HEALTH POLICY ANALYSIS 2 HEALTH POLICY ANALYSIS Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Over the last two decades, the United States of America has experienced an increase in the deaths that result from opioid use disorder. For this reason, there was a need for the American congress to pass policies that would help the nation avert the impending national disaster. In October 2018, the American congress passed a new act that affected the country’s healthcare policies. Support for patients and communities act was passed in response to the opioid epidemic facing the United States of America. The show was developed in conjunction with other related actions to help address the problem of opioid addiction in the United States of America. Drug Addiction Act of 2000 provides a waiver for physicians prescribing drugs that manage opioid use disorder. Before passing the Support for patients and communities act, physicians were supposed to undergo an eight-hour training to be given the waiver to prescribe drugs such as buprenorphine. The Support for Patients and communities act allows graduate physicians to prescribe buprenorphine without restrictions (Shapiro et al., 2019). One of the policy’s impacts on healthcare is that it provides for improved accessibility to evidence-based addiction treatment. Before the policy was enacted, it was hard for the opioid addicts in the United States of America to access treatment. Healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid have expanded their services to ensure that opioid addicts access treatment plans. Such has made it easy for the American healthcare system to meet its target of improving healthcare access for all Americans (Incze et al., 2021). Another way that the policy has impacted the American healthcare system is by expanding workforce opportunities. Healthcare facilities depend on other facilities to achieve the overall goal of achieving health among the patients. When the policy was passed, it raised the possibilities for healthcare support by increasing the recovery community centers. Opioid use disorder is an addiction that cannot be healed with a short-term treatment plan—the policy allowed for the building of community centers where opioid-addicted Americans can be treated until they recover. The community centers are essential to decongest the American healthcare facilities while supporting the overall goal of a healthy country. Patients recovering from Opioid addiction are housed in community centers while they undergo treatment before they are allowed to rejoin their respective communities (Jones & McCance-Katz, 2018). The policy has been applied in healthcare practice by allowing for a capacity increase in emergency overdose response. Before the act was signed into law, many Americans died from an opioid overdose since physicians could not prescribe buprenorphine without mandatory training. Once the policy was enacted, it allowed physicians to prescribe buprenorphine ...

1. HEALTH POLICY ANALYSIS 2
HEALTH POLICY ANALYSIS
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Over the last two decades, the United States of America has
experienced an increase in the deaths that result from opioid use
disorder. For this reason, there was a need for the American
congress to pass policies that would help the nation avert the
impending national disaster. In October 2018, the American
congress passed a new act that affected the country’s healthcare
policies. Support for patients and communities act was passed
in response to the opioid epidemic facing the United States of
America. The show was developed in conjunction with other
related actions to help address the problem of opioid addiction
in the United States of America. Drug Addiction Act of 2000
provides a waiver for physicians prescribing drugs that manage
opioid use disorder. Before passing the Support for patients and
communities act, physicians were supposed to undergo an eight-

2. hour training to be given the waiver to prescribe drugs such as
buprenorphine. The Support for Patients and communities act
allows graduate physicians to prescribe buprenorphine without
restrictions (Shapiro et al., 2019).
One of the policy’s impacts on healthcare is that it provides for
improved accessibility to evidence-based addiction treatment.
Before the policy was enacted, it was hard for the opioi d addicts
in the United States of America to access treatment. Healthcare
programs such as Medicare and Medicaid have expanded their
services to ensure that opioid addicts access treatment plans.
Such has made it easy for the American healthcare system to
meet its target of improving healthcare access for all Americans
(Incze et al., 2021).
Another way that the policy has impacted the American
healthcare system is by expanding workforce opportunities.
Healthcare facilities depend on other facilities to achieve the
overall goal of achieving health among the patients. When the
policy was passed, it raised the possibilities for healthcare
support by increasing the recovery community centers. Opioid
use disorder is an addiction that cannot be healed with a shor t-
term treatment plan—the policy allowed for the building of
community centers where opioid-addicted Americans can be
treated until they recover. The community centers are essential
to decongest the American healthcare facilities while supporting
the overall goal of a healthy country. Patients recovering from
Opioid addiction are housed in community centers while they
undergo treatment before they are allowed to rejoin their
respective communities (Jones & McCance-Katz, 2018).
The policy has been applied in healthcare practice by allowing
for a capacity increase in emergency overdose response. Before
the act was signed into law, many Americans died from an
opioid overdose since physicians could not prescribe
buprenorphine without mandatory training. Once the policy was
enacted, it allowed physicians to prescribe buprenorphine to
opioid overdose patients, which has helped the American
healthcare system reduce the number of deaths resulting from an

3. opioid overdose. Such has improved healthcare quality since
physicians have been given a greater capacity to save a life,
which is their primary duty in healthcare facilities (Donroe et
al., 2018).
Also, the policy has allowed an increase in the operating
capacity of healthcare professionals. Today, not only physici ans
are allowed to prescribe buprenorphine but also registered
nurses. This goal is to increase the number of healthcare
professionals who can prescribe the medication in different
parts of the country and help save the lives of Americans who
might suffer from Opioid Use Disorder (Davis, 2019).
In conclusion, enacting the Support for patients and
communities act was a great move by the American congress to
reduce deaths caused by Opioid Use Disorder. The policy
impacts healthcare since it improves accessibility to evidence-
based addiction treatment and expands workforce opportunities.
Community support centers have helped the healthcare system
manage Opioid Use Disorder patients. The policy has been
integrated into the healthcare system by allowing physicians
and registered nurses to prescribe buprenorphine.

4. References
Davis, C. S. (2019). The support for patients and Communities
Act — What will it mean for the opioid-overdose crisis? New
England Journal of Medicine, 380(1), 3-5.
https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp1813961
Donroe, J. H., Socias, M. E., & Marshall, B. D. (2018). The
deepening opioid crisis in North America: Historical context
and current solutions. Current Addiction Reports, 5(4), 454-
463. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-018-0228-5
Incze, M. A., Kelley, A. T., & Gordon, A. J. (2021). Improving
opioid use disorder treatment through quality assessment.
Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36(9), 2820-2822.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-06614-x
Jones, C. M., & McCance-Katz, E. F. (2018). Characteristics
and prescribing practices of clinicians recently waivered to
prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use
disorder. Addiction, 114(3), 471-
482. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14436
Shapiro, A., Villarroel, L. R., & George, P. (2019). A call to
maximize the impact of the support for patients and
Communities Act through standard inclusion of opioid use
disorder treatment curricula in medical schools. Advances in
Medical Education and Practice, 10, 581-583.
https://doi.org/10.2147/amep.s205946