Did you know that in a 2019 survey by the American Board of Pain Medicine 92% of pain specialists “reported that they were required to submit a prior authorization for non-opioid pain care, which delayed patient treatment”? Non-opioid pain care includes occupational or physical therapy and non-opioid medications, treatments, creams, or patches. This barrier and more are what lead the American Medical Association (AMA) to recently recommend that states partner with universities and health systems to support “access to evidence-based interdisciplinary pain management delivery models” and that insurance companies review the coverage for these treatment protocols so they are on par with opioid coverage and patients are able to get the care they need. Read More

As 2020 came to an end, the American Medical Association (AMA) collaborated with Manatt Health to release its updated National Roadmap on State-Level Efforts to End the Nation’s Drug Overdose Epidemic. The roadmap offers best practices and needed next steps to improve access to patient care and prevent deaths from overdoses. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has further heightened the challenges with opioid addiction and overdose. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 81,000 overdose deaths occurred in the US in the period between May 2019 and May 2020 –  the highest number ever recorded in a 12 month timeframe. Read More

Throughout this more than challenging and traumatic year, the work of CSIP and its partners to protect families and communities from the dangers of illegally obtained or inappropriately used opioids and other medications has never been more important. In particular, the social, emotional, and economic impacts of the pandemic have made those at risk of, or suffering from addiction diseases, all the more in danger. In our blog on Economic Distress and Opioids we shared how deaths from suicide, drugs, and alcohol or “deaths of despair” have been on the rise.

We also shared the importance of the American public reporting medications promising treatment of the “Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019” (COVID-19) by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline (1-866-720-5721) or by e-mailing the NCDF at [email protected]. Our VerifyBeforeYouBuy.org also served as a resource for those seeking to verify medications online amidst the global coronavirus pandemic.

As the year comes to a close, we pause to reflect on other stories we have shared in our CSIP blog. Here are a few highlights/trends that stood out:

“Technology Companies Come Together to Support Addiction Recovery During COVID-19”
This past April, CSIP and a coalition of tech leaders Google, Facebook and Twitter announced their effort to join forces on a new online platform TechTogether.co. The site is a collection of resources to help those experiencing substance use disorder or battling addiction and the associated stigma. During this time of CDC-recommended “social distancing”  for COVID-19, the need for online resources is even more imperative. An increasing number of recovery support meetings and in-person recovery resources have been suspended due to shelter-in-place orders. Each technology partner provides a unique offering on TechTogether.co, creating a wealth of resources and tools for those seeking support online.
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