The opioid crisis in the United States involves some of the most staggering epidemic-related statistics we have seen in recent years, including perhaps the most alarming figure that 116 people die from opioid overdose every day. Along with this staggering statistic, other data reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services includes figures regarding the economic cost, such as the fact that $504 billion has been spent on the epidemic as of 2016.
“Overdose and accidental poisonings are the number one cause of unintentional death in America today,” said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent of CNN, during the forum discussion on opioids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently estimates that the total economic burden of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, which includes their calculations for healthcare, lost productivity among workers, addiction, treatment, and criminal justice involvement.
This talk at the Lake Nona Impact Forum was both controversial and informative and brought the epidemic to light in Lake Nona. Here in Florida, approximately 5,725 deaths (1,483 more than in 2015) were directly caused by opioids or the drugs were found in the bodies, according to an article by the Orlando Sentinel.
Part of the problem with the opioid crisis, as described by many of the forum’s panelists, includes the stigma that surrounds the discussion of opioids and addiction. “There is still so much stigma about addiction in our culture, in the language media uses, in people not having access to treatment, and the fact that less than one in 10 addicts is seeking treatment because they are ashamed to tell their family, friends or employer,” said Shannon Hartley, Shatterproof’s chief marketing officer. “We need to focus on opportunities to reduce stigma, change the way substance abuse is treated, and create national principles of quality of care.” This lack of discussion has forced many to believe that there are not other means of treating chronic pain outside of the use of opioids, which the forum also touched upon in suggesting non-opioid-related treatment for a variety of chronic pain-related issues.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association throws into question how well opioid drugs actually treat acute pain. In the study regarding opioid vs. non-opioid pain treatments conducted by Andrew K. Chang of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, researchers assigned 416 emergency room patients with moderate-to-severe pain to one of four treatment groups. Three of the treatment groups received a combination of a common opioid painkiller (either oxycodone, hydrocodone, or codeine) plus 300 mg of acetaminophen, a common non-opioid pain medication often sold over the counter as Tylenol. The fourth group received 400 mg of ibuprofen, a non-opioid painkiller, plus 1,000 mg of acetaminophen. The result of this study pointed to all four groups experiencing the same levels of pain relief. While opioid drugs did help to reduce pain, they were no more effective than a combination of non-opioid painkillers.
Another present cause in the misuse of opioid medications points to adolescents and young adults facing an increased amount of pressure in the academic realm to increase their performance in school. This increase in pressure is raising stress, antisocial behaviors, and anxiety levels among young people, causing them to turn to opioids to “manage” their pain. “We’re telling kids ‘don’t do it’ as opposed to [asking them] how are you?” said Congressman Tim Ryan, U.S. Representative for the 13th District of Ohio, during the panel.
There are currently some steps being taken by Congress to help combat the opioid crisis in the United States, including a declaration by President Trump in October that the opioid epidemic is a “public health emergency,” which allowed states to have more flexibility in responding to the crisis. A bill that would limit initial opioid prescriptions to one week was presented to the Florida state legislature, but many lawmakers in the state say that more should be done to combat the epidemic. However, with the recent Parkland school shooting, discussion on the opioid crisis has been brought to a halt as the state struggles with other issues.
“We tried ‘just say no to drugs’; it doesn’t work. This is a behavioral health issue. Why are young people feeling the need to escape and treat depression or anxiety with medication?” said Hartley. “We need to understand the pressures they are facing. There are all these opportunities where we need to think of overall health and wellbeing vs. just don’t do drugs.”
Read on to the rest of our topics regarding the Lake Nona Impact Forum to find out about the culture involved in creating the healthier people and communities of tomorrow.