Atrium Health: Powering Solutions to America's Opioid Crisis
America's opioid crisis has taken a heavy toll on North and South Carolina. Every day, doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, emergency room staff, and paramedics see the devastating consequences of the opioid crisis firsthand.
Opioid prescriptions per 100 persons. NC-72, SC-79.3, US average-58.7. increase in opioid related deaths. NC-18.3%, SC-6.8%, U.S. avg.-5.1%
Atrium Health stands at the forefront of solutions to America's opioid crisis. As health providers working with communities that have been particularly hard-hit by the opioid crisis, we play a crucial role in reducing opioid over-prescription and ensuring that substance use is treated appropriately.
We've pioneered tools and techniques that quickly and accurately recognize opioid use disorders, helping patients get the care they need.
We believe that every patient deserves world-class care - whether they proactively seek our substance use counseling or enter our emergency rooms in crisis.
With 900+ care locations and more than 12 million interactions with patients every year, our approach has the potential to change the trajectory of the opioid crisis throughout our entire region.
PRIMUM: Using Data and Technology to Reduce Opioid Prescriptions
Our first-of-its-kind alert system, Prescription Reporting with Immediate Medication Utilization Mapping (PRIMUM), helps healthcare providers recognize patients who may be at risk for opioid use disorders or misuse.
"Our goal was to provide actionable information at the moment it is needed most - before writing a prescription. PRIMUM removes physicians' implicit biases for what an opioid use disorder looks like."
- Rachel Seymour, PhD, Vice Chair of Research, Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute
Learn how our alert system is helping prevent opioid misuse.
Supporting Mothers and Babies with Opioid Use Disorders
Post-birth is a vulnerable time for new moms and babies who have developed a dependency on opioids. Our Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome program emphasizes mom-to-baby contact to help with both treatment and withdrawal.
Guiding Appropriate Opioid Use Through Quality and Safety Efforts
Atrium Health's medication safety team is dedicated to ensuring our clinicians are well-versed in appropriate prescribing habits, including alternatives to opioids and appropriate dose and duration of pain medication.
Opioid safety has long been a focus at Atrium Health, and our participation in multiple quality improvement contracts through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) since 2012 has allowed us to accelerate achievement in reducing and preventing adverse drug events and fast-tracking best practices.
Decreasing Opioid Use for Cancer Pain
Cancer patients frequently experience severe and chronic pain. As the population of people undergoing cancer treatment grows, so does the number of people who live with this burden. Atrium Health Levine Cancer is committed to taking advantage of the full variety of techniques and therapies proven to help patients manage their pain - which helps lower their risk of developing an opioid addiction.
Treating Opioid Addiction With Behavioral Health Support
Addiction is a disease interfering with the body's ability to function normally. An addiction to opioids changes the way the brain works, making the drive for those drugs stronger and more urgent than anything else. In fact, addiction is the only disease that tricks the person into becoming sicker - but just like those other medical conditions, addiction can be treated.
Reducing Opioid Dependency in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
The Southeast is home to one of three people living with sickle cell disease in the U.S. Given the severe pain associated with this condition, patients can develop long-term dependencies to pain medicines. Atrium Health's sickle cell experts have developed new ways to mitigate opioid dependency through an innovative use of the medication buprenorphine.
What's Next
Because the opioid crisis cuts across medical specialties, so does our approach to care. We're identifying what works and making it work for more people across our system.
Find out what's next in our efforts to solve the opioid crisis.