IHS National Committee on Heroin Opioids and Pain Efforts

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The Indian Health Service (IHS) National Committee on Heroin Opioids and Pain Efforts (HOPE Committee) works with tribal stakeholders to promote appropriate and effective pain management, reduce overdose deaths from heroin and prescription opioid misuse, and improve access to culturally appropriate treatment.

The committee consists of five (5) workgroups that aim to foster tribal relationships to:

Identify local resources that are available to treat pain and substance use disorders
Ensure adequate administrative support to effectively coordinate patient care
Encourage IHS facilities to increase clinical capacity and identify viable training and educational resources to support IHS prescribers, practitioners, tribal leadership, and community members
Facilitate meaningful discussions surrounding development of comprehensive medication-assisted treatment (MAT) strategies

As part of IHS's commitment to ensuring a coordinated, holistic response to the opioid and heroin epidemic, the HOPE Committee launched quarterly newsletters to share important updates in the IHS response to the opioid and heroin epidemic. The goal of each newsletter is to briefly highlight resources and share additional information with our healthcare workforce, our employees, and our tribal stakeholders.

Supporting HOPE for Patients Affected by Heroin, Opioids and Chronic Pain

The IHS HOPE Committee has developed an infographic that focuses on five key strategies [PDF - 496 KB] to increase access to safe and effective long-term chronic pain treatments, improve access to culturally appropriate care, and reduce overdose deaths from heroin and prescription opioid misuse.

For additional resources and tools for appropriate pain management, visit HOPE Committee’s Pain Management website.