Aetna’s Commitment to Fight the Opioid Epidemic

Aetna’s Commitment to Fight the Opioid Epidemic

As part of our commitment to help our members achieve their health ambitions, Aetna recently announced its commitment to a set of 5-year goals to fight the fast-growing U.S. opioid crisis. Dr. Harold Paz, Aetna’s Chief Medical Officer, published a paper outlining the scope of the opioid problem, from the growth of opioid prescription rates, to the steep rise in overdoses, to the subsequent current health crisis. The paper examines the origin of this powerful cycle of dependence, increased tolerance and addiction.

To address this growing health challenge, Aetna is building tools, policies and structures to encourage and reward the collaboration that a crisis of this scale requires. We have powerful data that can spot high prescribers and evaluate the outcomes of programs. We have care managers who can work with our members to help them navigate through the health system and gain access to tools to help themselves. And we can connect people to others in the local communities.

Aetna’s comprehensive strategy is trifold; it includes prevention, intervention and support. In terms of prevention, one of the best ways to stop misuse and abuse is to find alternatives to opioids from the start. To that end, we are working to promote alternative treatments for chronic pain management that do not rely on opioids, including mindfulness, acupuncture, physical and massage therapy and chiropractic treatment. Intervention initiatives include alerting prescribers to patients who might misuse or abuse opioids, and increasing access to naloxone, an effective tool to reverse overdose and stop potential deaths. Support for those struggling with addiction is provided through evidence-based treatments for opioid addiction, particularly medication-assisted treatment.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights the progress that’s been made and offers a bit of hope – doctors are prescribing opioids less often, and the average dose they're giving patients has dropped. However, this is only the beginning of the battle, and there’s still much to be done when it comes to fighting the opioid crisis. The stakes are high: the opioid crisis is dramatically escalating, and threatening entire communities with devastating consequences.

Together with our partners, Aetna is working to reverse the opioid trend through a combination of integrated pharmacy, behavioral health and medical programs. Our initiatives connect healthcare providers and offer members seamless access to the right support systems to help fight addiction. This includes applying data analytics, clinical insights and collaborations along the continuum of addiction and recovery to drive improved outcomes.

I’m proud to be a part of an organization that’s making an unwavering commitment to address one of the most intractable healthcare problems of our time. Aetna has set bold, inspiring goals to battle this problem over the next five years:

We made a promise that as we build towards becoming a valued partner on our members’ journeys to realize their health ambitions, we’ll support our members on a variety of critical, life-altering issues. I’m hopeful that we can continue to find the most effective ways to help people recover from opioid addiction, to reduce the rates of overdose and to decrease the supply of opioids overall. I invite you to follow Dr. Paz on Twitter (@drhpaz) to read more about Aetna’s ongoing efforts and to learn about other cutting-edge developments in the healthcare industry.

David Audley, MA, FAMF

Provider Network Strategy and Design to Deliver Value-Based Care Programs

7y

I applaud your efforts. I am wondering if you see any role for integrative healthcare in this process? Have you evaluated how chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, and naturopathic physicians can play a role in both pain management and functional outcome improvement?

Melody Woolf

The science on Kratom

7y

There is not a legitimate pain prescription opiate epidemic. There's an opiate epidemic to be sure though. The CDC is manipulating the numbers of opiate deaths. They themselves now admit that that epidemic is driven by heroin. https://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2017/3/26/cdc-painkillers-no-longer-driving-opioid-epidemic Police depts also concur. They say it's really heroin laced with Fentanyl. These deaths are from people thinking they are buying heroin but in reality it is Heroin laced with fentanyl. Death occurs and is counted as an opiate death which is not accurate. There is no way that forensics can tell an illicit fentanyl with product coming from China or Mexico death from a fentanyl pain prescription in the US. "Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer says that when addicts think they're purchasing heroin, they're more likely buying one of these synthetic opioids." Even though the CDC admits the epidemic is driven by heroin, whenever it comes out with a statement the picture with the statement are prescription pain bottles. We are being mislead http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/06/health/ohio-heroin-opioid-crisis-morgue-full/

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Kevin Kennedy

Inspirational Speaker

7y

What might I ask are you doing for those who truly need opioids?

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