The Urgent and Worsening Public Health Problem of the U.S. Opioid Crisis
The U.S. opioid crisis remains an urgent and worsening public health problem, with nearly 110,000 deaths due to overdose in 2022. As opioid response needs evolve, our health information and technology (IT) infrastructure must adapt to ensure the availability of accurate and reliable data to inform data-driven community response efforts.
Across the nation, states are receiving more than $50 billion in opioid settlement funding to abate the crisis. But while each state is developing or has developed its own plan to distribute this funding, there has been little guidance around how to spend opioid settlement funds to support the health IT infrastructure needed for opioid use disorder (OUD) care and response. Strengthening this infrastructure is a critical and necessary step toward abating the opioid crisis and evaluating the impact of how opioid settlement dollars are allocated across communities.
The Role of Health IT in Responding to the Opioid Crisis
Johns Hopkins published five principles for the use of opioid litigation funds: Spending money to save lives; Using evidence to guide spending; Investing in youth prevention; Focusing on racial equity; Developing a fair and transparent process for deciding where to spend funding.
The Legal Action Center expands on these principles in the report, “Evidence-Based Strategies for Abatement of Harms from the Opioid Epidemic.” One recommendation highlights the need to improve data infrastructure to determine whether and how strategies are impacting communities, map resources that are available to respond to the crisis, and inform data-driven response plans through identifying gaps and strategically deploying resources.
Inadequate Health IT Infrastructure Hinders Comprehensive OUD Treatment
Comprehensive OUD treatment requires interconnectivity and coordination of care across multiple organizations, from OUD treatment facilities to behavioral health, medical, and social service agencies, including agencies for housing and transportation. Unfortunately, in many communities across the United States, this infrastructure reflects a fragmented, siloed system with inadequate communication, which makes it unable to support an integrated model for OUD care.
A 2015 U.S. Surgeon General’s report highlighted the importance of health IT in expanding communication and coordination across providers to support integrated care for people with comorbid substance use and mental health conditions. Today, information exchange among these providers is often slow, time-consuming, and cumbersome unless the services are co-located. Lack of integrated electronic medical record (EMR) systems further impede integration of medical, mental health, and OUD treatment.
Gaps in the ONC’s Health IT Playbook for Addressing the Opioid Epidemic
In 2019, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT published a playbook that detailed strategies for implementing health IT to enhance the U.S. healthcare system. However, major gaps remain in relation to the capacity of health IT to address the opioid epidemic. The playbook primarily focuses on alleviating harmful clinical prescribing practices and the misuse of opioid prescriptions, overlooking the role of other entities integral to addressing the crisis.
Furthermore, while electronic medical record systems and telehealth have been successfully adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic, their capacity to address the opioid epidemic is limited. The pandemic has highlighted the need for health IT solutions that can support an integrated model of care for OUD.
Recommendations for Improving Health IT Strategy for Opioid Response
To more effectively support opioid response, system integration, research, and evaluation, three recommendations for an improved health IT strategy are proposed: Aggregate opioid-related data sources and create a centralized database; Improve syndromic surveillance by coordinating public safety and public health efforts; Invest in emerging technologies to support the OUD care continuum.
These recommendations aim to enhance the availability and accuracy of opioid-related data, improve coordination across public safety and public health systems, and leverage emerging technologies to support the various stages of OUD care.
A Matter of Public Health: Upgrading the Health IT Infrastructure
The existing health IT infrastructure is insufficient to adequately address the opioid crisis, hampering local and national response efforts. Upgrades to health IT systems and tools are needed to evaluate the impact of opioid abatement strategies, promote prevention of overdose and OUD, ensure comprehensive treatment and recovery support services, and reduce harm. These efforts could also facilitate more equitable distribution of resources and data-driven community response, empowering municipalities to address this crisis in a standardized and comprehensive way.
Analyst comment
Positive news: The article highlights the urgent need to improve the health IT infrastructure in response to the U.S. opioid crisis. It emphasizes the importance of accurate and reliable data, as well as the distribution of opioid settlement funds to support the infrastructure necessary for OUD care and response. The recommendations provided aim to enhance data availability, improve coordination, and leverage emerging technologies to support the various stages of OUD care. Overall, these efforts can lead to a more standardized and comprehensive approach to addressing the crisis.
As an analyst, it is likely that market demand for health IT solutions and technologies will increase as stakeholders recognize the importance of improving the infrastructure in response to the opioid crisis. Companies specializing in health IT, data analytics, and emerging technologies may see growth opportunities and increased investment. There may also be a greater focus on collaboration and integration among healthcare providers, public safety agencies, and public health systems to improve coordination and data exchange.
