Blue Shield of CA has cut opioid use among its members dramatically, exceeding its year-end goal by 6 percent.
Blue Shield of California’s Narcotic Safety Initiative has achieved a 56 percent reduction in opioid use among members with chronic pain, surpassing its 2018 year-end goal by six percentage points.
While opioid prescriptions have steadily decreased in recent years, deaths involving opioid use were six times higher in 2017 than they were in 1999, the CDC reports. Blue Shield of California has made a significant effort to reduce prescription opioid use and overdose deaths.
Since launching the Narcotic Safety Initiative in 2015, Blue Shield has seen the average daily dose among chronic users fall by 33 percent, and the number of members on the highest doses of opioids fall by more than 60 percent. Over this period, the percent of members taking the most dangerous combination of opioid and benzodiazepine decreased by 24 percent.
“As one of the largest health plans in California, serving 4 million members, we play an important role in helping to curb the course of this devastating public health epidemic,” said Terry Gilliland, MD, Blue Shield’s senior vice president and chief health officer.
“By focusing on evidence-based interventions, working closely with providers, and local and state collaboration, we’ve been able to help members reduce their risk for harm and accidental overdose and death from prescription opioid use.”
Blue Shield has established provider education programs to promote prudent prescribing and proactive management of opioids by prescribers. The health plan has also increased member access to high-quality programs and providers to help manage opioid abuse and chronic pain.
Blue Shield’s evidence-based interventions also include improved formulary access to medication-assisted treatment of opioid abuse, and improved detection and management of fraud, waste, and abuse.
These new results build on the past success of Blue Shield’s Narcotic Safety Initiative. In July 2017, the health plan announced that the program had reduced overall opioid use by 32 percent it its first two years.
At the time, the Narcotic Safety Initiative had lowered the number of people on high-dose opioids by 46.8 percent, and the number of chronic opioid users by 17.8 percent.
Going forward, Blue Shield will continue its efforts to reduce opioid overprescribing and abuse among members.
“Exceeding our 50 percent reduction goal demonstrates a significant, life-saving change in opioid prescribing and use, but our narcotic safety efforts must continue,” said Salina Wong, PharmD, Blue Shield’s director of clinical pharmacy programs.
“Reducing opioid overprescribing and overuse must be a sustained and collaborative effort among all stakeholders.”
Eradicating the opioid epidemic will be a task for every member of the healthcare landscape, including providers, patients, and policymakers.
“In order to sustain and grow the progress we’ve made, doctors and patients must continue to seek safer treatments to manage chronic pain and remain vigilant when an opioid prescription is necessary,” Wong said.
“Access to drug addiction treatment must be improved, including in primary care. State and federal policies must be aligned to support these efforts.”
Date: March 21, 2019
Source: HealthPayerIntelligence