Obama outlines new drug addiction treatment initiative

As political pressure mounts to curb prescription drug costs, President Barack Obama has unveiled an initiative to address a different high-profile drug problem—the growing toll of addiction to prescription painkillers and heroin.

Speaking last week in Charleston, W.Va., which has been hard-hit by the heroin epidemic, Obama announced a new federal initiative to train physicians who prescribe opioid pain medications and promote the use of medication-assisted therapy for treating addiction to prescription painkillers and heroin. He wants to expand access to medicines such as buprenorphine that treat opioid addiction and naloxone, which can reverse an overdose.

He has instructed all federally employed healthcare providers who prescribe controlled medications to receive training that addresses best prescribing practices, pain management principles and information on misuse.

Paul Gionfriddo, CEO of Mental Health America, said the number of federal healthcare providers is large enough that the training mandate could mark an overall change in behavior and practices across the country.

Jeremiah Gardner, public affairs manager for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, said he thought such training would have a ripple effect. Doctors should be taught about addiction and instructed to consider alternative treatments for pain, limit the amount of opioids prescribed, involve family members in treatment, review risks with patients, and watch for signs of misuse, he said.

Heroin use among adults ages 18 to 25 has more than doubled in the past decade, and the number of overdose deaths quadrupled between 2002 and 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 45% of heroin users are addicted to prescription opioid painkillers.

Gionfriddo said the treatment community has been divided about medication-assisted therapy, but evidence shows it can help people in recovery.

Obama also announced that broadcast networks have agreed to air public service announcements, and 40 medical organizations are coming together to promote awareness. Robert Ashford, national program director at Young People in Recovery, said he's glad the campaign would use positive messaging. “It frames the conversation away from moral failure.”

Gardner lauded the White House's goal of increasing the number of physicians who can prescribe buprenorphine from 30,000 to 60,000.