Anesthesia Business Consultants President and CEO Tony Mira penned a blog post on what anesthesia practitioners and pain specialists should expect after President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency.
Here's what you should know:
1. Mr. Mira believes the administration's actions "are likely to impact pain specialists and anesthesia providers in several spheres, including prescribing, treatment, prevention, documentation and compliance, diversion prevention, fraud and abuse detection and reimbursement."
2. The opioid report released by the administration was met with many opinions in support and in opposition. The American Medical Association's Opioid Task Force Chairman Patrice Harris, MD, was both supportive and critical of the public health emergency designation. He said, "As it stands, it's easier for patients to access heroin than to access evidence-based treatment and non-opioid care."
3. Dr. Harris lauded the report as an "excellent roadmap" for increasing access to medication-assisted treatments.
4. Several experts believe the administration will struggle to make progress on the crisis because of proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the CDC.
For a full breakdown of what the final report on the opioid crisis recommended, click here.