By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    bowl of vegetable salad
    Raw Foods: benefits and harms
    November 9, 2021
    pros and cons of the keto diet
    Read This Before You Follow the Keto Diet
    May 18, 2022
    spinal cord injuries
    4 Potential Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries (and How to Seek Compensation)
    May 25, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    4 Reasons Why Medical Device Compliance Matters
    May 22, 2020
    What To Know About The Importance Of Healthcare Marketing
    November 23, 2019
    healthcare courses
    6 Supplemental Courses in Healthcare to Support Your HR Degree
    August 20, 2021
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Ending the Opioid Crisis: Could Big Data Help?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Health care > Ending the Opioid Crisis: Could Big Data Help?
Health careMedical InnovationsPolicy & LawPublic HealthTechnology

Ending the Opioid Crisis: Could Big Data Help?

Daniel Matthews
Last updated: February 5, 2021 8:28 am
Daniel Matthews
Share
7 Min Read
SHARE

No doubt you?ve heard opioid abuse is raging out of control in America. Look at the news sites each day and you?ll see at least one headline focused on the opioid crisis. The crisis has all the hallmarks of an epidemic, because it kills people indiscriminately and quickly. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 78 people die everyday from opioid overdoses. And each day, 3,900 people take opioids without a prescription. Unlike a disease, opioid abuse at a widespread level is a matter of choice. While the abusers and addicts may not feel they have much of a choice once they?re hooked, pharmacies, doctors, and drug companies have a choice when it comes to the dissemination of opioids. This is a complex issue. Of course users have a choice to do their best not to get hooked. But what if real pain is what gets them started? Doctors prescribe opioids to help patients deal with all sorts of pain, and a great many patients do indeed need effective pain medication for severe pain. But the data on pharmacy practice doesn?t lie: doctors prescribe enough opioids for every adult in America to possess a bottle of pills whenever they want to get their hands them. About 50 percent of women who end up in a methadone clinic, where they?re treated for opioid addiction, got there because they got hooked on opioids from prescriptions. And 20 percent of prescribed painkiller users share them. That?s how people without prescriptions are getting hooked. No doubt there?s absolutely no need for that many pills floating around. Part of this speaks to the power of addiction. Once a user gets hooked, they?d rather scheme their way into getting more pills than go through withdrawals. Another part speaks to a lack of top-down data strategy and proper monitoring on the part of the healthcare industry. Yet another part speaks to the power of money.

Contents
Big Data Strategy and OpioidsMoney, Data, and the Pharmaceutical Industry

Big Data Strategy and Opioids

The strategy sounds simple enough: monitor data on how often patients are refilling prescriptions, then limit refills based on actual need. This is actually very complicated. It comes down to figuring out who?s lying and who?s not. Who?s telling the truth about their pain and their need for more pills? When subjectivity comes into the mix, it?s very tough to figure out a right or wrong answer. To figure it out, doctors and pharmacies need access to widespread data on past results. They already have prescriptive information, i.e. the medically-accepted information on how long a specific condition will cause severe pain. But if they had accurate, up-to-date statistical information on how long it has taken success cases to recover in the past and cease taking opioids altogether, they could understand when a patient?s refill pattern is an anomaly and a red flag. Then, a patient at the pharmacy window asking for more opioids could be referred back to the doctor, who could diagnose whether the patient actually needs them. Greg Horne, Canada?s National Healthcare Lead, points out that, in order for analytics to have any efficacy against the opioid crisis, all of the stakeholders involved in healthcare ?must work together by sharing data and creating a flow of information.? In America, this type of organization is just not there. A lot of that has to do with money.

Money, Data, and the Pharmaceutical Industry

Drug companies have incentive to keep pumping out opioids, because the money from them keeps flowing in. According to McKinsey & Company, ?Many pharmaceutical companies are wary about investing significantly in improving big-data analytical capabilities, partly because there are few examples of peers creating a lot of value from it.? Yet McKinsey Global Institute estimates big data strategies could pump $100 billion annually into the U.S. healthcare system. In terms of opioids, this makes sense, because prescription opioid abuse is part of $25 billion in excess healthcare costs annually. Unlike the rest of America?s commercial world, the healthcare sector is adverse to risk. Why sink money into R&D involving big data and curbing opioid abuse when the risk may not pay off? Because people are dying, and that?s not good for business. So, McKinsey recommends a number of big data ?prescriptions? for the pharmaceutical industry. Several of these are highly applicable to the opioid crisis:

  • Use smart tech: Smart pills and smart bottles can transmit data on patient drug use, while connected tech can monitor health issues and tell doctors when a patient actually has a problem that require more pills
  • Drop data silos and collaborate: At every level of healthcare, there?s a lot of data available, but it?s not shared between stakeholders; pharmaceutical companies, doctors, hospitals, healthcare providers, pharmacies, and the FDA must share data with the express purpose of ending the opioid crisis
  • Integrate data at each level: Applying data throughout the system would require a centralized database that adheres to confidentiality standards; blockchain could be a candidate for this
  • Use new research, technology and data on efficacy to come up with alternatives: There may be new drugs that would be effective substitutes for opioids, such as certain strains of marijuana

Implementing data-based solutions will take concerted will and effort from legislators and the healthcare industry at large. The pharmaceutical industry may be just as addicted to opioids as the drug abusers themselves. It?s up to the rest of us to stage an intervention.

More Read

republicans and healthcare
Oh No! The Republicans Are Going to Tax Your Health Benefits!
Do-It-Yourself Death Panel
Here’s The Value Of Using A Medical Expert Witness
Patient Care Over There: A Talk About Global Radiology Practices
Talking Healthcare with Don Berwick, Candidate for Governor of Massachusetts
TAGGED:opioid abuseopioid crisis
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share
By Daniel Matthews
Daniel Matthews is a freelance writer who specializes in tech, business, and finance. You can find him on Twitter @danielmatthews0.

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Dental health
May 21, 2025
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
Dental health
May 21, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025

You Might also Like

Sales Reps Not Included: On e-Commerce Site, Device Firms Discount Routinely Used Implants

June 17, 2013

EHR Interoperability: Let’s Stop Beating a Dead Drum

April 29, 2015
Health care

How Would You Choose The Best Medical Clothing And Gloves?

June 21, 2021
Health Care Reform
Health ReformPolicy & Law

Are You Ready For ACA 2014?

June 4, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?