Stopping opioid overuse starts with primary care

The opioid crisis can be understood in a lot of different ways. It’s been described as a failure of policy, the collateral damage in the pursuit of irresponsible profits, or just the latest trend in an eons-old cycle of addiction. But one area that has not received enough scrutiny is the very nature of how healthcare is delivered and paid for in the United States. 

While it’s hardly breaking news that these are problems in healthcare, the extent of their collateral damage is less well known. The continuation of fee-for-service delivery models — where insurers pay providers based on the quantity of the services administered, not the likelihood of those services’ efficacy — has initiated a cascade of unintended consequences. The opioid crisis is only the most recent and visible manifestation.

Yet precisely because of this crisis’ overwhelming visibility, the keys to fixing health care are hiding in plain sight. And the primary bulwark in the fight against opioid overprescription and misuse is value-based primary care.

In value-based primary care...

Read the rest of the article on Becker's Hospital Review.

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Dave Chase is the co-founder of the Health Rosetta (a LEED-like organization for healthcare), and author of the book, “The Opioid Crisis Wake-up Call: Health Care is Stealing the American Dream. Here's How We Take it Back.” Follow the link to the book for a free download of the book. Chase's TEDx talk was entitled "Healthcare stole the American Dream -- here's how we take it back." See the Health Rosetta website for how to get involved, resources and how to join others to support its mission.

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