Solutions to fight the drug overdose epidemic on multiple fronts
- Overdoses continue to be a huge killer of Americans
- New technology could help prevent and respond to overdoses
- But some of this technology is still in its infancy
GRUNDY, VIRGINIA – OCTOBER 07: A medical student displays a pouch of Narcan, which is used to revive an overdose, at a Remote Area Medical (RAM) mobile dental and medical clinic on October 07, 2023 in Grundy, Virginia. More than a thousand people were expected to seek free dental, medical and vision care at the two-day event in western Virginia’s rural and financially struggling area. RAM provides free medical care through mobile clinics in underserved, isolated, or impoverished communities around the country and world. As health care continues to be a contentious issue in America, an estimated 27 million people — or 8.3 percent of the population of America- were uninsured, according to a report from the Census Bureau. This rate is considerably high in rural and poorer parts of the country. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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(NewsNation) — As drug overdoses continue to be among the leading causes of death in the U.S. — the CDC estimates over 80,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2021 — medical and government officials are scrambling to find solutions.
Across the country, new solutions are being pioneered to tackle the drug overdose epidemic at every stage, from prevention to treatment to recovery.
Solutions include offering doctors new training about how to prescribe painkillers, to using cutting-edge virtual reality to teach people how to respond to an overdose, to helping people who’ve had drug addiction problems get stable employment, all aimed to tackle America’s drug overdose crisis.
Training doctors about painkillers
A group of researchers created a short training video medical providers can watch to learn more about how painkillers should be prescribed to their patients.
The video reminded medical providers of the recommended guidelines for prescribing painkillers. Using pre- and post-video testing, the researchers found that the video improved medical professionals’ prescribing knowledge.
“We found a lot of improvement,” said Pankti Acharya, a medical student at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine who worked on the study. “So we found that the provider attitudes were just different. We found that a lot of people were more… understanding about the pros and the cons of opioid prescribing.”
Using VR technology to train responders
When someone overdoses on opioids, administering naloxone could save their life.
A team of scientists at OSF Healthcare in Illinois are working on creating “mixed-reality” software that can be used to train people how to save someone who is overdosing.
With the help of a VR headset, users will be able to simulate chaotic emergencies in real spaces where they might have to administer support.
“We’ll be going into the communities, seeing how they relate to this, do they take to it, how can we design that experience better to kind of bridge that gap from this awesome technology to someone who doesn’t know how to use a mobile phone very well or maybe doesn’t even have access,” said OSF Design Lab Director Scott Barrows about how they plan to test the technology.
Employing people in recovery
In Albany, New York, the nonprofit Second Chance Opportunities employs people who are in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Clients work as janitors in area facilities.
“On a full-time job, you’re bringing home around $2,600 a month, and what that means is you actually have enough money to afford rent,” said Kellie Roe, executive director at the organization.
Along with employment, clients also receive access to mentoring and affordable housing.
Rudy Fernandez, who spent years battling his own addictions, helps mentor clients.
“You can’t do recovery alone. … I’m here to guide you and show you how I did it,” he said.