How State Board Nursing Practice Standards and Organizational or Governmental Policies Could Affect the Opioid Crisis

In the wake of the opioid epidemic, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) heightened measures to address this crisis. The HHS detailed five-point interventions for opioid addiction crisis management. These are enhancing research on opioid crisis interventions, providing addiction prevention services, providing data on the epidemic, better pain management, and better targeting of opioid antidotes. On the other hand, the NIH advocated for alternative non-addictive strategies to manage chronic pain. The enactment of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act and the Opioid Crisis Review Act (OCRA) were also pivotal in this fight. These enactments improved care responses to the crisis by encouraging preventive measures and treatment of substance abuse disorders. In addition, Lee et al. (2021) demonstrate that the federal efforts in policy provisions and care interventions targeting the opioid crisis have seen a reduction in the misuse of prescription opioids in the U.S.

Nurses maintain significance in the policy-making processes targeting opioid crisis interventions. Their role in this regard is to conform to the practice standards outlined by the HHS and to provide care to persons with overdose. They should also participate in the data collection process for the incidence of overdose, detailing care processes that may require adjustments. Their advocacy roles also make them valuable in educating patients on the harmful effects of opioids. Baccalaureate-prepared nurses and graduate nurses can also participate in research processes seeking to identify alternative non-addictive pain management remedies as set out by HHS and NIH.

State policies on opioid interventions outline the need for preventive and treatment measures for opioid overdose and addiction. These policies implore nurses to utilize their nursing knowledge in advocacy to rally communities against opioid misuse. As health educators, nurses are expected to inform communities about the harmful effects of opioids and the need for rational use of prescription opioid analgesics. However, these policies fall short of expanding nurses’ involvement in managing this epidemic. Limitation still exists on nursing practice authority and the ability of nurses to prescribe opioid analgesics in chronic pain (Nikpour & Broome, 2021). Additionally, fewer changes have been made to ensure comprehensive nursing education on opioid use disorders and chronic pain management.