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Despite established knowledge of the potential abuse of prescription opioids, numerous studies have found that prescribing practices remain inconsistent across the country. In this study, data from U.S. administrative insurance claims (including Medicaid and private insurance) was examined to better understand the frequency, dosage, and duration of opioid prescriptions. It was found that opioid prescribing rates were not always consistent with current prescribing guidelines for various conditions and pain levels. This highlights a need for better pain management education and a need to increase patient safety.
For individuals with opioid use disorder, the current and accepted practice is to treat them with methadone or buprenorphine. However, there is a lack of research into how individual patients may respond better to one medication over the other so both medications should be accessible to all patients so it can be determined which medication works best for them.
In the past, there have been variations in the accessibility of both medications depending on racial/ethnic segregation. In an examination of counties across the United States in 2016, counties that contained clearly segregated Hispanic/Latino and African American communities had more facilities that provided methadone. By comparison, counties with clearly segregated White communities had more facilities that provided buprenorphine. Existing government regulations should take this into consideration when attempting to ensure that both medications are equitable in accessibility.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has released a nine-booklet series that aim at educating middle school students, from grades 5 to 8, on substance abuse. Each of the booklets focus on various drug related topics, each framed from how the brain and body is affected by various drugs. Especially relevant drugs discussed include opioids, nicotine, vaping, and tobacco.
This series comes with a Teacher’s Guide which features evidence-based information and research as well as activities meant to engage students. These booklets and resources can all be downloaded online for free here in English or Spanish. Hard copies of the English booklets can also be ordered for free here.
With the onset of COVID-19, there was worry across the nation that those suffering from opioid addiction would be hindered from receiving the addiction treatment they needed. Early models projected that there could be as many as 75,000 suicides and overdoses as a result of opioid users not receiving treatment due to the pandemic.
However, patients across the United States have reported that since the onset of COVID-19, their addiction treatment has been easier to access. New regulations allow doctors to meet with their patients via video chat or phone call to prescribe methadone or buprenorphine for treatment. This makes care more accessible for many individuals who previously had to find the transportation and time to travel to clinics. Time will tell how effective these new regulations are at providing addiction care to individuals across the United States, but anecdotal evidence points in a positive direction.
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