Citation

Kleinman RA, Morris NP. J. Gen. Intern Med. 2020; 35(4): 1304-1306.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11606-020-05721-5

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In 2017, there were more than 47,000 opioid-associated overdose deaths in the United States, and the Department of Health and Human Services declared that the opioid epidemic was a public health emergency. Over the past few years, Congress has passed considerable legislation to address opioid use disorders (OUDs), including the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act in 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act in 2016, and the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act in 2018. These laws provide funding to study non-narcotic pain management, monitor opioid prescribing, enhance prevention of substance use disorders, and train clinicians in addiction treatment, among other measures.

Although these congressional initiatives are encouraging, federal regulations still limit access to evidence-based treatments for OUDs and the adoption of internationally accepted practices. There are numerous ways to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of OUDs in the USA, including limiting unnecessary prescriptions of opioids, screening for OUDs in primary care, and streamlining linkages between internists and addiction specialists. However, just a few of these approaches are specifically impeded by existing federal regulations. This article examines several ways in which top-down federal barriers prevent implementation of evidence-based OUD treatments...

Language: en