The increase in the Opioid epidemic is alarming and has prompted the formulation of policies which will help reduce disorders and overdose deaths. The policies will also determine a strong focus on reducing the use of prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons. The strategy to be used should promote the use of opioid responsibly, minimizing the supply of opioid and ensuring prevention of overdose and increased access to naloxone.
The model that will be used is the Kotter’s change management model. The model is good because things do not change a lot from the first time they were initiated. On the support of using the opioid responsibly, there should be outlined guidelines such as in the emergency department, treating acute pain and chronic pain guidelines. The prescribers are asked to first consider the nonopioid therapies and also ensure drug monitoring before the opioid are given to patients. The guidelines indicate the best dosage for specific uses, for example, 80 mg for chronic pain and 50-99 mg for non-cancer pain. When the dose is increased or taken continuously, for instance, a dosage of 50-99 mg per day, the chances of overdose risk increases ( National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.), 2017) . The risk is worse in patients with chronic illnesses since they are required to take the medication which increases their chances of overdose, yet opioid are necessary for pain management.
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The strategy of minimizing the supply of opioid can be done through strengthening the pill mills law prevention, which will be done after the need of urgency is established according to Kotter’s change management model. The term describes the clinics which give out opioid without legitimate reasons, and it is usually against the standard medical practice, which is the second step of Kotter’s model on creating a guidance coalition. The pain clinics should be licensed to ensure that only the registered clinics are able to give out any medicals following the established medical practice and failure to that they can face legal charges. Any medical practitioners who are caught having provided opioid in the wrong manner, they will be convicted of wrong medical practice and threatening the life of the patients. When the unregistered practitioners are revoked, it will help reduce the cases of opioid overdose ( Lembke, 2016) .
The strategy of preventing opioid overdose will be solved through the access of naloxone, a short-term goal according to Kotter’s theory. The drug, unlike opioid, can be dispensed without a prescription. Despite the emergency responders being able to use the Naloxone, expanding it to the general public will cause harm due to various reasons. There are those individuals who fear to call the 9-1-1 simply because of an overdose.
The implementation of the strategies will be done through creating awareness of the existence of naloxone in the medical facilities which will be replacing opioid. The awareness is created through campaigns such as stop overdose by using naloxone ( In Bonnie, In Ford, In Phillips, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine) . The campaign is meant to educate the public on the disorder which results from using opioid, narrate stories of individuals who have had an opioid overdose and the deaths that have been avoided through the use of naloxone. There are pharmacists who are educated and prepared to educate the public on the initiatives of using naloxone over opioid.
The implementation involves the pharmacists as well, who have a unique role in fighting the opioid drug epidemic. The pharmacists are aware of the patients who may be taking the opioid drugs. The pharmacist's role includes addressing the opioid use disorder, nonmedical application of opioid and diversion. These are the identification of the potential disorders as a result of the disease through assessment of different patients and the prescriptions they have been given. As long as the listed strategies are used the epidemic of the opioid drug will be reduced.
References
In Bonnie, R. J., In Ford, M. A., In Phillips, J., National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.)., National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.)., & National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). (2017). Pain management and the opioid epidemic: Balancing societal and individual benefits and risks of prescription opioid use .
Lembke, A. (2016). Drug dealer, MD: How doctors were duped, patients got hooked, and why it's so hard to stop . Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press
Milstead, J. A. (2017). Health policy and politics: A nurse's guide . Jones & Bartlett Learning.
