A Comprehensive Approach to Address the Prescription Opioid Epidemic in Washington State: Milestones and Lessons Learned

Details

• Personal Author:
  Banta-Green CJ ; Baumgartner C ; Franklin G ; Jones CM ; Mai J ; Neven D ; Sabel J ; Tauben DJ
• Description:
  An epidemic of morbidity and mortality has swept across the United States related to the use of prescription opioids for chronic noncancer pain. More than 100 000 people have died from unintentional overdose, making this one of the worst manmade epidemics in history. Much of health care delivery in the United States is regulated at the state level; therefore, both the cause and much of the cure for the opioid epidemic will come from state action. We detail the strong collaborations across executive health care agencies, and between those public agencies and practicing leaders in the pain field that have led to a substantial reversal of the epidemic in Washington State. Prescription opioid-related morbidity and mortality constitute a national public health crisis, requiring an urgent need for more effective policy responses. States play a central role in protecting public health and public safety; regulate health care and practice of health professions; are primary payers of health care through Medicaid, state employee benefits, corrections, and workers' compensation; and manage prescription drug monitoring programs. Therefore, state-level action is critical to reversing the prescription drug overdose epidemic. In recent years, a number of states have engaged in efforts to address prescription drug overdose. Documentation of state experience in implementing interventions and their impacts is greatly needed. This information can inform other states' efforts and prevent them from pursuing policies that have minimal impact. Washington State has been an innovative leader in efforts to reduce prescription drug overdose. In this article, we detail Washington's experience to comprehensively address this serious public health threat. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Narcotics Occupational Health Public Health Safety Substance-Related Disorders
• Keywords:
  Drug Abuse Health Care Intervention Policy Prescription Drugs Public Health
• ISSN:
  0090-0036
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  463-469
• Volume:
  105
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063659
• Citation:
  Am J Public Health 2015 Mar; 105(3):463-469
• Contact Point Address:
  Gary Franklin, 130 Nickerson St, Suite 212, Seattle, WA 98109
• Email:
  meddir@uw.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Public Health
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c0472d5ef592134eef5a97543b66c861621653b6c32970e06bdaa02c3ac043b8d1381c8c3572718702e20a06d18d6bcc3983740a16ae05b05f50ced67f66ad02
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222224/cdc_222224_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 542.91 KB ]