Opioid Prescribing Decreases But Drug-Related Overdose Deaths Continue to Rise
September 13, 2022
ISMIE’s on-demand course provides safe prescribing guidance, strategies to mitigate risk
A new report from the American Medical Association highlights the positive actions that physicians have taken to combat the ever-growing opioid crisis. The 2022 Overdose Epidemic Report shows physicians and other healthcare professionals have reduced opioid prescribing in every state and by nearly 50% nationally. As part of the effort to address the epidemic, physicians have also increased the use of state prescription drug monitoring programs and are providing more prescriptions for both naloxone and medications to treat opioid use disorder.
Despite those efforts, drug-related overdose deaths in 2021 exceeded 100,000—primarily due to illicitly manufactured fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.
However, there are still times when prescribing legal opioids for patients may be the best approach for pain management.
ISMIE’s course, Opioids: Strategies for Safe Prescribing, is available on-demand offering guidance for physicians who treat patients with chronic pain. Healthcare professionals will learn to identify the risks of prescribing opioids for chronic, non-cancer pain management and recognize situations in which it would be advisable not to prescribe opioids. Policyholders can also access ISMIE’s resource on opioids, which provides further guidance on how to mitigate the risks involved with opioid prescribing.
For more information, please contact the Risk Management Division by email.
ISMIE’s on-demand course provides safe prescribing guidance, strategies to mitigate risk
A new report from the American Medical Association highlights the positive actions that physicians have taken to combat the ever-growing opioid crisis. The 2022 Overdose Epidemic Report shows physicians and other healthcare professionals have reduced opioid prescribing in every state and by nearly 50% nationally. As part of the effort to address the epidemic, physicians have also increased the use of state prescription drug monitoring programs and are providing more prescriptions for both naloxone and medications to treat opioid use disorder.
Despite those efforts, drug-related overdose deaths in 2021 exceeded 100,000—primarily due to illicitly manufactured fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.
However, there are still times when prescribing legal opioids for patients may be the best approach for pain management.
ISMIE’s course, Opioids: Strategies for Safe Prescribing, is available on-demand offering guidance for physicians who treat patients with chronic pain. Healthcare professionals will learn to identify the risks of prescribing opioids for chronic, non-cancer pain management and recognize situations in which it would be advisable not to prescribe opioids. Policyholders can also access ISMIE’s resource on opioids, which provides further guidance on how to mitigate the risks involved with opioid prescribing.
For more information, please contact the Risk Management Division by email.