The opioid crisis has gripped many communities in the United States for the last few years leading to the increasing rates of an opioid use disorder, overdose deaths and the need for prevention, treatment and recovery services. The community health centers are at the front line in addressing the opioid crisis which affects millions of Americans and resulting in thousands of deaths. Because the health centers are located in the medically underserved rural and urban areas, they meet the treatment needs of the patients with opioid abuse thus stand a better chance to help provide a policy alternative ( Clarke, Skoufalos & Scranton , 2016). Previously, the states have responded by using various policies and legislation aimed at solving the problem. The analysis of the policy that has been proposed by the policymakers to help find a solution is done to determine the effectiveness and identify alternative policies that can be used to increase the effectiveness of the current policy. Policy analysis involves a technique that is used in the public administration to allow the activists, civil servants, and other stakeholders to evaluate and identify the available alternative options that can be used to find the solution to the existing problem ( Dineen, 2016 ). Policy analysis starts with the definition of the problem. The problem, in this case, is the rising use of opioid and the rising number of deaths as a result. The rising use of opioid continues to put Americans at the risk of overdose deaths. Many other short term consequences continue to rise as a result of the use of opioid and thus the need to find a solution to this community health problem.
The recommended course of action is to have all the stakeholders work together to generate policy alternatives that can best solve the problem of the rising cases of the opioid crisis. Through collaboration with the community members, policy makers, government representatives, and the health sector, common ground can be used to find a solution to this problem taking the lives of many young Americans. Policy makers have the powers as legislators to frame up laws that can be implemented to solve the problem effectively. Through mobilization of the community members as well as the other legislators, lawmakers are best placed to work with other stakeholders in finding a lasting solution to this problem. While previous policies have been enacted in an attempt to get a solution to this problem, the issue continues to remain a key problem for the community as the rate of use of opioid continues to prevail.
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Aspects of the Problem
One of the aspects of the problem that the stakeholders can consider is prescription limits. Over the years, the rates of opioid overdose have risen, and this has been the cause of opioid use disorder in the community. The overdose of opioid is one aspect that presents a major problem to this issue thus needs to be addressed. The other aspect of the problem that should be of concern to the clients is the accessibility of the on-site MAT services and other treatment programs that can help reverse the effects of the drug overdose and minimize on the effects it can have on the user ( Skolnick, 2018 ). Most deaths that arise from the opioid overdose is due to inaccessibility of the overdose-reversing drugs and on-site MAT services. An example of the reversal drugs is the Naloxone, which blocks the action of opioid and reverses an overdose if administered within the required time. These are some of the aspects of the problems that need to be examined because they form the basis of a solution to the issue.
Options
The first policy alternative is to have the police officers and the health care workers have with them naloxone medication. Naloxone medication is a medication that has been approved by the FDA and works to block the action of opioid by reversing the overdose effect. Naloxone becomes only effective for people with an opioid in their system when effectively administered. The police officers and the health workers are the first people who get the reports of overdose and thus stand a chance to help in the administering of the reverse medication. The second policy option is to offer workforce license to the physicians to provide MAT in both rural and urban areas. The access to MAT has always been inhibited by lack of access to the physicians that can provide a prescription of MAT in rural areas ( Harris, 2016 ). This can help increase the access of MAT to the victims and help them recover from the overdose effects of the opioid drugs. The third policy option is to provide a prescription drug monitoring program which aims at monitoring the way people use the prescribed drugs to ensure that there are no incidences of overdose. Opioid overdose is one area that continues to be a source of the problem to the community health.
Evaluation Criteria
One of the ways to evaluate the policy option is sustainability, which is the ability of the policy option to maintain beneficial effects into the long run. It will be based on whether the policy options can help ensure reduced effects of opioid into the long run. The other evaluation criteria are the cost-effectiveness of implementing the policy. A good policy is one that can lead to the achievement of the goal using the least cost possible while maximizing the benefits to society.
References
Clarke, J. L., Skoufalos, A., & Scranton, R. (2016). The American opioid epidemic: Population health implications and potential solutions. Report from the National Stakeholder Panel. Population health management , 19 (S1), S-1.
Skolnick, P. (2018). The opioid epidemic: crisis and solutions. Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology , 58 , 143-159.
Dineen, K. K. (2016). Addressing prescription opioid abuse concerns in context: Synchronizing policy solutions to multiple complex public health problems. Law & Psychol. Rev. , 40 , 1.
Harris, P. A. (2016). The opioid epidemic: AMA’s response. Am Fam Physician , 93 (12), 975.
