Curbing the Opioid Crisis: Crafting Legislation to Prevent Abuse - Research Paper

Introduction

The opioid crisis is a primary healthcare issue in the United States which is being caused by unprecedented growth in the use of prescribed and non-prescribed opioid drugs. In the last 2 decades opioid abuse has become a significant problem due to the negative healthcare impacts and the high tendency of abuse (Dasgupta, Beletsky, & Ciccarone, 2018). As such, it is important to create immediate measures by legislating policies that can help to reverse the damage caused by opioid abuse.

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Policy

The policy proposal should focus on sealing all the loopholes that has led to the growth of opioid uses. The policy will regulate opioid usage and prescription to eliminate abuse by improving the overall public education on opioid implications on health and the potential of abuse.

History and Background of the Opioid Crisis

Since the late 90s, the opioid crisis has become a significant healthcare problem in the United States. The American culture that encourages simple and quick fixes has led to the growth of opioid usage in prescribed and non-prescribed cases (Pendyal, Srivastava, & Gold, 2018). Opioids crisis is due to the economic and the social problems growth which has led to the growth of opioid prescription as the refuge for psychological trauma, isolation and hopelessness. The growth in patient expectation for pain relief, complex surgeries, and increased musculoskeletal disorders can be explained as the etiology of the opioid crisis.

Stakeholders Involved

The healthcare consumers, the physicians, the pharmacists and the United States Food and Drug Administration are the main stakeholders in the policy. The healthcare consumers need to be educated on the impact of opioid abuse as well as the proper usage of opioid products (Pendyal et al., 2018). The healthcare providers such as the pharmacists, the insurers and the physicians should be regulated in terms of prescription, sale and payment of opioids to seal all the loopholes that leads to increased use of opioids. The policy will require the pharmacists and the physicians to apply strict prescription rules where opioids will be used where necessary and their alternatives should be recommended (Dasgupta et al., 2018). The physicians through the policy will be required to educate healthcare consumers on the best pain management methods that are less addictive. The FDA will be responsible in regulating opioids further and providing consumer education to halt the continued abuse. The Federal Bureau of Investigations will be required to investigate cases of negligence amongst the healthcare providers to ensure that the policy is implemented fully. Those that fail to uphold the policy should be charged in the courts of law and the necessary penalties applied where necessary.

Barriers to Passing the Policy and Solutions

The opioid business is a multi-billion industry which provides jobs to many Americans and earns the government revenue. Regulating the use of opioids will significantly reduce the overall amount of revenue collected by the government (Pendyal et al., 2018). There are too many loopholes in opioids point of sale which makes it easy for the consumers to access opioids even without prescription. The primary point of regulation in opioid policy will be the physicians and the pharmacists but the ease of getting opioids in over the counter opportunities (Dasgupta et al., 2018). The solution to these barriers of passing the policy and its implementation can be changed by changing the legislator's attitudes by highlighting the potential benefits and ensuring that the legislators make laws that are in the best interest of the people.

Implementation Rationale

It is ethically right to eliminate the wrongful prescriptions and selling opioids to consumers without physician prescription. Laws are made in the best interest of the people and in such a case a policy that will prevent further addictions to Opioids will be key in improving the overall American healthcare.

Recommendations

A new policy should be created to end the continued abuse of opioids by regulating how it is used, manufactured and sold to the consumers. The new policy should target the healthcare providers such as the physicians and the pharmacists to end wrongful prescription and sales of opioids without doctor prescription (Dasgupta et al., 2018). Besides, the public should be educated on the implications of the policy and its importance to facilitate its implementations.

References

Dasgupta, N., Beletsky, L., & Ciccarone, D. (2018). Opioid crisis: no easy fix to its social and economic determinants. American journal of public health, 108(2), 182-186. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5846593/

Pendyal, A., Srivastava, A. B., & Gold, M. S. (2018, September). The Root Causes of the Current Opioid Crisis/Reply. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 93, No. 9, pp. 1329-1331). Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30444-0/fulltext