Strategy to Combat Opioid Abuse

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released its five point strategy to combat opioid abuse, misuse, and overdose. 

The five points that the strategy is based on are to:

• Improve access to prevention, treatment and recovery resources. 
• Develop the process of collection, recording, and of reporting of public health data.
• Advance the practice of evidence-based pain management.
• Increase the availability of overdose-reversing medications
• Support ongoing research into our understanding of opioid abuse, improve our knowledge of the impact it has on public health, and continue the development of innovative treatments.

It is hoped that by increasing public awareness and reducing stigma, and by broadening the scope and improving effectiveness of the strategy, the health and human services will be able to make progress towards ending the opioid crisis.