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https://youtu.be/ZR31wpeE0Xg

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZTJxuJoGqa9MvWu9Vu4FpZn9JWqKKJHLD0oq61g8PQo/edit#slide=id.p

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Changes in Opioid Prescribing Practices

Taking prescription opioids for longer periods of time or in higher dosages can increase the risk of opioid use disorder (addiction), overdose, and death. It is also important for patients and providers to discuss the risks of opioids, consider alternative therapies, and, if prescribing opioids is appropriate, the provider should offer fewer prescriptions for fewer days and at lower dosages.

The overall opioid prescribing rate in the United States peaked and leveled off from 2010-2012 and has been declining since 2012, but the amount of opioids in morphine milligram equivalents (MME) prescribed per person is still around three times higher than it was in 1999. ¹ MME is a way to calculate the total amount of opioids, accounting for differences in opioid drug type and strength.

There was a more than 19% reduction in annual prescribing rate from 2006 to 2017. The declines in opioid prescribing rates since 2012 and high-dose prescribing rates (≥90 MME) since 2008 suggest that healthcare providers have become more cautious in their opioid prescribing practices.

In 2017, however, there were still almost 58 opioid prescriptions written for every 100 Americans.

More than 17% of Americans had at least one opioid prescription filled, with an average of 3.4 opioid prescriptions dispensed per patient.

Per prescription, the average daily amount was more than 45.3 MME.

The average number of days per prescription continues to increase, with an average of 18 days in 2017.²

There is wide variability at the county level in the amount of opioids received per resident. Counties with higher prescribing have been shown to have these characteristics:

Generally smaller cities or larger towns

Higher percentage of white residents

Higher number of dentists and primary care physicians per capita

More people who are uninsured or unemployed

More residents who have diabetes, arthritis, or a disability¹

Healthcare providers report concerns about opioid-related risks of addiction and overdose for their patients, as well as insufficient training in pain management. The 2016 CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain offers recommendations that may help to improve prescribing practices and ensure all patients receive safer, more effective pain treatment. Healthcare providers can also earn continuing education through this interactive training series called Applying the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids.

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Taking prescription opioids for longer periods of time or in higher dosages can increase the risk of opioid use disorder (addiction), overdose, and death. It is also important for patients and providers to discuss the risks of opioids, consider alternative therapies, and, if prescribing opioids is appropriate, the provider should offer fewer prescriptions for fewer days and at lower dosages.

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Explanation and Statistics of Opioid Crisis

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Explanation and Statistics of Opioid Crisis

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Opioid Crisis - Is Canada doing enough? Can we further prevent this crisis, what are the resources?

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AGAINST - This isnt true, lost cause

What are we (Government, or specifically to BC) doing to prevent/reduce/enforce, laws (Good Samaritan), Naloxone (firefighters), programs for recovery (Drug Court).

Statistics (when opioid first introduced, to now, through Coivd) is there a decrease in prescriptions.

How was the Opioid Epidemic started with patients complaining of pain? Pain medication wasn't strong enough, Government/Hospitals/Pharmaceutical Companies invented a new medication, Opioids. They weren't (or were they) aware of the (effects) addiction it would have on patients. The numbers of this pain killer jumped significantly. Leading the pharmaceutical companies to market the drug even more. Ultimately leading to addiction. Then to an epidemic.

What exactly is making them so addictive, what does it do to the body? Has a chemical reaction to the opioid receptors/system within the brain. The drug manages the pain we experience better than our own endorphins.   Changing our mood, bodily function,

Not sure what else to put, these are idea's I've watched (Heroin(e), Intervention Canada) that might be a topic to debate? I wasn't sure haha

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For the prevention
What is Canada doing to prevent it?

It is a big crisis and it should be taken seriously. Canada is taking different actions  to work on the issue.

Pro Point
full legalization of all mind-altering recreational drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and LSD. Fentanyl-laced drugs are an important contributor to the overdose crisis, and the author suggests that referring to it as a ‘supply problem’ and ‘poisoning crisis’ removes the important focus from treating addictions and failing to address the underlying pain or psychological issues.

https://datac.ca/debate-continues-for-solution-to-canadas-opioid-crisis/?locale=en

Opioid Users Face Ongoing Stigma
There is a high degree of stigma associated with substance use. As a result, addictions are under-reported and sufferers are often reluctant to access services for fear of discrimination. Reducing this stigma will be necessary in addressing the crisis moving forward.

https://www.healthcarecan.ca/wp-content/themes/camyno/assets/document/Reports/2017/HCC/EN/OpioidsBackgrounder_EN.pdf?target=blank

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Against Opioid Crisis

Multiple deaths, they should just get better, Methadone

There is no system of care for opioid disorder treatment services

Although the opiate crisis has increased access to necessary measures such as opioid agonist treatment and naloxone kits, access to appropriate and evidence-based psychosocial interventions has fallen far behind. It remains as hard as ever for patients with addiction or at high risk of addiction to receive appropriate assessment and concurrent treatment for mental health conditions, pain and trauma. People with opioid use disorders presenting to hospital Emergency Departments (ED) for opioid overdose, withdrawal, or other harms, do not have rapid, seamless access to care direct from the ED. Additionally, there is insufficient capacity in the primary health care system to meet the needs of those living with substance use problems. Patients should be able to access ongoing, evidence-based treatment, peersupport, and secular support for their substance use disorder. Furthermore, privatized addictions services are working in silos and there is limited control over quality and safety in these programs.

https://www.healthcarecan.ca/wp-content/themes/camyno/assets/document/Reports/2017/HCC/EN/OpioidsBackgrounder_EN.pdf?target=blank

Indigenous populations have unique needs
The First Nations Health Authority in collaboration with provincial and regional partners has developed a surveillance protocol to monitor the opioid crisis among First Nations populations in British Columbia. Preliminary analysis of this data suggests a disproportionate impact of both overdoses and deaths on First Nations, highlighting the need for a prompt and specialized approach, including implementation of a wide variety of culturally-safe and trauma-informed interventions that would meet the needs of First Nations

https://www.healthcarecan.ca/wp-content/themes/camyno/assets/document/Reports/2017/HCC/EN/OpioidsBackgrounder_EN.pdf?target=blank

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FOR the prevention

Opioid Alternatives
Many in Canada do not know that non-pharmacological alternatives like psychology, chiropractic, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy exist, and if they do, they often have difficulty accessing them. The pain management therapies offered by these professions are often unfunded by the public healthcare system; in contrast to the more integrated systems of other developed countries. These alternatives are most effective when offered as part of an interprofessional approach to pain management centred on patient needs

https://www.chiropractic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CSEPM-Interim-Report_FINAL.pdf

Education and professional development of care providers are key considerations

Health care providers are challenged to translate the various recommendations into practice. There is a need for coordinated continuing professional development that 1) addresses the practical aspects of managing opioid dependency, 2) addresses the current climate of fear amongst physicians and the assumption that all opioid use is addiction or misuse, and 3) guides safe maintenance and intermittent use prescribing. In addition, to courses and guidelines, the modeling of appropriate behaviour by health care providers experienced in managing opioid addictions and treatment must be included in CPD activities.
https://www.healthcarecan.ca/wp-content/themes/camyno/assets/document/Reports/2017/HCC/EN/OpioidsBackgrounder_EN.pdf?target=blank

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Group Presentation Description and Rubric

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I believe this is American, though I'm sure we could find similarities?
Substance use during the pandemic (apa.org)
- https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/prescribing/prescribing-practices.html
- https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/ethics-public-health-and-addressing-opioid-crisis/2020-08
- https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis
Opioid Overdose Prevention and Response in Canada - Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
- Canada's Opioid Overdose Crisis
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/health/campaigns/drug-prevention.html?utm_campaign=hc-sc-opioidstigma-20-21&utm_medium=sem&utm_source=ggl&utm_content=ad-text-en&utm_term=opioids&adv=2021-0088&id_campaign=12377569360&id_source=120949322627&id_content=499702525835&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6pf7l-Ss7wIVOSCtBh2q0Qg-EAAYASAAEgI23PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds