Faculty Scholarship

Settlements from lawsuits against some of the largest companies at the center of the opioid crisis will generate over $50 billion over the next 18 years. Recently published recommendations from RAND advocate using funds to increase public awareness and patient access to nonpharmacological therapies, including chiropractic care. Attendees will explore a range of opportunities to leverage settlement funding to support non-opioid pain management in their communities, and position chiropractic as an upstream prevention strategy in the ongoing opioid epidemic.

Opioid-related lawsuits are expected to generate more than $50 billion in settlement funds for states and localities to remediate the catastrophic consequences of the opioid crisis. Guidance on the distribution of settlement funds has primarily focused on reducing opioid-related deaths and other opioid-related harms and on improving treatment for substance use disorders. However, an effective approach to this crisis will also require primary prevention strategies to reduce unnecessary opioid initiation, particularly through effective pain management. Although numerous strategies have been implemented to slow the issuance of opioid prescriptions, little attention has been given to providing effective nonopioid alternatives for people in pain at the point when they initially seek care. This lack of a preventive focus represents a dangerous gap given that pain remains a leading reason people seek health care.