Public Health Policy Strategies to Address the Opioid Epidemic

Public health policy responses to the opioid epidemic require addressing both opioid supply and opioid demand. The growth in prescriptions of opioid analgesics, for example, is associated with escalating opioid overdose fatalities.¹ Enhanced access to opioid agonist treatment, conversely, is required to curb demands driven by opioid use disorders. Oregon's multidimensional approaches toward opioid misuse and abuse achieved 20% reductions in opioid prescribing and a 30% reduction in the opioid overdose fatality rate.