RI Top Doctor Chan Discusses Addiction and What's Sparking This Wave
RI Top Doctor Chan Discusses Addiction and What's Sparking This Wave
“This is a very important issue; there's a significant number of adults here in the U.S. including Rhode Island, that report using drugs at least at some point in their life and the big issue has been that our drug supply both in Rhode Island nationally has really been adulterated by a number of these very deadly substances like fentanyl that's killing people across the country, including here in Rhode Island,” said Dr. Philip Chan on GoLocal LIVE
According to one federal study, approximately 19.76% of Rhode Island residents aged 12 and older reported using illicit drugs in the past month. That study was the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
"15 or 20 years ago myself included among other doctors we weren't aware of all the potential ramifications of all the opioids that we were prescribing and it used to be pretty commonplace for us to prescribe them for a lot of minor things,” said Dr. Chan. “A lot of this was fueled by the pharma companies by a lot of advertising and marketing and again, most of us didn't realize the potential dangers that led to a number of folks, patients, that were addicted to these opioids and a number of them over time transitioned to heroin of course street drugs which have been contaminated which eventually led to the fentanyl crisis.”
Dr. Chan was explicit about the extreme danger, “Fentanyl is an opioid; in fact, we use it in the hospitals all the time. It's one of the most potent opioids that we use and, in fact, such a small amount like the amount on a tip of a pencil can potentially kill someone.”
Improvement in Rhode Island
Dr. Chan said, “In Rhode Island in 2022, we peaked at 436 fatal overdoses in the state — that's more than one a day. Now, the good news is that we've seen that number come down slightly since then through 2023 and 2024.”
He says that Rhode Island has developed an integrated approach.
Danger of Federal Cuts
Rhode Island’s efforts could be impacted by federal cuts. “Some of this is funded by the federal government some of this is also funded by some of the opioid settlements, you know done by the Attorney General, but we do get a significant number of [federal] grants similar to many states to address substance use so any cuts to the state really do affect all of us in our ability to respond in Rhode Island,” said Dr. Chan.
Narcan in Focus
Dr. Chan urged everyone to carry Narcan. He said 80% of overdoses take place in people’s homes.
“Narcan is an opioid antagonist, meaning that when someone is having an overdose when they've taken too much of [a drug], is that NARCAN will reverse it. It's one of the safest drugs that we have in fact it has no side effects other than directly acting against opioids so when people have taken an opioid. Administering NARCAN, usually through a nasal spray, is really effective in reversing it,” said Dr. Chan.
Shift Policy to Prevention
Dr. Chan said if Rhode Island really wants to be successful the strategy needs more focus on prevention.
He urged that primary care physicians play a bigger role in education and detection.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ABOVE