Healthcare Policy Policy Adoption in Opioid Dependency Management

State Policy Issue According to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), opioids are a class of opiates better known for illicit substances such as heroin, but this categorization also encompasses prescription medications (FDA, 2018). Opioid addictive behavior and drug intoxication fatalities persist in decimating community members, households, and individual people in Colorado. States have been clamping down on dosage opioid drug abuse in recent times. Opioids include potent prescription medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine.

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The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing division sought to address the misuse and substance abuse of such prescription opioids with the official statement of Colorado Medicaid to toughen Opioid Usage Policy. Colorado has initiated its battle with a nationwide opioid abuse outbreak by restricting prescription opioids discharged to the population. Colorado Medicaid to Tighten Opioid Usage Policy “Colorado Medicaid to Tighten Opioid Usage Policy” was carried out in two stages. The first stage, which started on August 1, 2017, engaged in restricting the stockpile of opioids distributed to participants who had not been given prescription opioids inside the previous year. This resulted from a Division claims assessment, which revealed that a rising number of “Health First Colorado members” who had never utilized opioids before were using them more regularly once recommended. Phase 2, which started on October 1, 2017, aimed to lower the Morphine Milligram Equivalents routine constraints for representatives on a pain control treatment plan. In essence, as per the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), opioid painkiller drug-related deaths outmatched homicides (Ingold, 2017). In 2015, 259 individuals were reported to have died due to an opioid of “natural” prescription opioids. The CDPHE’s work and research corroborate the want for Colorado Medicaid to constrict its opioid usage policy. Potential Policy Options for Addressing the Policy Issue The first possible policy alternative for tackling the policy problem is to enact legislation that modulates pain clinics and requires healthcare professionals to factcheck the prescription drug monitoring program. Colorado, as noted previously, is dealing with a prescribing opioid overdose pandemic (the State of Colorado, 2017). Colorado, like other states, must grapple with this quandary, and with varying degrees of success, since Florida was the first to see a marked decline in opioid drug overdose death rates by implementing this policy solution. The second policy solution is convincing the state legislators to remove cumbersome barriers for researchers who study drugs of abuse. This is an issue since understanding the pharmacological activity of such drugs is vital. The state must find more efficient ways for researchers to undertake studies while ensuring correct restrictions on such intoxicants. Furthermore, the state should collaborate with decision-makers, insurance companies, and the State Medical Society to investigate policy possibilities for improving multidisciplinary treatment for people with opioid addiction while lowering costs. In summary, opioid procrastination and opioid-related mortality rates continue to ravage families and communities throughout Colorado and the United States. With the enacting of “Colorado Medicaid to tighten Opioid Usage Policy,” Colorado has taken a significant step toward combating this public health crisis. Understanding that some states have taken standard precautions with promising outcomes provides Colorado with optimism that such a healthcare policy will decrease the opiate epidemic and save existences. References FDA. (2018). Opioid medications. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/ucm337066. htm Ingold, J. (2017, January 3). Colorado’s opioid and heroin overdose deaths outnumbered homicides in 2015: Opiate deaths are catching up to alcohol-related liver disease deaths. The Denver Post. Retrieved from https://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/03/coloradoopioid-heroin-deathsoutnumbered-homicides/ The state of Colorado. (2017). Colorado Medicaid to tighten opioid usage policy. Retrieved from https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/hcpf/news/colorado-medicaidtighten-opioid-usagepolic