May 25, 2016

The Opioid Crisis: What Now?

Alanna Diffendal   |   Updated December 15   |  Reading time: 2 minutes

RXNT Logo and name displayed on a building outside

Medical professionals, law enforcement, and policy makers are working tirelessly to put a stop to the opioid crisis sweeping our nation. Yet, there are many that do not fully understand the crisis at hand. On March 15, 2016, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain drawing attention to the crisis with the hope to “optimize care and improve patient safety.”

In 2014, 28,647 deaths were attributed to opioid overdose reported by the CDC. According to America’s Addiction to Opioids: Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse, over 2.1 million people in the United States are battling opioid addiction.  When prescription opioids are no longer available, patients turn to heroin. “Once someone is addicted to opioids, heroin is cheaper, it’s more readily available. But the pills shouldn’t be prescribed in the first place.” said Dr. Stephen Ross, director of addiction psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Milwaukee DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robert Bell, pleads for increased efforts, “Law enforcement cannot do it alone.  Healthcare systems need to change prescriber practices to reduce availability of controlled painkillers.”

What Now?

State policy makers have been busy passing legislation to allow for statewide prescription monitoring programs (PMP). To date, 49 states have implemented PMPs giving providers more information regarding patient prescription habits to reduce over-prescribing, alert of doctor shopping, and combat addiction. While prescription monitoring programs are advantageous in the battle against the opioid crisis, “electronic prescribing of controlled substances reduces fraud and keeps patients from getting multiple prescriptions for the same drug, but only three states require it.” In the fight against the nation’s opioid crisis, we must encourage physicians and policymakers to use all of the tools at their disposal, from prescription monitoring programs and ePrescribing to addiction education and awareness.

Learn More

Sign up for our monthly newsletter and get news, trends, tech updates, and more delivered to your inbox!

Featured Resources
Ai Summit 2024 Recap Blog V3

RXNT Joins JPMorganChase, Mayo Clinic, and Industry Leaders at Business & Innovation Summit to Discuss AI’s Impact on Healthcare

ABC30 Action News Blog

Bridging the Healthcare Gap: Insights from RXNT’s CEO on ABC30 Action News

Empowered Patient Solutions Podcast Blog V2

How AI is Changing Healthcare: An Interview With RXNT’s CEO & Founder 

Latest Resources

Ready to improve your practice?

See why our integrated, award-winning healthcare software is the right fit for your medical practice! Since 1999, we've developed certified, cloud-based Electronic Health Records (EHR) with Patient Portal, E-Prescribing (eRx), and Practice Management with Medical Billing and Scheduling.

Scroll to Top