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 ...

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 ...

Western Health Advantage (WHA) is offering Gatekeeper Innovation Inc.'s Rx Locking Cap as a covered benefit to its members to prevent misuse or abuse of in-home prescription medications. Learn more about this exciting new benefit for WHA members. WHA Provides No-Cost Safe Dispensing Devices to Battle Opioid Misuse According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Abuse, more than 70 percent of individuals who illegally use prescription pain relievers obtained them through their friends or family, often from the home medicine cabinet. In 2017, an estimated 18 million people (more than 6 percent of those aged 12 and older) had misused controlled substances at least once in the past year. Western Health Advantage (WHA) is a non-profit HMO health plan headquartered in Sacramento, California, serving 9 Northern California counties (Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Colusa, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, and Marin). "The opioid and other prescription medication abuse epidemic calls for solutions on many fronts, including the use of abuse-resistant packaging," WHA announced in its winter 2020 issue of Provider Insider. "For this reason, WHA is introducing the availability of a prescription locking ...

Gatekeeper Innovation, Inc.'s new Rx Locking Cap is now available in 7,886 Walgreen locations across the country. Find out why this innovative drug diversion device is a perfect fit for Walgreen’s aggressive battle against the opioid epidemic. How Walgreens is Battling the Opioid Epidemic According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of more than 130 people in the United States died each day in 2017 due to drug overdoses involving opioids (including prescription opioid medication or illicit opioid drugs). Walgreens is one of the largest retail pharmacies in the country, with approximately 9,021 drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As of August 2020, approximately 78 percent of the U.S. population lives within five miles of a Walgreens. The retail pharmacy filled 287.6 million prescriptions (including immunizations) in 2020. Walgreens has launched a multi-million dollar effort to help address the U.S. opioid epidemic, with a plan that includes steps to: Save lives, first and foremost Prevent misuse and curb abuse of prescription drugs Reduce future prescription drug abuse In addition ...

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, claiming the lives of over 48,000 people per year. Two of the leading methods for suicide are firearms and self-poisoning (overdose). The State of Virginia is promoting safe and responsible care of lethal means to promote wellness and prevent suicide through its Lock & Talk Virginia program. Lock & Talk Virginia Suicide Prevention Initiative The Lock & Talk Virginia program is based on suicide prevention strategy and research from the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Its components include: Safe Handling and Secure Storage of Lethal Means Lock & Talk Virginia distributes safety devices and instructions to help its community members secure prescription medications and firearms. By distributing safety devices such as medication lock boxes, medication deactivation kits, gun trigger locks, and gun cable locks, Lock & Talk is encouraging safekeeping of the leading methods of suicide. Nearly two-thirds (60%) of U.S. suicides involve firearms Child and teen firearm suicide rates have increased by 65% in the past 10 years One in five suicides in the U.S. employed overdose as the primary method 80% of overdose ...