The American Medical Association believes that science, evidence, and compassion must continue to guide patient care and policy change as the nation’s opioid epidemic has become a more dangerous and complicated illicit drug overdose epidemic.
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America’s overdose epidemic has been characterized as 4 distinct and interrelated epidemics: prescription opioids, heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, and stimulants. Even though physicians have decreased prescribing of opioid analgesics, America’s patients are currently facing a drug overdose – both fatal and non-fatal – epidemic that is fueled by illicit drugs, including counterfeit fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, psychostimulants, heroin, cocaine, and drug combinations.
The American Medical Association Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force continues to advance evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and physicians to help end the nation’s drug-related overdose and death epidemic. Physicians’ positive actions, however, are limited by an insufficient focus on meaningful policy implementation and enforcement to support affordable, accessible, evidence-based care for patients with a substance use disorder, pain, or access to harm reduction services such as naloxone, syringe services programs and fentanyl test strips.
Learn MoreThe AMA and Manatt Health 2022 State Toolkit identifies more than 400 state laws, regulations, policy guidance and other select national actions being implemented to help end the nation's drug overdose epidemic. We encourage all states to use this resource as a go-to guide to increase access to evidence-based treatment and save lives from overdose.
Learn MoreThe nation’s drug-related overdose and death epidemic has changed and worsened. As a result, the AMA has united the Opioid and Pain Care Task Forces in a new, collective effort – the AMA Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force – to increase the urgency for evidence-based solutions.
ExploreThe AMA offers high-quality resources related to the use of data to shift from “response” to “prevention” of overdose, stigma, and educational opportunities for physicians and other medical professionals who seek to stay current and continuously improve the care they provide.
ExplorePhysicians demonstrate leadership everyday to help their patients with a substance use disorder–or chronic pain. Learn more about physician leadership to end the e pidemic.
ExplorePhysicians demonstrate leadership every day in their practice to help patients with pain and those with a substance use disorder. These are a few of their stories.
Opioid prescribing continues downward trend while overdose and death related to illicitly manufactured fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine increase.
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There is no legal, medical or policy reason to deny access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) for justice-involved persons, according to leading medical, legal and health policy experts speaking on recent
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When Alena Balasanova, MD, started the addiction psychiatry consultation-liaison service at the University o
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to reverse the nation’s opioid epidemic.