Dear Senator Bill Cassidy,
As you are aware, the opioid crisis is increasingly becoming one of the major public healthcare concerns in the USA as a whole, especially due to its adverse impact on individuals and the society at large. For instance, in 2017, about 500,000 Americans died because of opioid overdoses, and the number of victims is increasing almost daily ( Swope, 2018) . Therefore, I am interested in the topic because of its severe impact on the wellbeing of millions of Americans.
Also, I choose you because of the interests you have shown on the issues and how you have tried to solve it. Particularly, you have maintained that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) should ensure that patient with chronic pain use their prescriptions responsibly. Besides, you have proposed many legislations towards addressing the problem. I am highly concerned about the problem because I live in Plainview in New York State, where the problem of the opioid crisis is affecting thousands of people. Thus, I am particularly writing this letter to urge you to facilitate the formulation and implementation of various laws or policies that can effectively help in addressing the problem, primarily through safe prescribing.
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The current opioid crisis in the country is associated with many factors. However, poverty is believed to be one of the main factors contributing to the crisis. The high level of poverty and joblessness is pushing many people to overuse opioids, especially when they are suffering from chronic pain. At the same time, social problems such as divorce and separations are linked to the surging rate of opioid overdoses. Also, even though the government has enacted many laws towards addressing the problem, they have no effectively helped in reducing the crisis. The Opioid Crisis Response Act (OCRA) cannot effectively solve the problem when not fully implemented ( Swope, 2018) . According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report that was released in 2010, law or policymaking process should be based on scientific data and information to enhance their effectiveness in addressing the problems affecting healthcare sector. The problem is also linked to the ethical dilemma facing many pharmacists. For instance, pharmacists encounter a challenge of developing ethically balanced medicines to treat patients with chronic pain.
The opioid crisis is also affecting many nurses. Currently, to address the crisis, nurses must have in-depth knowledge and skills in pain management. Nurses are not forced to remind patients to adhere to prescribed opioid use constantly. Also, to address the problem, nurses must now go for further training and education, especially on pain management, which requires additional time and financial resources. However, nurses should play an active role in addressing the problem.
Therefore, I am requesting you to facilitate the formulation and effective implementation of law or policy that can improve opioid prescribing in the USA. The policy should be designed in such a way that it reduces or prevent addiction. One of the major elements of the policy should be to educate nurses and clinicians, as well as patients about opioid prescribing ( Saloner et al., 2018) . Also, the policy should ensure that addiction medicines are integrated into pain management. I believe that an effective policy that encourages and promotes safe prescription of opioids can reduce the crisis significantly.
Finally, I would appreciate if I get a prompt response from you, especially concerning your intended action based on my proposal. I know you are deeply concerned about the problem, and you may have other alternatives to address the issues. Thus, I would not mind if you come up with new suggestions to complement my recommendation.
Respectfully
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
References
Saloner, B., McGinty, E. E., Beletsky, L., Bluthenthal, R., Beyrer, C., Botticelli, M., & Sherman, S. G. (2018). A public health strategy for the opioid crisis. Public Health Reports , 133 (1), 24-34.
Swope, T. (2018, August 16). Congressional Actions to Address the Opioid Crisis. Bipartisan Policy Center. Retrieved from https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/congressional-actions-to- address-the-opioid-crisis/
