By: Christian M. Wade
BOSTON — Congress is moving to require more training for physicians to recognize the signs of opioid abuse amid a surge of addiction fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Westford, includes a proposal that would require standardized training for medical professionals and students to recognize the signs of opioid addiction and provide patients with advice on seeking treatment.
The Medication Access and Training Expansion Act, which was co-sponsored by Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., would also require prescribers of opioids and other highly addictive medications to undergo substance use training to ensure they have knowledge of addiction prevention, treatment and medication management.
“Health care professionals often interact with and have opportunities to provide effective treatments for individuals suffering from addiction, critical opportunities to save lives,” Trahan said in remarks on the House floor, ahead of Wednesday’s vote. “But far too often those chances to help are missed.”
Trahan said the proposal is backed by research which shows that many clinicians can’t “confidently” diagnose and treat patients with substance abuse disorders.
“Stigma, discrimination, and a lack of understanding about addiction prevented far too many Americans from accessing evidence-based care for addiction,” she said.
Approval of the proposal comes as health officials highlight a surge in opioid-related overdose deaths during the pandemic.
Nationally, opioid-related overdose deaths soared to a record 107,000 in 2021 — a 15% increase over 2020, according U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The federal agency said that translates to roughly one U.S. overdose death every 5 minutes.
In Massachusetts, there were 2,290 confirmed or suspected opioid-related deaths in 2021 — 8.8% higher than in 2020, according to a report released Wednesday by the state Department of Public Health.
State health officials attributed the rise in death rates to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and an “increasingly poisoned drug supply, primarily with the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.”
Fentanyl was present in 93% of the overdose deaths where a toxicology report was available, officials noted.
More than 10,000 people have died from opioid-related overdoses in the Bay State in the past five years, according to state health data.
The legislation, which must still be approved by the Senate before heading to President Joe Biden’s desk for consideration, would reauthorize several teen suicide programs established under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, which is set to expire at the end of September absent congressional action.
The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, approved by Congress in 2004, is named after the son of former Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, who died by suicide in 2004. The law was last authorized by Congress in 2015.
Trahan was among a bipartisan group of lawmakers who sponsored the legislation reauthorizing the act, which was included in a larger mental health package.
Medical professionals have noted a substantial uptick in mental health issues, particularly among teens, fueled by lockdowns and isolation during the pandemic.
Last year, a coalition of health groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry issued a dire warning that the youth mental health crisis has become a “national emergency.”
