Opioids cause more deaths than gun violence, car accidents and breast cancer, according to Lance Leggitt, former White House deputy director of domestic policy. In a May 16 focus group at the 2019 Ambulatory Surgery Center Association’s Annual Conference in Nashville, Tenn., Mr. Leggitt and other ASC leaders discussed opioids, and the impact ASCs have on fighting the opioid crisis.
Three key details:
1. The focus group, “Addressing the Opioid Crisis in ASCs,” focused on the association's mission to combat the misuse of opioids.
2. HSTpathways CEO Tom Hui, whose ASC software company hosted the focus group, said, "The opioid crisis is the largest public health crisis in decades, and the ASC industry wants to be vigilant to better tailor our prevention efforts by best identifying patients predisposed to opioid addiction."
3. HSTpathways COO Tara Vail added, "“Two-thirds of all surgeries are done in an outpatient setting today, and if 12 percent of all soft tissue and orthopedic cases are coming out as newly addicted, that’s a huge number. The ASC industry can positively impact millions of lives by reducing that number, and not just for the addicted, but for their families and the communities around them. It is really important as a surgery industry that we seriously look at this issue."