Advocacy through Legislation. Idea for Addressing the Issue

Advocacy through Legislation
Name
Institution
Advocacy through Legislation
Problem
Opioid addiction has become a national crisis in the United States in the recent past. The crisis is also very serious in the state of Virginia such that in 2016, opioid addiction was declared a public health emergency (Virginia Department of Health (VDH), 2019). The opioid addiction has affected many people, but the most vulnerable are people who suffer from chronic pain. Also, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (2016) reveals that young adults are affected most by this crisis because they mostly use opioids for non-medical reasons. As a result of this epidemic, there has been an increase in emergency department visits, blood-borne pathogen infections such as hepatitis C and deaths related to opioids addiction (VDH, 2019). Yet, despite being declared an emergency, opioid addiction in Virginia remains a challenge. According to the NIDA (2019), Virginia recorded an opioid-related death rate of 14.8 deaths per 100,000 persons in 2017 which was higher than the national rate of 14.6 deaths per 100,000 persons. It also revealed that since 2011, the deaths related to prescription opioids have not decreased, remaining at an average of 404 deaths every year. These statistics are alarming and more opioid-related deaths should be expected if the crisis is not averted. Further, if access to opioids is not restricted using stringent legal methods, the number of persons addicted to opioids will continue to be on the rise, worsening the current ramifications
Idea for Addressing the Issue
Statistics indicate that more people in Virginia State and the country as a whole are becoming more dependent on opioids. This is an indication that access to opioids has increased over the years. As a nurse, my idea is to advocate for the restriction of prescription opioids through legislation. Passing a law that limits the legal access to opioids by reducing opioid prescriptions for first-time users to about five days is the most viable approach to addressing this crisis because healthcare providers will be held liable in case they over-prescribe. According to the National Academies of Sciences (2017), many people gain access to prescription opioids because of “diversion via the filling of a prescription.” This occurs when patients obtain multiple prescriptions from negligent or inattentive healthcare providers. Thus, patients who have legal access to prescription opioids due to chronic pain obtain more opioids than necessary and eventually become addicted. Also, when healthcare providers knowingly or unknowingly over-prescribe, they increase the supply of opioids. The National Academies of Sciences (2017) reveals that one out of five people with legal opioid prescription share the opioids with other people. The legislation should also provide a jail term or penalties to providers who over-prescribe opioids.
Evidence-Based Findings
There is enough evidence indicating that healthcare providers have contributed to the current opioid epidemic in the country. Thus, limiting their ability to prescribe opioids, especially to first-time patients, is imperative in the fight against opioid addiction. This idea is first informed by an article b...