The Opioid Crisis Is At An All-Time High. Here’s How Digital Health Platforms Can Help

Overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under 50.

And much of this crisis has been fueled by opioid overdoses that include both heroin and prescription medications.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over 33,000 people overdosed on opioids in 2015–15,000 of which were attributed to commonly prescribed opioids.

This is a serious problem for our country and our healthcare system.

And while it’s getting attention at the national level, we’re still looking for ways to successfully combat it.

As a surgeon, I have patients who are prescribed these medications after surgery. So, I have some firsthand knowledge about what we can do and how digital health platforms can help.

Electronic Prescriptions

The fact is, we already have a useful technology available for curbing the abuse of these opioids.

Electronic prescriptions are available for physicians all over the country to use instead of the standard, handwritten prescriptions.

These electronic versions are effective because they use a system with automated safeguards in place. A two-factor authentication, along with a database for cross-referencing, can help reduce dosing errors and simplify the process for both doctors and patients.

It also allows doctors to write smaller prescriptions.

Because an additional supply can be ordered remotely, there’s no need for a doctor to err on the side of a heavy prescription that may end up being unnecessary.

And electronic prescriptions also help cut down on forgeries and prescription opioid abuse associated with paper prescription pads.

But right now, only 8% of physicians are using these digital prescription platforms.

If we can get that number up, it would go a long way towards slowing the flow of unnecessary opioids, and making sure that those who truly need them can still get them.

Management, Not Blockade

So much of this depends on better management, because there really are patients out there who need these medications for a period of time.

I had a patient not too long ago who was a younger guy, and he had a prior history of drug abuse — although not with opioids. We were going to do a large procedure, and I suggested that he have access to a prescription because it was going to be a very painful recovery.

We set up a system with a family member where he had limited access to the medication, and we also settled on a smaller dose.

So he had fewer pills, a lower dose, and a family member who would be managing it.

But this got flagged at the pharmacy.

My nurse talked to them on the phone and tried to explain the situation, but they still refused to fill the prescription. This is on the day of the surgery. He was going to be going home in just a few hours.

So I got on the phone with the pharmacist, but they still wouldn’t budge.

Eventually, I was able to talk to the manager, explain the situation, and convinced him to allow my patient a small number of pills to get him through the recovery.

That’s what I mean when I say the solution can’t just be a blockade.

I certainly don’t mean that pharmacists should be filling these without any oversight or management, but a blanket type of ruling makes it difficult for me as a physician to effectively treat my patients.

Digital Health Platforms For Management

And there’s an opening here for digital health tools to help.

Because people need education on this subject.

They need to be able to communicate with their physicians so that we can understand where they are in the recovery process — and whether or not they really need opioids.

We think that because everyone hears about the opioid crisis, that people are educated about the risks. Not everyone is.

People don’t really understand what all of this means until they become a patient.

Pulse, our platform, is about educating people through the post-surgery recovery process. So two days out, they’re being notified about the negative effects of opioids — nausea, constipation, everything that goes along with it.

Two weeks out, they’re notified that, “Hey, your pain should be at its maximum, but it’s going to start easing at this point. You’ll notice that you need the medication less. You should start trying to cut back because of the negative effects.”

What we need to do is give our patients a path to success, so that they know the plan and the endpoint.

How long are they going to be on this? When should they start reducing the dose?

We need to have better communication here, and digital tools can be a big part of that. Whether it’s using digital prescriptions to cut down on abuse, or working with patients after surgery to reduce the risk for abuse, we can do a better job — and digital health platforms can be part of the solution.