Question

1. Use the SWOT management tool from your text to address a general analysis of the opioid crisis in Anytown.

Answer 1

•Use the SWOT management tool from your text to address a general analysis of the opioid crisis in Anytown.

•SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and so a SWOT Analysis is a technique for assessing these four aspects .

•For analysis , you have to ask some questions under each heading- these question on the general aspect. But we can design different questions with respect to Opioid crises.

1.Strengths :- what do you do well? What unique resources can you draw on . What do others see as your strength .

2. Weaknesses:- what could you response? , where do you have fewer resources than others? , what are others likely to see weaknesses?

3.Opportunities :- what opportunities are open to you?, what trends could you take advantage of?, how can you turn your strength into opportunity?

4.Threats :- what threats could harm you?, what is your competition doing?, why threats do your weakness exposed to you?

Let us apply this on the opioid abuse condition .

For that first understand what is Opioid drug means :- A substance used to treat moderate to severe pain. Opioids are like opiates, such as morphine and codeine, but are not made from opium. Opioids bind to opioid receptors in the central nervous system and relax the body and can relieve pain.. Opioids used to be called narcotics. Non-prescription opioids include heroin, which is a derivative of morphine, and is an illegal opioid commonly abused by injection.

As it is narcotic, used illegally it is ban by government . If any town facing the opioid crises, The Emergency Department apply swot analysis tools by focusing on the various point as follows-

Strengths:

1.CSMD

2.Commitment to quality of care

3.National recognition of the problem

4. Universally endorsed pain guidelines

5.Clinical diagnostic capabilities.

Weaknesses:

1. Patient satisfaction scores

2. Lack of time with accessing database, educating patient

3. No felony law for violence against healthcare providers

4. Expand formulary

Opportunities:

1. Set patient expectations and educate

2. Educate all patient and providers and students on alternative pain treatment

3. Revisit ACEP guidelines

4. Consider Narcan prescription with opioid prescription

5. Engage other partners in a statewide initiative

6. Alternative treatments like physical therapy

Threats:

1. Legal action/complaints for not prescribing

2. Regulatory bodies regarding pain assessment

3. Workplace violence and safety

4. Economic threats to hospitals/pharmacies/insurance to comply versus hospitals who don’t

Let us elaborate the above points on actual field work actions as –

Strengths:

1.State sharing CSMD in real time in all states – 7 days

2.Willingness and devoted mindset of ED staff to provide good care and educate / comm

3.Staff who will teach and energize about opioid opportunities- internally and in community

4.C-suite willing and motivated to bring about change, opioid crisis is a pain point for them

5.ED state guidelines on pain medicine

6.Recognizing clinical syndromes and drug seeking behavior

7.Limited relationship with patient/clean slate for therapy

8.Protocol driven

9.Captive audience for education

10.Pharmacy in the ED including education on narcotics

11.Diagnostic accuracy-evaluating acute situations – phys discern

12.Drug testing

13.Peer recovery specialists

14.Pharmacist authority to not fill prescription

15.USDA funding in rural areas

16.Discernment of physician – pain S&S

Weaknesses:

1.Data-being able to obtain and share interagency (DOH, highway patrol, getting whole picture)

2.Time constraints to fully assess patient

3.Lack of standard criteria on drug screens and when to do one

4.Drug screens don’t cover all drugs (don’t show carphentanyl and other drugs measured in micrograms)

5.External pharmacies- Walgreens, CVS vs small independent (price discrepancies)

6.Not good at chronic care/pain

7.Don’t know the patients yet

8.Inability to know Dr. shoppers ahead of time

9.Patient satisfaction scores make us vulnerable 1

10.Not enough time

11.IV APAP is expensive

12. Lack of security response

13.TN- no felony law for violence against heath care providers

14.Rapid culture change

15. Some drugs like Ketamine not approved for RN to administer

16. CSMD data base needs data from all states

17.CSMD not integrated into HER

18.Some providers don’t follow protocols

19.Patient expectations

20.Lack of access to follow up care including behavioral health

21.No opioid detox beds

22.. Inability to refuse care; healthcare provider abuse/intimidation

Opportunities:

1.Orders based on age/diagnosis

2.Revisit ACEP guidelines for opioid prescribing *set as a standard of care

3.Consumer facing messaging/education (posters) in patient room

4.Immediate patient education upon entry to ED (marketing platform w/symbol that is recognized universally)

5.THA/administrator buy-in

6.Eliminate pain scores from patient satisfaction

7.Make patient health and pharmacy data available in a timely fashion 24/7/365

8.Educate ED providers (and other providers) in other treatment modalities, ex: nerve blocks in ED

9.Utilize state and national physician groups to spread information about laws/problems

10.A state app for health info exchange

11.Prescribing guidelines for acute vs. chronic

12. Set patient expectations and educate on addiction potential

13.Education for medical/nursing students on the epidemic/treatment/how to be nice

14.Develop support for admin and risk managers to address patient complaints

15.Improved communication on the transitions of care and establish protocols

16.Harm reduction/anti-drug coalitions

17.Narcan prescribed with all opioids

18. Engage partners/stakeholders

Threats:

1.Lack community resources for referral (especially in rural settings)

2.Behavioral health patients-physical violence from pt to staff, injury to self, lack of behavior support so patients have no place to go, stay in ER

3.Workplace safety (challenge for implementing guidelines)/ violence

4.Low availability of Narcan (needs to be more readily available)

5.Legal action against prescribers

6.Economic penalties

7.Increase in outpatient surgical care may lead to more patients presenting for pain

8.Easy access and good reputation

9.Regulatory bodies require that pain must be assessed

10.Judging attitudes toward addiction

11.Cost/reimbursement for behavioral health

12.Repeat visitors to healthcare facilities

13.Pregnant patient who cannot take anti-inflammatory pain meds

14.Infrastructure – limited space, more behavioral health beds

15.Safety threat leading to hospital lock downs

16.Patient satisfaction scores

17.Clinician culture – community based providers

18.Unintended exposure to narcotics during emergency response Tennessee Opioid Abuse