HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA), one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, today announced its fourth annual “Crush the Crisis” national opioid take back day to raise awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse and the importance of safe and proper disposal of unused or expired medications, on Saturday, October 29, 2022.
More than 100 HCA Healthcare facilities across the country will partner with local law enforcement to help communities safely, responsibly and anonymously collect unused and expired medication. The event coincides with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
“We have made great strides in fighting the opioid crisis plaguing our country, but there is still work to be done,” said Dr. Randy Fagin, chief medical officer of HCA Healthcare’s National Group. “We are looking forward to building off the previous success of ‘Crush the Crisis’, as HCA Healthcare continues to fight against opioid misuse and addiction.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2021, up nearly 15 percent from 2020. The 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed a majority of misused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. Last year, “Crush the Crisis” take back events collected 15,566 pounds of unused or expired medication, approximately 10.7 million doses.
To further help combat the nation’s opioid crisis, HCA Healthcare has worked with the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic. HCA Healthcare has given $750,000 to the Collaborative to support the development of safer pain management protocols and reversal of the opioid crisis.
As a learning health system, HCA Healthcare uses data from approximately 35 million annual patient encounters to help continuously improve care. The organization uses the science of “big data” to reduce opioid misuse and transform pain management, with initiatives in surgical, emergency and other care settings, including:
- Enhanced Surgical Recovery (ESR): a multi-modal approach to pain management using pre, intra and post-operative interventions to optimize outcomes. HCA Healthcare’s ESR programs have demonstrated significant improvements in surgical recovery and patient satisfaction, including up to a 44 percent decrease in opioid usage for targeted complex surgeries.
- Electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS): aims to stem increasing rates of opioid-related addiction, misuse diversion and death by making it more difficult for medication-seekers to doctor-shop and alter prescriptions. Physicians have access to aggregated electronic health records, providing data that will allow them to prescribe opioids judiciously.