Alaska is one of six vanguard states to declare an opioid emergency, this as President Trump released a national emergency declaration last week, sending a message to Congress that more funding is needed. Opioids are powerful painkillers that can be highly addictive.
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) finds that overdose deaths among teenagers rose almost 20% between 2014 and 2015. Local health care providers are trying to get ahead of the curve, with community health centers adopting the policy – prevention is the best medicine.
Seldovia Village Tribe Executive Director Crystal Collier: “I’m fortunate to say it is not necessarily in Seldovia, but Homer is realizing that potentially the growth could be there for that issue. South Peninsula Hospital is dealing with it head on with the training and things like that.”
Currently, the State set to receive $2M in federal funds to arm Alaskans to fight in Governor Bill Walker’s war on the opioid epidemic. The legislature recently passed a new law which restricts the ability of doctors – including dentists, eye doctors and veterinarians – to prescribe only a week’s work opioid drugs instead of a month’s supply. The effort is aimed at cutting the number of excess pills in circulation, which lawmakers feel encourages abuse.
Seldovia Village Tribe Executive Director Crystal Collier: “It’s always good to be ready if things should occur, but in looking at trying to walk with people in their health, in their journey, I think a behavioral health approach to the opioid crisis is definitely something that should be on everybody’s agenda.”
Patients will be able to confidentially execute a voluntary revocable non-opioid directive, and will also be able to request partial fills of opioid prescriptions from pharmacists, without voiding the remainder of the prescription.
With a few exceptions, first-time opioid prescriptions with be limited to a seven-day supply. Starting July 1, 2018, the controlled substance prescription database will be updated daily, instead of weekly, increasing awareness among providers of what drugs a particular patient is taking.
State studies indicate that prescription drugs lead many Alaskans to heroin addiction. If you feel that opioid addiction may be a personal concern, the National Institute on Drug Abuse is a great resource for identifying if there is a drug problem and how to resolve it.
Story as aired on KRSM News:
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