By Rachel Leingang | Arizona Capitol Times
A task force Gov. Doug Ducey created to take aim at the opioid crisis has a lot more work to do than the initial list of proposed laws and policies it released earlier this year, a panel that included doctors said today.
Arizona Department of Health Services director Cara Christ said the task force looked at 100 ideas and winnowed it down to a dozen final recommendations.
“We know this is just the first step,” Christ said at an Arizona Capitol Times Morning Scoop panel on opioids today.
The task force’s proposals would reduce illicit use of opioids, promote safe prescribing, decrease risks of opioid use and improve access to treatment, DHS said in its opioid action plan released in September.
The proposals come after the department found two people died on average each day last year from opioid overdoses, which led Ducey to declare a statewide opioid emergency.