Rep. Stinnett: Awareness, education essential to addressing opioid epidemic in Missouri

Amid our country’s continuing grapple with the opioid epidemic, it's as critical as ever that patients are aware of all their treatment options for pain management so they can make the right decision for their health. That’s why I’m sponsoring a bill aimed at educating patients on the alternative, non-opioid treatment options that exist. This will not only allow more Missourians to make informed decisions about their healthcare experience, but also likely reduce our state’s opioid dependency rate in the process.

Whether you live in Springfield, St. Louis, or anywhere in between — the opioid crisis has taken a toll on Missouri. By now, many of us know the dangers of opioids, the addiction that can stem from them, and the tragic, sometimes fatal, consequences that can result from their use. But many aren’t as aware of the alternative treatments for pain that exist, forcing patients dealing with pain to face a false, binary dilemma of either exposing themself to addiction through opioid use, or suffering from pain with no relief in sight. My goal is to make sure that patients are at least aware of the other options that exist, so they can make a choice that's best for them.

Our effort to increase awareness about alternative treatments is especially relevant given the incredible developments occurring in medicine when it comes to non-opioid treatment options for severe pain. In the coming months, a first of its kind, oral non-opioid for acute pain is likely to be approved for public use, creating an entire new category of pain management options that will enable patients to relieve pain by attacking it at the source, outside the brain, making it non-addictive. This will open up new doors in our effort to reduce opioid addiction, which is why it’s essential more patients know about it.

The bill I am sponsoring, HB 2182, will ensure patients dealing with pain are well-informed about their treatment options by having the Department of Health and Senior Services create a pamphlet on their website that doctors can hand out to their patients. The Department will update the pamphlets regularly with the current guidelines about opioid and non-opioid treatment options, including non-pharmaceutical options, as well as highlight the pros and cons of each.

Any and every step we take to decrease opioid use is an important one, and promoting education and awareness is a key part of that. Here in Missouri, 70% of our state's drug overdoses were from opioids in 2022. We need to use every tool in our toolbox to lower those numbers and save our neighbors.

Passing this bill will be a huge help in our effort of promoting patient awareness. But overcoming the opioid epidemic once and for all will require other action too, like making sure non-opioid treatments are affordable for patients and not priced significantly higher than their more addictive opioid counterparts.

Choices for alternative treatments for pain management continue to develop, it's on us to make sure everyone is aware of their options. HB 2182 is simple — it gets the word out there and is one common sense solution in addressing the opioid epidemic. I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this bill and allowing more Missourians to make informed decisions about their health.

Rep. Melanie Stinnett (R-Springfield) is the state legislator for District 133 in Greene County.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Stinnett: To combat opioid epidemic, patients must know alternatives