As the opioid crisis continues to unfold across the United States , healthcare providers are increasingly caught in the crosshairs of a dilemma : How can they provide the highest quality patient care while also complying with federal , state , and local mandates around prescribing and reporting abuse ?
It ’ s a thorny question , and a major reason why HealthStream has created an entire course library , Opioids : Tackling the Crisis Through Person-Centered Care , designed to discuss not just the epidemic , but opioid use for conditions such as chronic pain , the risks of opioid use , and how to identify and manage opioid use disorder ( OUD ).
“ We were getting client requests for educational material , and then the government declared the crisis a public health emergency in 2017 ; that added further impetus ,” says Debbie Newsholme , Senior Director of Content Operations for HealthStream . “ There has been nearly daily media coverage on the escalation of the opioid crisis ever since , and we wanted to respond to it .”
day , four times the number from 20 years ago . And like its response to COVID-19 , the healthcare community has worked to combat a rapidly evolving situation with a broad , coordinated treatment platform that covers everything from viable treatment options to awareness and prevention programs .
“ The issue is overwhelming ,” Newsholme says . “ A member of our team is a former home-health and hospice nurse , and she has seen the side of the issue as it relates to people with chronic pain from cancer or an end-of-life condition . How were those people being cared for appropriately as their providers were starting to be afraid to prescribe opioids to anyone ? We knew something needed to be developed around staff awareness and how each patient case was different .”
OTHER FACTORS INCLUDED :
• The rising number of opioid-related deaths
• State lawsuits against major pharmaceutical manufacturers
• • The growing number of physicians , pharmacists , and other licensed independent practitioners ( LIPs ) arrested for over-prescribing
• Climbing healthcare costs around treatment
It ’ s worth remembering the staggering numbers of the opioid crisis . According to the U . S . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention almost 2 million Americans have a prescription-related substance use disorder , or SUD . An estimated 45 people are dying from a prescription opioid-related overdose every
The coursework developed by HealthStream has two modules : The first is an “ all learners ,” or general audience course , which is intended to help get the word out to all healthcare workers . It provides a high-level overview of the crisis to raise awareness and encourage learners to do what they can to make a difference at work , at home and within their community .