for addiction treatment. Doctors directed the AMA to pursue the following solutions:
- Encourage physicians to use state-based prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP).
- Urge states to implement modernized PDMPs that seamlessly integrate into physicians’ work flows and provide clinically relevant, reliable information at the point of care. The policy also calls for sharing access to PDMP data across state lines under appropriate safeguards for protected health information and using uniform data standards to facilitate this information sharing.
- Work with the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws and other national organizations to enhance physicians’ ability to review their own prescribing information in PDMPs.
- Intensify collaborations with public and private stakeholders to reduce harm from inappropriate use of opioids and other controlled substances, increase awareness that substance use disorders are chronic diseases and must be treated accordingly, and reduce the stigma associated with patients who suffer from persistent pain or substance use disorders.
- Advocate for an increased focus on comprehensive, multidisciplinary pain management approaches that are physician-led and support health insurance coverage that gives patients with a legitimate need for chronic pain management access to the full range of evidence-based modalities.
Learn more about the AMA’s ongoing efforts to combat prescription drug abuse and diversion.
