User:Kettie24/Opioid epidemic in the United States

Massachusetts
In 2016, the number of deaths within Massachusetts was the highest it had ever been and twice the national average with 29.7 deaths per 100,000. In order to regulate the use of opioids, Governor Charlie Baker signed Bill H.4056 or the STEP Act into law on March 14, 2016. Due to the STEP Act, opioid prescribing rates fell by 29 percent. According to the Boston Indicators, in 2020 the rate of overdoses related to opioid use disorder was 30.2 per 100,000 people. This was about 1.6% lower than the rate in 2016.

The STEP Act's primary focus is on limiting the supply of opioids and providing patients with the opportunity to request less than their total prescribed amount of opioids at the pharmacy. These components of the STEP Act are broken down as follows:


 * 1) Seven day limit on opioid prescription: Opioid prescriptions given to all adults and minors cannot exceed the seven day supply limit. The only individuals that are exempt from this ruling and therefore can receive an opioid prescription that exceeds the seven day limit are those that are suffering from chronic pain.
 * 2) Patients can request partial fill of opioids: When opioids are being prescribed, the prescriber must inform the patient about the risks of taking opioids; and their option to request an amount less than the prescribed amount. If they feel inclined, patients have the option to request a smaller quantity of opioids than the amount that has been prescribed to them. Pharmacists must comply with the patient's request and inform the prescriber about the amount of opioids given.

Economic and Social Impact of Opioids in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Taxpayers' Foundation published a report which contains an analysis of the economic and social impacts of the opioid epidemic in Massachusetts. In 2017, the state lost a total of $15.2 billion dollars. Out of that total, at least $5.5 billion dollars was dedicated to funding opioid-related services; and $9.7 billion was lost as a result of losses in productivity as 32,687 people were kept out of the workforce due to opioids. The report also analyzes forgone wages due to deaths related to opioid overdoses accounted for over $1.1 billion dollars in losses from 2015-2017. Therefore, the total amount lost taking into account forgone wages and lost productivity is about $7 billion per year.

The social effects of the opioid epidemic include the costs associated with healthcare and the criminal justice system. In regards to healthcare, costs can be attributed to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome treatment and emergency services. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome or NAS occurs when a woman abuses opioids during pregnancy, thus causing the baby to experience withdrawal symptoms when born. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2017 out of every 1000 hospital births, 13.7 of those births involved an infant born with NAS. Additionally, the responses to opioid related incidents involve costs related to Narcan, transport to the hospital, and first responders. In 2016 and 2017, the total cost of all these factors was $43 million. Meanwhile, in patient and ICU costs were $538 million and $271 million, respectively.

In regards to the criminal justice system, a report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum states that the effect of the opioid issue on the criminal justice system is estimated to be $500 million. The Middlesex sheriff's office notes that of the 73% of the prisoners with alcohol or drug addiction are involved in opioids. The analysis by the Massachusetts Taxpayers' Foundation notes that handling prisoners battling opioid use disorders costs $470 million each year.