The Growing Opioid Epidemic
The opioid epidemic is a serious public health crisis that is affecting the nation’s social and economic welfare. In 2017, opioids were responsible for about 130 deaths per day, more than 47,000 yearly.1 Opioid prescribing rates are three times higher than they were in 1999 while opioid overdoses are an astounding five times higher. How did this happen? In the late 1990s doctors became increasingly aware of the burden of chronic pain and providers began to increasingly prescribe opioids in order to treat chronic pain. Couple this with the general increasing prevalence of chronic pain and you end up with more than 17% of Americans having at least one opioid prescription filled in 2017. According to an October 2019 report from The Society of Actuaries and Milliman, the overall cost of the opioid epidemic was $179.4 billion – a 128% increase in overall cost over 6 years.2
What Does the Data Show?
CareJourney was founded on the premise that data and analytics are central to achieving the proverbial triple aim of value-based care: a better patient experience, better outcomes, and lower costs. At CareJourney, we specialize in utilizing claims data along with other open data and methodologies to show actionable insights.
1 Comment. Leave new