What Are Opioids?
In the most basic terms, the CDC defines opioids as “a class of drugs used to reduce pain.” However, not all opioids are the same. There is a wide range of legal and illegal drugs that are classified as opioids. For example, Vicodin, a legal painkiller commonly prescribed to patients, is an opioid. By comparison, heroin, an illegally manufactured drug that has no medical use, is also an opioid. Both are killing thousands each year.
Opioids vs. Opiates
These terms are used interchangeably by many who report on the opioid crisis. While this may be fine for a basic understanding, knowing the difference between opioids and opiates could matter to your organization’s plan administrator.
Opiates
Opioids
Are derived from the opium plant (a kind of poppy). The term includes opium and its offshoots, like codeine and morphine.
Are virtually identical to opiates, but they are made synthetically- not from the opium plant. The term “opioids” includes opiates and these synthetic equivalents, like fentanyl and hydrocodone.
Common Types of Opioids
It should be clear by now that many drugs are considered opioids. Here are the names of some commonly abused opioids, with their brand names listed for recognition. These include prescription medications and illegal offshoots.
- Oxycontin
- Vicodin
- Percocet
- Codeine
- Fentanyl
- Methadone
- Heroin
National Epidemic
Opioid abuse is a national epidemic. Drug overdoses are one of the leading causes of death for Americans under the age of 50, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. With the popularity of synthetic opioids surging, experts predict the death toll will only increase.
Unlike other drug epidemics, the reach of opioids is unique. This crisis affects all people in all economic classes, but in different ways. People who can afford prescription drugs are just as susceptible to an overdose as those who cannot afford them because of the unprecedented availability of cheap substitutes. This can make it extremely difficult to create a meaningful opioid strategy.
Widespread availability illuminates an ironic problem for this epidemic: the solution is not withholding opioids altogether. The United States traditionally takes a hardline approach to drugs. It cracks down on manufacturing and distribution networks, outlaws substances and attempts to eliminate the product from the market. Unfortunately, this epidemic is especially difficult to control as many of these drugs are legally prescribed by doctors.
Pharmaceutical companies created opioids and aggressively pushed these medications to doctors during the 1990s. The market soon became flooded and the number of patients being prescribed opioids rose sharply. Over the years, prescription pill addictions transformed and many began using heroin and fentanyl. Now, the country must figure out how to contend with a saturated market, new synthetic drugs and an unrelenting overdose rate.
Analysis
The number of opioid prescriptions jumped from 76 million in 1991 to 207 million in 2013. Now, two decades later, America struggles to separate abuse from legitimate use.
Simply outlawing prescription opioids is not the answer. Many still serve important roles, like managing acute pain and anesthetizing patients. However, both legitimate and illegitimate use of opioids can lead to tolerance and require higher dosages to get the same effect. This can lead to addiction, and, in many cases, it can lead to an overdose.
Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, are much more potent than more commonly prescribed opioids. When users switch to these more concentrated forms, they are at extreme risk of overdosing. Users see a more potent alternative on the market, so they jump on the supposed deal. Unfortunately, many do not realize they must take smaller dosages of the new drug and end up overdosing.
These tragic details cover only a small portion of the opioid crisis. There are still thousands trapped in the cycle between addiction and relapse. With the proper resources and planning, you can do your part and help your employees who are in need. Do not wait for any more overdoses before taking action.
What Employers Can Do
The opioid crisis is not going away. Estimates show this epidemic costs the U.S. economy over $95 billion annually, with employers paying $18 billion of that themselves. And, these figures are only expected to rise. Employers need to do everything possible to combat the impact opioids have in the workplace.
There is no silver bullet for this crisis. However, exploring new initiatives can help you develop your own strategy to best suit the needs of your employees. This section provides examples that may help you.
Understanding the Impact
Employers across the country are working to curb the misuse of prescription opioids. With more employees falling victim to addiction, employers are seeing lower productivity, higher health care costs and fewer qualified job applicants.
When so much of the workforce is at risk of opioid abuse, that can put a strain on benefit programs—especially health care costs. Overprescribing creates ample room for abuse, which can result in employers paying more for their drug plan than they need to be.
It can be hard to identify illegitimate use, especially with prescribed medications. Employers may need to try more unique approaches to curb opioid abuse. Addressing the problem with employees directly can be a good place to start.
Employee Education
Opioid abuse is not happening in a vacuum. Even if employees themselves are not using opioids, their lives may be affected by loved ones who are. This can indirectly affect their job performance and contribute to the overall crisis.
Employers should do their best to provide employees with educational materials to help them understand and take action against the opioid crisis. Lasting reform can only happen if individuals take charge of their situation. Educating employees is the first step.
Employees need meaningful information if they are expected to change their behaviors.
Consider the following suggestions when developing your own communication campaign:
Explain the Risks
Reminding people about addiction’s tragic side effects could help motivate them to abstain from or seek treatment. Directly facing the consequences of your actions can be powerful, especially when paired with other resources. Try putting up posters or sending information directly to employees that calls attention to the dangers of opioid misuse.
Encourage Employees to Speak With a Doctor
Sometimes employees do not think to speak to their doctors about opioid abuse. This could be because employees are worried about losing their prescriptions, or perhaps they do not know how their doctor could help. Regardless, a doctor is more qualified than your organization’s HR department to help with medical issues stemming from opioids.
Educate employees on the importance of speaking openly with their doctors. If they are worried about losing a prescription, explain that there are other effective ways to treat chronic pain. Most importantly, reassure employees that their doctors are there to help, not get them in trouble for misusing medication.
Promote Your EAP
Employee assistance programs (EAPs) can be extremely beneficial for your workforce. Traditionally, EAPs help with personal issues, like smoking cessation or stress management. However, they can also help with opioid usage.
Like any other EAP, a program geared specifically toward opioids can help employees deal with this debilitating addiction and put energy back into their job.
Employee Assistance Programs
Because substance abuse and mental health issues can impact the workplace so significantly, many companies choose to offer EAPs. However, an EAP is only useful if it is tailored to your employees’ needs. In this case, employees need resources to fight their opioid addictions.
An EAP supplies professionals who provide counseling to employees and their families in a safe and private atmosphere. Generally, all the information disclosed will remain confidential, and no disclosure to employers will be made without written permission. Using an EAP will not jeopardize an employee’s job or chance for promotion, which are two repercussions many drug users fear. These factors lower barriers and can encourage more people to seek help.
The EAP makes a limited number of counseling sessions available to employees at no cost. Should an employee and his or her counselor decide that a referral to an outside provider is necessary, those costs will then be the employee’s responsibility.
Consult your EAP vendor to determine what the payment structure looks like so you can advise employees on best usage practices.
Benefits of an EAP
An EAP not only helps employees, it helps the entire business. When employees are in good mental and physical health, the whole organization benefits.
Employees suffering from an opioid addiction are at a heightened risk for absenteeism, quitting their jobs, lowering their quality of work and meeting only minimal expectations.
Offering an EAP can put employees in touch with experts who can help start their treatment.
Opioid addiction should be treated like a chronic illness. Simply providing one treatment option will not help create lasting change. It takes time, energy and ongoing treatment to help reverse opioid addiction.
Speak with your EAP vendor to discuss adaptions that can better meet the needs of your workforce.