NUImpact Vertical Series: Combatting the Opioid Epidemic

On Wednesday, February 19th, NUImpact hosted the second event of our Industry Vertical Series: Combating the Opioid Crisis. In collaboration with Vital — Northeastern’s healthcare entrepreneurship organization — this event focused on the opioid epidemic as it relates to the Greater Boston Area. The goal was to bring students from various disciplines and backgrounds together to learn about current efforts to address the crisis and to brainstorm possible solutions from multiple perspectives. Over 2,000 Massachusetts residents die annually as a result of opioid overdoses, disproportionately those of lower socioeconomic status, making this an incredibly important discussion.

Infographic by the United States Department of Health and Human Services

Jennifer Tracey, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Services, gave a detailed presentation on the history of the opioid epidemic, the communities most affected, and what her department through the City of Boston is doing to meet this challenge. Her office is the first municipal recovery office in the United States and employs an impressive array of innovative interventions bolstered by the 70 million dollars Boston has spent fighting the opioid epidemic.

The principle bridging all of these initiatives is harm reduction, defined as, “public health policies designed to lessen the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal.” The office employs a team of outreach workers who canvass at-risk neighborhoods to help individuals access care, meeting those suffering from addiction in areas they’re comfortable. They operate an Engagement Center, where individuals can spend time, speak with professionals, and seek care on their own without stigma. They offer comprehensive testing and treatment and provide tools to minimize opioid deaths such as Naloxone and needle exchanges. The primary goal is to minimize death and suffering — to rehabilitate patients, rather than punish them. This strategy has been empirically evidenced to be much more effective, but it has been difficult for governments and public health organizations to align completely due to cultural attitudes around addiction.

Following this, students broke into groups to discuss and brainstorm potential interventions and innovations. Four examples from the Greater Boston Area were provided as examples, each with various strengths and weaknesses. Key takeaways these groups found were that:

1. It’s not enough to develop cutting-edge technology without addressing root causes and ensuring accessibility for the most vulnerable populations.
2. It’s important to involve communities in the process and “meet people where they are”.
3. It’s important for the innovation to be financially sustainable and scalable to be effective long-term.

These lessons are applicable to the diligence NUImpact does in the healthcare vertical, and give students a more robust lens through which to analyze the opioid epidemic and what’s being done about it.