Pharma

Here’s how companies like CVS, Amazon and Cigna are taking up the banner to end the opioid crisis

The opioid epidemic has become one of the largest healthcare priorities of the Trump Administration and one of the limited areas in the country's fractured political system where bipartisan support can be found.

US President Donald Trump meets with leaders of the pharmaceutical industry in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2017

Industry leaders ranging from Amazon to Walmart to CVS Health have committed to make their own efforts to combat the opioid epidemic alongside the bipartisan bill dedicated to fighting the pubic health crisis recently signed into law by President Trump.

The opioid epidemic has become one of the largest healthcare priorities of the Trump Administration and one of the limited areas in the country’s fractured political system where bipartisan support can be found.

The numbers themselves are stark: In the United States, an estimated 2.5 million people struggle with addiction to opioids and an estimated 72,000 people died from opioid overdoses last year, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The legislation overwhelmingly passed both the House and the Senate and includes provisions for speeding up research into non-addictive pain medication, expanding access to addiction treatment for Medicaid beneficiaries and directs $6 billion over the next two years to fight opioid abuse. From a digital health perspective the new law also opens up Medical reimbursement for telemedicine services directed at substance abuse issues.

Here’s an overview of what some of the major companies partnering with the federal government are planning to contribute to the fight against opioids:

Amazon is attempting to help first responders more efficiently access medical records and has programmed their Alexa smart home assistant system to answer questions about opiods and addiction.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is launching Blue Distinction Centers for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery and will establish a toll-free national hotline to provide all Americans a way to locate designated treatment centers

Cigna is partnering with the VA to help veterans manage pain and mental health conditions and improve access to opioid addiction treatment with the goal of lowering opioid related overdoses in selected communities by 25 percent over the next three years.

CVS Health has pledged to install 1,100 additional permanent medical disposal sites and spread information about opioid abuse prevention to 250,000 students and parents by the end of 2019

Specialty biopharma company Emergent Biosolutions is promising to offer anti-narcotic overdose drug NARCAN for free to all public libraries and YMCA locations in the country.

Google is partnering with Walgreens to display permanent drug disposal sites on Google Maps and has created a locator tool for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

Rite Aid is offering DisposeRX home drug disposal technology along with all opioid prescriptions.

Alongside its partnership with Google, Walgreens is expanding its medication disposal program to all its stores.

Walmart will continue its effort to limit acute opioid prescriptions to a 7-day supply, use technology to block fake prescriptions and require E-Prescriptions for all scheduled drugs by 2020.

Photo: Nicholas Kamm, Getty Images,

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