Alaska Continuing Education Requirements

In 2018, the State of Alaska’s Department of Health & Social Services set out to take control over the state’s most wide-spread epidemic – the opioid crisis – by issuing a five-year action plan that affected most day-to-day operations in hospitals throughout the state.

Although this is a nation-wide epidemic, from 2010 to 2017, Alaska alone saw over 600 deaths attributed to opioid overdose, and felt the need to combat this crisis in one way or another. Hospitals began changing the way they treat patients with opioid addiction, as they found that a trip to the emergency room could be a crucial window of time to help people on their way to recovery. One of the overarching goals identified by the state’s campaign included, “Preventing opioid overdose deaths through widespread availability and the appropriate use of naloxone and improved health provider and drug prescriber education.”

Medical professionals, including nurses, have made a great, overall impact on the state’s chance to combat the opioid crisis by providing patients with medicine that eases the transition to seeking the additional care, as well as making sure the patient is connected to a network of providers who can ensure this continuation of a medication-assisted treatment.