A Systems Approach Is The Only Way To Address The Opioid Crisis

~ Jason Schwartz

wp17a759ca_05_06Health Affairs has a great summary of a recent report on the opioid crisis.

It identifies “six key components to develop a system-wide community solution.”

  1. Recognize That Everyone In Your Community Has A Role To Play
  2. Work Together
  3. Work On Multiple Parts Of The System Simultaneously
  4. Be Unambiguous About The Risks Of Prescription Opioids
  5. Re-Train The Medical Community
  6. Recognize That Addiction Is A Chronic Disease, And Treat It Accordingly

Read the article for details.

The most striking thing is a table that identifies objectives, actions and actors. Nothing groundbreaking, but it does s really nice job of pulling together the multiple needs and systems in one place.

Published by Jason Schwartz

I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I no longer work at Dawn Farm and am now the Director of Behavioral Medicine at a community hospital, and a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work. Views expressed here are my own. Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.

One thought on “A Systems Approach Is The Only Way To Address The Opioid Crisis”

  1. Jason- love your column.

    Please don’t forget about prevention. What other life-threatening illness do we not seek to prevent? Evidence-based prevention does not consist of merely “educat(ing) about risks of prescription opioids/ Educat(ing) the public about the risk of prescription opioids.” It’s so much more!

    Prevention is identifying children most at risk for addiction and infusing SEL (social & emotional learning) into their lives, either during or after school. Let’s prevent addiction to opioids AND to all of the other drugs of abuse, current and future.

    Learn more at SAMHSA- http://www.samhsa.gov/capt/practicing-effective-prevention. (I’m not from SAMHSA- I’m a certified prevention specialist working in Lancaster, PA.)

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