CEO Update | 07
House Energy and Commerce Committee Approves 25 Opioid Bills
The House Energy and Commerce Committee this week approved 25 bills that address the nation’s deadly opioid crisis. All of the legislation received bipartisan support, and the committee is scheduled to examine another set of opioid-related measures next week.
The Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act of 2018 is among the bills the committee passed this week. Co-sponsored by Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Gene Green (D-Texas), the legislation would award grants on a competitive basis to entities that would establish or operate comprehensive opioid recovery centers. The centers would need to provide a range of services, including periodic patient assessments, detoxification, counseling, residential rehabilitation and more.
Earlier this spring, Congress appropriated about $4 billion to fight the country’s drug abuse crisis as part of a large spending bill. It’s not certain if federal lawmakers will appropriate more money to address the problem.
SAMHSA Highlights Communities, Partnerships & Resource Sharing for National Prevention Week
National Prevention Week starts on Sunday, May 13 to increase public awareness and action around substance abuse and mental health issues.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Prevention Week has three primary goals: to involve communities in raising awareness about behavioral health issues and implementing strategies; foster partnerships with federal agencies and national organizations dedicated to behavioral and public health; and promote and disseminate quality behavioral health resources and publications.
National Prevention Week takes place each year during the third week of May—in the middle of Mental Health Month—close to the start of summer, which SAMHSA notes is a critical time for schools, communities and professionals to focus on prevention. Click here for more information.
Also, please remember to follow NABH on Twitter @NABHbehavioral and on LinkedIn, where our theme throughout Mental Health Month emphasizes repealing the Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion.
New England Journal of Medicine Examines Link Between Suicide and Opioid Overdoses
Solutions to address America’s opioid crisis require that “we tailor interventions to preventing opioid-overdose deaths due to suicidal intent,” according to a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
As the physician authors report, interventions to prevent opioid deaths in suicidal people will differ from interventions targeted toward accidental overdose. But most strategies for reducing opioid-overdose deaths do not include screening for suicide risk, nor do they address the need to adjust interventions for suicidal persons.
Meanwhile, the authors continued, two populations that are more likely than others to receive opioid prescriptions—patients with chronic pain and those with mood disorders—are also at greater risk for suicide.
Separately, the April 26th issue also includes an article that explores improving electronic health record (EHR adoption in psychiatric care. In it, the authors note the implications for patients and providers due to a lag in EHR use in psychiatric care.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Seeks Comment on Draft Plan to Reduce Drug Use in Children and Adolescents
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is seeking comment on its draft plan on interventions to reduce illicit drug and nonmedical prescription drug use in children and adolescents.Released this week, the plan is available for review through Wednesday, June 6. The task force notes that anyone can comment on the plan, although the task force writes these types of documents for researchers, primary care physicians and other healthcare providers.
Click here to review the research plan and submit a comment.
DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance to Highlight COAP Grant Program in Webinar on May 15
Leaders from the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance will host a webinar on Tuesday, May 15 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET to review the fiscal year 2018 Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP) solicitation.
The bureau created COAP as a response to the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA, which Congress passed in July 2016. COAP’s purpose is to provide financial and technical assistance to states, local governments, and Indian tribal governments to plan, develop, and implement efforts to identify and treat those affected by the opioid crisis.
The program includes the following six grant categories: first responder partnerships; technology-assistant treatment projects; system-level diversion projects; statewide planning, coordination and implementation projects; the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program implementation and enhancement projects; and public safety, behavioral health, and public health information sharing partnerships.
Click here to register for the webinar.
HRSA to Host Webinar about Treating Pregnant Women with Opioid Use Disorder on May 16
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will host an hourlong webinar on Wednesday, May 16 at 1 p.m. ET to provide guidance on treating pregnant and parenting women with opioid use disorder.
The webinar will discuss the Substance Use Warmline, a resource that provides free and confidential clinician-to-clinician consultation for substance use evaluation and management. Click here to register.
SAMHSA to Address Behavioral Health Needs of Older Veterans in Webinar on May 22
To recognize both Mental Health Month and Older Americans Month in May, SAMHSA will host an hourlong webinar on May 22 to help community service providers understand the behavioral health needs of older veterans; identify Veterans Health Administration resources; and discuss the importance of collaborating across mental health, aging and veterans services. Click here to register.
IPF PEPPER Review Webinar Recording Now Available
The recording and transcription from the PEPPER Review webinar on May 2 is now available here on the PEPPER Training and Resources page. The early May webinar reviewed the release of the Q4FY17 PEPPER that was released in April.
For questions or comments about the CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.