As The Opioid Crisis Grows, What are The Latest Developments here in Colorado and the U.S.

 

As each day goes by, there is something new in the media and on the internet about the Opioid Crisis.  Colorado Public Radio on Jan. 19th talked about how Colorado got its Opioid problem —-“I don’t think you can overstate it. Pick a word, it’s as bad as you could get. More people dying every year than died in the entire Vietnam War,” said Rob Valuck, our keynote speaker at the Denver Medical Study Group meeting next Wednesday, Jan. 31st.

Last night, Rob was on a local news channel where he talked about a particular drug promoted by pharmaceutical companies for mental health issues that originally cost $500, now the price for the same drug is $1,500. As Rob shared about this drug, his point was patients weren’t going to pay out of pocket at the current price for this drug. So what happens when demand drops off, then there is an excess of the supply and price has to go back down. An additional issue Rob shared was this is the way drug manufacturers go out of business —by outpricing the market.

Even Colorado legislature is considering bills related to battling the opioid crisis in Colorado. One of the the more talked about bills in the news is SB18-022: Clinical Practice for Opioid Prescribing Bill. This bill will restrict the number of opioid pills that a health care provider may prescribe for an initial prescription to a seven day supply and one refuill for a seven day supply with certain exceptions.

Next week, Rob will describe the scope and impact of the opioid crisis here and in the U.S. He will help us to understand policy and program solutions being applied at the federal, state and local levels.  Then he will give three concrete steps to reduce opioid misuse in our homes and communities.

You won’t want to miss Rob’s presentation next Wednesday. You can register by clicking on the link below.

http://denvermedicalstudygroup.com/category/upcoming-events/

Sponsored by:

Colorado Medical Society
www.cms.org