Week 5 of a 5-Week Series on Opioid and Mental Health Education for Medical Providers

Summary and Call to Action

Over the past four weeks, we have explored the crucial role of mental health in pain management and primary care. Here’s a quick summary of the key points and strategies we've discussed, and an exciting call to action for providers.

Week 1: Importance of Addressing Opioid Education and Mental Health Together

- Key Statistics: According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2 million Americans suffer from substance use disorders related to prescription opioids. Nearly 50% of these individuals also have a mental health disorder. [1]

- Insight: Addressing opioid addiction without considering mental health can lead to incomplete treatment and higher relapse rates. A holistic approach is essential for effective recovery.

Week 2: The Role of Mental Health in Pain Care

- Key Statistics: The American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) highlights that 30-60% of patients with chronic pain have comorbid depression or anxiety. [2]

- Insight: Mental health conditions can exacerbate pain perception. Integrating mental health care into pain management can reduce pain severity and improve overall care.

Week 3: Strategies and Importance of Prescription Education

- Key Statistics: According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), patients with mental health conditions have healthcare costs that are 2-3 times higher than those without. [3]

- Insight: Proper prescription education can minimize the risk of misuse, improve treatment adherence, and reduce healthcare costs.

Week 4: Implementing Mental Health Assessments

- Key Tools:

- HEAL-M: A mental health screening tool with an effectiveness rate of 96.4% (HEAL Clinical).

- Insight: Implementing mental health assessments helps identify underlying conditions, leading to more personalized and effective care plans.

Call to Action

To enhance your practice with these insights and tools, consider implementing mental health assessments and comprehensive care models. HEAL Clinical offers a suite of tools designed to integrate mental health assessments seamlessly into your practice.

Special Offer: Use discount code LinkedIn at HEAL Clinical to receive 50% off the implementation cost and cover tablet hardware costs.

Join us in making a difference. Let’s work together to improve patient care and advance the quality of care in primary settings.

References:

[1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2023, October 2). Only 1 in 5 U.S. adults with opioid use disorder received medications to treat it in 2021. National Institutes of Health. https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2023/08/only-1-in-5-us-adults-with-opioid-use-disorder-received-medications-to-treat-it-in-2021 

[2]Novak, P., Feder, K. A., Ali, M. M., & Chen, J. (2019). Behavioral health treatment utilization among individuals with co-occurring opioid use disorder and mental illness: Evidence from a national survey. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 98, 47–52.

[3] Otten, D., Ernst, M., Werner, A. M., Tibubos, A. N., Reiner, I., Brähler, E., Wiltink, J., Michal, M., Nagler, M., Wild, P. S., Münzel, T., König, J., Lackner, K. J., Peiffer, N., & Beutel, M. E. (2023). Depressive symptoms predict the incidence of common chronic diseases in women and men in a representative community sample. Psychological medicine, 53(9), 4172–4180.