Despite ongoing efforts to combat opioid abuse, Massachusetts
continues to face an epidemic that has claimed thousands of lives. In 2016
alone, the state’s Department of Public Health confirmed 2,094 cases of
overdose deaths, a 24 percent increase over the previous year.
From January to September of 2017, DPH documented another 932
confirmed opioid-related overdose deaths. Although the numbers are trending
downward, there are still far too many people dealing with drug dependency
issues, and far too many lives being lost to this scourge.
Governor Charles Baker’s proposal to allow individuals to be
involuntarily placed in a drug treatment program for up to 72 hours will help
save lives. It will also address the all-too-familiar vicious cycle that occurs
when a patient reports to the emergency room suffering from an overdose and is
treated and released, only to end up back in the ER after another overdose.
Under previous legislation we adopted in 2016, ER patients treated
for an opioid-related overdose, or given the overdose-reversing drug naloxone
prior to arriving at the hospital must undergo a substance abuse evaluation
within 24 hours. Patients are advised of their treatment options, but are not
legally required to enter treatment. Individuals can be involuntarily committed
to receive treatment for their addiction only with a court order.
During debate over the 2016 legislation, I offered an amendment to
allow attending physicians to restrain a patient and place them in a treatment
facility for three days if the patient had already received a substance abuse
evaluation and returned to the hospital within seven days with another
opiate-related overdose.
Governor Baker’s proposal would allow medical professionals and
police officers to authorize the transfer of a patient to a substance use
treatment facility without a court order if the patient presents a danger to
themselves or others, and for the patient to be held in that facility up to 72
hours if deemed necessary by a physician. A court order would be required to
hold patients beyond the 72 hours.
Governor Baker’s 72-hour proposal is intended as a “last resort”
option, but will literally save lives, getting people into treatment and
hopefully placing them on a path to recovery by reducing their chances of
suffering a potentially fatal relapse. It deserves serious consideration as one
tool towards addressing this epidemic.
