As the opioid crisis ravages Indiana residents, the call for greater access to treatment has grown to a roar.
More than 5,900 people entered a treatment program for heroin or other opioids in 2016. Those numbers are expected to rise as new data is released.
But state politicians, health officials and community leaders hope that three new pieces of legislation allow those struggling with opioid addiction to get better treatment.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryGov. Eric Holcomb signed three bills into law Friday during a ceremony at Franciscan Health Indianapolis. The most vital of the new laws funds nine new opioid treatment centers across the state, raising the total number of treatment centers aimed at the crisis to 27.
Another bill requires doctors to access patient information from the statewide prescription tracking system before writing a prescription for opioids. The final law will require coroners to do thorough investigations in deaths suspected to be overdoses.
“It’s another important day for the state of Indiana as we take additional steps to combat this epidemic that is rolling and ravaging its way across our country, and Indiana is no exception to this scourge,” Holcomb said.
Franciscan Health Indianapolis was a natural fit to host the signing ceremony. Indiana Rep. Cindy Kirchhofer, a Republican from Beech Grove, authored House Bill 1007 to expand opioid treatment options. In addition to serving in the House, she is a risk manager with Franciscan Health Indianapolis’ legal team.
The hospital offers the Grace Project, which provides funding for recovery services to mothers dealing with addiction, as well as help with utilities, rent, food and baby supplies.
“For years, we here at Franciscan Health, with our physicians and our clinical staff, have been on the frontlines of helping patients and our communities dealing with the many problems wrought by opiate addiction,” said James Callaghan, president and chief executive officer of Franciscan Health Indianapolis. “We know our ERs throughout the community have seen skyrocketing increases in the number of cases related to that, and sadly, we’re seeing more babies born with addiction.”
Holcomb had made the increase of opioid treatment centers a priority for the legislature this session. The bill allows the state Division of Mental Health and Addiction to approve nine new centers for opioid treatment. The centers will all be hosted by hospitals or health centers throughout the state, though the locations of those centers have not been decided.
“We’re losing someone to the opioid epidemic every 12 1/2 seconds across this country. It really puts into perspective that, as states, we have to do everything we can to bend that trajectory down,” Holcomb said. “Our state can only be as strong as any one of us, and we’re not going to forget those who are struggling, who are most in need of help.”
Kirchhofer wrote the bill to ensure that treatment options were nearby for every Indiana resident.
“The goal was to get the treatment within an hour of the individual. With that, it supports the individual’s recovery and the family’s convenience in supporting their loved one,” she said. “Those new opioid centers are tied to an acute care hospital or a community mental health center or an institution to further give them the wrap-around services to help them recover.”
Other provisions of the bill allow for mental health counselors to apply for temporary permits to treat patients while they are being fully credentialed by the state, and develops a substance abuse treatment program for employers to take advantage of so that workers can get help if they need it while staying in the workforce.
The approval of nine new treatment centers was the highlight of the three bills addressing opioids, but two other laws also will ideally help stem the crisis as well.
Senate Bill 221, authored by State Sen. Erin Houchin, requires doctors to check the state’s drug monitoring system, INSPECT, before prescribing opioids or benzodiazepines such as Xanax or Valium to a patient. The idea is to help doctors understand if a patient is receiving these drugs from another doctor, or if they have a history of excessive opioid use, Houchin said.
“It’s a very important bill to address the opioid epidemic at its source: the prescription pad,” she said.
At the same time, Senate Bill 139 requires coroners to do a full investigation if they suspect someone died of an overdose. They will have to obtain relevant information about the person’s prescription drug use through the INSPECT system and test for drugs such as fentanyl and other increasingly common opioids in the system.
Coroners will have to report those test results and the investigation to the state department of health.
“What it does is, it works inside the coroners’ offices and the department of health to understand how large a problem we’re having with overdose deaths,” said Rep. Brian Bosma, Speaker of the House. “I think we all know that there are problems, but we need to know what the problem is and how large the problem is.”
The three new laws signed Friday will go into effect on July 1. While these efforts are a step forward for the state in combating the opioid problem, much work remains, Holcomb said.
“This will be a never-ending fight for the folks that are struggling,” he said. “We have to fight and attack back with greater force than is attacking not just our individuals, but their children and their parents. This has a generational impact. We will use every resource we have to turn this around.”
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On Friday, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed three new bills into law addressing the opioid crisis in Indiana. Here’s what those three bills will do:
House Bill 1007
Allows the state Division of Mental Health and Addiction to open up nine new opioid addiction treatment centers. Those facilities will be operated by hospitals or health centers. The locations of those treatment centers has not been determined, but the goal is ensure that no Indiana resident has to drive more than one hour to get recovery services.
Senate Bill 221
Requires physicians to obtain information about a patient from the statewide INSPECT prescription monitoring system before writing a prescription for opioids. Physicians will be able to check a patient’s history with opioid prescriptions and other controlled substances, to ensure they are not overprescribing. They can also find out if the patient has a history with opioid abuse or misuse.
Senate Bill 139
Requires county coroners to do thorough investigations of people who they reasonably suspect died from an overdose. Coroners will have to obtain records of that person’s prescription drug use through the INSPECT monitoring system, and do bodily fluid tests to check for opioids. They will also have to report that person’s death and their investigation findings to the state department of health.
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