HOUSE MEMORIAL 61

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson and Deborah A. Armstrong

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING FEBRUARY 23, 2017 "#CHOOSEPT DAY" IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has one of the highest drug overdose rates in the nation; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico is second only to West Virginia in per capita deaths, primarily due to prescription and illegal opioid drugs; and

     WHEREAS, there were four thousand three hundred forty deaths from overdoses in New Mexico from 2006 to 2014; and

     WHEREAS, the federal centers for disease control and prevention has indicated that heroin and prescription opioids account for the majority of drug deaths; and

     WHEREAS, according to the centers for disease control and prevention, in 2012, health providers wrote two hundred fifty-nine million prescriptions for opioid pain medication, enough for every American adult to have his or her own bottle of pills; and

     WHEREAS, one in four people who receive prescription opioids long term for non-cancer pain in primary care settings struggles with addiction; and

     WHEREAS, opioid side effects include addiction, depression, overdose and withdrawal symptoms; and

     WHEREAS, every day, more than one thousand people are treated in emergency departments for misusing prescription opioids; and

     WHEREAS, since 1999, more than one hundred sixty-five thousand people in the United States have died from opioid pain medication-related overdoses; and

     WHEREAS, over the past fifteen years, increasing numbers of Americans have been prescribed opioids for pain management, with sales of prescription opioids and deaths related to opioids and heroin quadrupling since 1999; and

     WHEREAS, the centers for disease control and prevention recommends non-opioid approaches for chronic pain; and

     WHEREAS, in March 2016, the centers for disease control and prevention released guidelines urging clinicians to consider opioid therapy only if the expected benefits for both pain and function were anticipated to outweigh the risks to the patient; and

     WHEREAS, physical therapy is effective for numerous conditions, and the centers for disease control and prevention has cited evidence in support of exercise as part of physical therapy treatment for familiar conditions like low back pain, hip or knee osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia; and

     WHEREAS, physical therapy is a safe and effective alternative to opioids for long-term pain management by treating pain through movement, whereas opioids often only mask the pain; and

     WHEREAS, physical therapy provides improved mobility, increased independence, decreased pain and prevention of other health problems through movement and exercise; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico chapter of the American physical therapy association is participating in the national #ChoosePT campaign to build public awareness about physical therapy as an alternative to opioid prescriptions for chronic pain; and

     WHEREAS, the #ChoosePT campaign raises awareness about the dangers of prescription opioids and encourages consumers and those who prescribe medications to choose safer alternatives, such as physical therapy; and

     WHEREAS, the #ChoosePT campaign encourages physical therapy providers to educate their patients about the dangers of opioids, to ask about problems with substance abuse or addiction, to listen closely to patients describing their pain, to be sure that the patient feels heard and to set realistic goals for pain and functioning based on the patient's diagnosis; and

     WHEREAS, #ChoosePT is consistent with the centers for disease control and prevention guidelines, which encourage provider's to check that non-opioid therapies have been tried before prescribing opioids; and

     WHEREAS, in cases where opioids are prescribed, providers are encouraged to "start low and go slow" with dosing and to combine opioids with non-drug approaches, such as physical therapy;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 23, 2017 be declared "#ChoosePT Day" in the house of representatives; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that physical therapists be encouraged to do their part in decreasing opioid addiction by providing physical therapy as an alternative treatment to opioids to manage chronic pain; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico chapter of the American physical therapy association.

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