On Monday night, the White House addressed the opioid crisis sweeping through the United States and President Trump was advised to declare a national emergency. The commission stated that “approximately 142 Americans [are] dying every day [from overdose].” And the most alarming statistic: “America is enduring a death toll equal to September 11th every three weeks.” Taking into consideration that ⅔ of those deaths are from opioid drugs.
The opioid commission was established in March to “study ways to combat and treat the scourge of drug abuse, addiction and the opioid crisis.” The most common root of opioid addiction starts with prescription pain killers. Patients are being prescribed controlled medications to help relieve a temporary injury or pain. Unfortunately, when the injury has healed and the prescription is gone, the addiction stays. This leads patients to turn to other forms of street drugs. So, what are possible solutions to reversing this issue? Mandate e-prescribing.
Electronic prescribing of controlled and noncontrolled medications is relatively new to the healthcare field, but the past 20 years have already proven to produce bountiful benefits. States like New York and Minnesota mandated e-prescribing in hopes of reducing opioid related overdoses in their states and have statistical evidence to prove that regulating the prescribing of medications is helping them reach their goals. Upcoming states have passed legislation mandating e-prescribing of controlled substances including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Politicians have successfully started to draw attention to the real problem, but they need some help. RXNT|e-prescribing can help drive their efforts forward and reduce opioid drug abuse in the United States. To learn more about RXNT|e-prescribing and how we have helped thousands of providers e-prescribe, call us at 800-943-7968 option 3 or email us at [email protected].
