February 10, 2021

Pandemic Leading to Decreased Access to Opioid Abuse Treatment

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the opioid epidemic, making treatment for opioid use disorder more difficult for patients. Pandemic Disrupts Medical System, Reducing Patient Access to Care The pandemic has deeply disrupted the medical system in the U.S., as health care facilities limited and even canceled elective procedures and outpatient visits. Fearful of contracting the virus, patients also avoided seeking care for new and urgent conditions. An investigative report published in JAMA Internal Medicine found decreases in emergency department visits that ranged from 41.5% in Colorado to 63.5% in New York, with the most rapid rates of decrease in visits occurring in early March 2020. Medical Assisted Treatment Challenges During COVID-19 Even before the pandemic began, only a minority of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) received evidence-based treatment with medications, and many people who use drugs struggled to get access to lifesaving harm reduction services like syringe service programs. "People with substance use disorder already face many obstacles to treatment,” reports HealthAffairs.org. “However, public health precautions such as social distancing and self-quarantine—necessary measures, by all accounts, to contain the spread ...

January 26, 2021

Opioid Fatalities Increase Amidst COVID Pandemic

In Erie County, New York, 85 people died from overdoses during the first four months of 2020, a 100% increase from the same period last year. The increase in opioid fatalities is not an isolated incident; overdose deaths have been rising nationwide. The New York Times has referred to the COVID-19 pandemic as a "national relapse trigger," resulting in an acceleration of overdose deaths during the pandemic. Opioid Fatalities Increasing During Pandemic The primary driver of the increases in overdose deaths appears to be synthetic opioids, such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Overdose deaths increased 38.4% from the 12 months leading up to June 2019 compared with the 12 months leading up to May 2020. 37 of 38 U.S. jurisdictions reported increases in synthetic opioid-involved overdose deaths. 18 of these jurisdictions reported fatality increases greater than 50%. 10 western states reported over a 98% increase in synthetic opioid-involved deaths. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid often mixed with heroin and/ or cocaine as a combination product -- with or without the user’s knowledge -- to increase its euphoric effects. Overdose deaths involving cocaine also increased by 26.5%, likely linked ...