“This report underscores two simple facts: insurers will not change their behaviors without increased enforcement and accountability, and patients will continue to suffer until that happens,” according to the letter from AMA CEO James L. Madara, M.D.
American Medical Association
AMA model harm reduction bill
This AMA model bill is a 2021 update of longstanding AMA advocacy. Provisions include:
- Enhanced protections for Good Samaritans who seek help during an overdose event
- Broad support for needle exchange and syringe services programs
- Increased authority to distribute and increase access to naloxone
- Decriminalization of fentanyl test strips and other drug checking supplies
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Recommendations of AMA Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force
Issued September 2021
AMA prescription drug monitoring program national survey
Physicians and other authorized users queried state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) more than 910,000,000 times in 2020; more than double compared to 2018.
Opioid prescriptions decrease for 10th consecutive year
New national data from leading health data clearinghouse IQVIA show that every state in the nation saw a large decrease of prescription opioids dispensed from retail pharmacies between 2011-2020. Every state also saw large decreases in dosage strength, measured in morphine milligram equivalents (MME) during the same time period.
Organized Medicine’s Role in Strengthening a Public Health Approach to Overdose Morbidity and Mortality
AMA President, Susan R. Bailey, MD and the AMA Director of Science and Drug Policy, Amy B. Cadwallader, PhD presented a session at the 2021 Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit that highlighted the reasons why data standardization and public health interventions have been elusive and they provide actionable solutions for states, organizations, and policymakers to meaningfully address the nation’s overdose epidemic.