“Instituting a 3-day limit on opioid prescriptions to treat surgical pain after discharge reduced the number of patients who became chronic opioid users without compromising pain relief or recovery, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York.”
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From the Washington Post:
“The largest manufacturer of opioids in the United States once cultivated a reliable stable of hundreds of doctors it could count on to write a steady stream of prescriptions for pain pills.
But one left the United States for Pakistan months before he was indicted on federal drug conspiracy and money laundering charges. Another was barred from practicing medicine after several of his patients died of drug overdoses. Another tried to leave the country in the face of charges that he was operating illegal pill dispensing operations, or pill mills, in two states. He was arrested and sent to prison for eight years.”
From helio.com:
“The rate of overdose deaths among U.S. teenagers increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic — a first — even as drug use remained stable, researchers found.
According to research published in JAMA, overdose deaths among teens nearly doubled in 2020 and rose another 20% in the first half of 2021 compared with the decade before the pandemic, in which teen drug use fell to historic lows.”
From PBS:
“The opioid overdose crisis that killed more than 100,000 Americans in a year is being called one of the most pressing national security and public health challenges facing the U.S. A majority of the overdoses are driven by the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl. Maryland Rep. David Trone, co-chair of the federal Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, joins William Brangham to discuss.”
From the CDC:
“CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control is in the process of updating the 2016 CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. As of today, the draft updated Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids is available for public comment in the Federal Register. The public comment period will be open for 60 days, through April 11, 2022. We encourage all patients, caregivers, providers, and others who care about safe, effective, and informed pain treatment options to submit their comments via the Federal Register docket.”
I write to urge you to introduce legislation in your state to arm patients and parents with the information they need to prevent opioid addiction. A record number of our fellow Americans– more than 75,000–died of an opioid overdose in the year that ended in April, according to the National Center of Health Statistics. Given this major increase in opioid overdoses and dependence due in large measure to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to take effective action. In the 18 states where this commonsense legislation has passed, it is driving down the number of opioid-based painkillers that are prescribed annually, preventing new instances of opioid use disorder and saving lives.
Every parent, every patient has the right to know the medicines they are about to receive can lead to a dependency and addiction. That is why the legislation we are advancing, the Patient Opioid Notification Act, requires a conversation about the risks of dependence and where appropriate, the use of a non-opioid pain relief alternative before an opioid-based pain reliever is prescribed. Ensuring that a conversation occurs between doctors and patients and parents at the time it is most needed– right before an opioid is prescribed –is a simple, but extremely effective step that we know saves lives.
A Brandeis University Study of the law’s impact in New Jersey, the first state to implement the law, found that the number of patients prescribed opioids significantly decreased. In the month after the law was implemented, nearly 5,000 fewer patients were started on opioids. There was also a fourfold increase in the percentage of doctors warning patients of the risks of addiction. Prior to enactment, only 18% of the participants warned patients about the risk of opioid addiction when prescribing opioids. After enactment, 95% routinely warned patients about the risk of addiction.
I know the importance of having this knowledge from first-hand experience. My son Steven became dependent on opioid-based pain relievers after they were prescribed to treat a sports injury. Had I just been told about the addictive qualities of the medicines Steven was prescribed, I would have known to look for alternatives. I would have known to look for signs and symptoms of abuse. And I’m not alone. A national survey done by the Hazeldon Betty Ford Foundation confirms what I have learned from talking with other parents and backs up the Brandeis University Study: 6 in 10 doctors nationally prescribe opioid painkillers without telling patients that they can be addictive.
If we are going to curb this epidemic and prevent more families around the nation from going through what my family has been through, we need legislators like yourself to make sure that the people in your state are informed in real time, so this knowledge can be put to use. The need to provide this information in a timely way is underscored by the fact recent studies find that people can become dependent on opioids in as little as 5 days.
As the National Opioid Commission states, “We have an enormous problem that is often not beginning on street corners; it is starting in doctor’s offices and hospitals in every state in our nation.” Drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States and have more than doubled over the past 5 years.
We stand ready to assist you in any way in the introduction and passage of this life-saving legislation. If you need more information or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Rob Horowitz, Prevent Opioid Abuse team member at 401-829-8595 or by email at [email protected]. Below is a copy of the legislation. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Elaine Pozycki
Founder, Prevent Opioid Abuse
From the Washington Post:
“Five years after the death of his nephew, David Trone went to Mexico looking for the source of what killed him: the opioid epidemic.
It was official business — a trip last month in his capacity as co-chair of the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking — but now it was hard to separate the personal from the official, as almost everything the Maryland Democrat was doing in Congress found its way back to Ian.”
“Most states have seen an increase in drug overdose deaths in the past year. Zinnia Health analyzed how overdose deaths changed during the coronavirus.
The coronavirus has caused increased stress and isolation for many people. Some have turned to substance abuse or increased the quantity and frequency of drug use during the coronavirus restrictions. Others turned to new drugs if their prefered drug became more difficult to access.
More drug users were using alone due to social distancing measures, which increases the risk of overdose death since there isn’t someone to administer first aid and call for help. With in-person socializing and community-based programs temporarily closed, there were fewer in-person recovery resources available.”
Elaine Pozycki featured in USA Today Network:
“More than 75,000 of our fellow Americans died of an opioid overdose in the year that ended in April, according to the National Center of Health Statistics. This new record shows that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including increased stress caused by isolation and financial pressures and more difficulty getting treatment, has resulted to an acceleration of the opioid epidemic, leading to more new cases of Opioid Use Disorder and to a stepped-up number of relapses. The devastating consequences of this expansion to our families, friends, neighbors and the American community are being driven home every day in ruined lives and avoidable deaths.”
From the New York Times:
Americans died of drug overdoses in record numbers as the pandemic spread across the country, federal researchers reported on Wednesday, the result of lost access to treatment, rising mental health problems and wider availability of dangerously potent street drugs.
In the 12-month period that ended in April, more than 100,000 Americans died of overdoses, up almost 30 percent from the 78,000 deaths in the prior year, according to provisional figures from the National Center for Health Statistics. The figure marks the first time the number of overdose deaths in the United States has exceeded 100,000 a year, more than the toll of car crashes and gun fatalities combined. Overdose deaths have more than doubled since 2015.
Read complete article here.