Writing Assignment #3 - ONE PAGE.

Running Head: OPIOID EPIDEMIC AND INTERPROFESSION EDUCATION 2

OPIOID EPIDEMIC AND INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION 2

Opioid Epidemic and Interprofessional Education

MPH STUDENT

University

Opioid Epidemic Background

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2019), “Every day, more than 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids” (para. 1). Opioids are prescription pain relievers, heroin, or synthetic opioids. This national crisis began when the pharmaceutical companies denied that opioid pain relievers would lead to addiction. Because of this statement; providers began to prescribe the medications to their patients at a rapid rate. As a result, people died, and nearly 1.7 million people in the US suffered from substance abuse (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019). To one day, combat the opioid epidemic, there must be new and innovative ways that will reach out to all healthcare fields. The purpose of this experiment is to understand Interprofessional Education and develop a team form different disciplinaries to discuss the concerns of professionals from their point of view.

What is Interprofessional Education

As the world progresses in the healthcare field, so must health education. The thought of Interprofessional Education (IPE) was to improve healthcare by engaging amongst professionals from 2 or more vocations. The focus is to collaborate and develop knowledge and understanding. The goal of IPE is for students to learn how to perform in an interprofessional team. The objective is for the student to be able to use this skill in their future profession (Buring et al. 2009).

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis on creating an Interprofessional Team.

Strengths – Gaining knowledge and collaborating with other professionals.

Weaknesses – Many professionals may have the same views concerning a specific topic and not offering an abundance of insight.

Opportunities – Involving more than one discipline, allows for more expertise into the aspect of what other professions understandings are.

Threats – There may be the possibility of more personal opinions than facts.

Interprofessional Team

To combat the opioid epidemic in the United States, the creation of an Interprofessional Team can be helpful to discuss possible causes and solutions. The interprofessional team is being built from members of different vocations to collaborate.

Team Members: Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Pharmacy Technician, Temporomandibular Joint Specialist

Ice Breaker: Tell us the bravest thing you’ve ever done.

Team collaborative questions:

1. Question 1: What do you consider to be the main obstacle for combating the US’s opioid epidemic?

2. Question 2: What considerations should be made when addressing the public for outreach and engagement against opioids?

3. Question 3: Do you think social media has a negative impact on the opioid epidemic, if so, how can it be turned into a positive impact?

4. Question 4: In your current profession, have you engaged in any interventions for someone with substance abuse disorder? If so, what were your methods of intervening?

5. Question 5: Do you have any suggestions for how healthcare can make a difference?

Conclusion: Thank everyone for their time and feedback.

During the interprofessional meeting, there was a discussion as to what the members felt was the biggest obstacle to combating the opioid epidemic. The answer seemed to be consistent across the board. The members stated that they believed that providers were overly prescribing pain medications to patients. Instead, the providers should evaluate a complete history for the patient. Gage if the patients have a history of substance abuse, or if they have genetic vulnerabilities to substance abuse. Another member felt as if the patients who have substance abuse disorders are drug seekers and will visit multiple facilities to receive services and pain medication. The problem here is that not all hospitals and pharmacies communicate with each other. For example, the military pharmacies cannot see the systems for private pharmacies such as CVS or Walgreens.

Additionally, living close to other states allows for patients to travel for emergency care and receive additional medication. All members of the group were able to agree; healthcare can make a difference by standardizing all systems across the platform where all information is shared. The only factor to be considered is that the patients will have to agree to release their information amongst other hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. Also, reducing the dosage amount of pain medication, increasing follow up appointment where the provider can continuously monitor the patient progress. There was a suggestion that with chronic pain that pain medication should not be the first line of defense. Pain medication would be more beneficial if they were only prescribed for acute pain.

In conclusion, this team was an insightful group of people that presented meaning insight into the opioid epidemic in the united states. The SWOT analysis that was developed on building an interprofessional team, although prepared before the meeting, seemed to be accurate. Many of the professions did share some of the same beliefs and concerns. Also, they were more willing to offer more of their opinions as opposed to sharing any factual information to the topic at hand. However, this was an exciting program which provided significant input.

Reference

Bruing, S. M., Bhushan, A., Broeseker, A., Conway, S., Duncan-Hewitt, W., Hansen, L., & Westberg, S. (2009, Summer). Interprofessional education: definitions, student competencies, and guidelines for implementation. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 73(4), 59. DOI:10.5688/aj730459

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2019). Opioid Overdose Crisis. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis