Comprehensive Plan to Combat Rx Drug Abuse Announced

(Winter 2015) The devastating effects of prescription (Rx) drug abuse, principally painkillers, is continuing to be a major threat to our nation. Abuse remains at epidemic levels. It is a contributing factor in over 20,000 deaths each year, and Rx drug abuse is the leading cause of injury-related death in the nation. In Ohio alone, 38 deaths occur each week from opioid overdoses.

Now heroin, which is also an opioid, is coupling and compounding this horrendous problem. In great part, the abuse of Rx painkillers is the precursor for the current, staggering heroin abuse statistics from coast to coast. About 80% of new heroin users switched to the drug after first abusing Rx painkillers. Heroin overdoses are on a trajectory that could surpass what we have experienced in painkiller overdoses.

We have got to get our hands around this problem and reverse the tide. Something needs to be done. And that is just what the Obama Administration plans to do.

During a recent trip to West Virginia, President Obama announced an unprecedented mega-campaign being undertaken by his administration. It is igniting partnerships and engaging an expansive, diverse group of organizations, which over the next two years will enact a broad scope of activities to reduce the number of opioid overdoses and deaths.

For starters, more than 40 provider groups (e.g., physicians, dentists, nurses and educators) plan to train over 540,000 healthcare providers on opioid prescribing. Public service announcements on the risks of Rx drug misuse, created by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, will be distributed by CBS, ABC, The New York Times, Google, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and a multitude of other companies – a multimillion-dollar donation.

Roughly 90 organizations have signed up and plan to reach out to over nine million people. The current list of organizations and actions to be taken is huge and the planned activities and objectives are extensive.

• Pharmacies and industry associations plan to increase availability and awareness of naloxone, a drug that can counter the effects of an opioid overdose.
• High school and college athletic associations like the National Association of High School Coaches and the National Collegiate Athletic Association will raise awareness among members and student-athletes about how to prevent Rx misuse.
• More Rx drug disposal drop-off boxes will be installed in communities with heavy Rx abuse.
• WebMD and Medscape will produce a report, based on surveys from consumer and health care professionals, exploring issues such as prescribing practices and general awareness around the issue.
• Oz launched a campaign for “National Night of Conversation” encouraging parents to talk with their parents about Rx medications.

In response to the President’s announcement, several other federal agencies are rising to the call-to-action. Thus far commitments include:

• The Drug Enforcement Administration will continue its National Prescription Take-Back Day program into 2016.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investing $8.5 million to develop tools and resources to confront Rx drug use and misuse.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense will expand research into non-opioid alternatives for pain management and education.

President Obama also proposed a $133 million increase in the federal budget to help with treatment and prevention programs and directed federal agencies to increase prescriber training and improve access to medication-assisted treatment.

The goal of this massive effort is to focus prevention and education efforts to prevent opioid addiction and increase funding and access to treatment programs for those addicted to opioids to access the help they need.

This epidemic is vast. In the words of President Obama, “It touches everybody – from celebrities to college students, to soccer moms, to inner-city kids. White, black, Hispanic, young, old, rich, poor, urban, suburban, men and women. It can happen to a coal miner; it can happen to a construction worker; a cop who is taking a painkiller for a work-related. It could happen to the doctor who writes him the prescription.” Only through a combined, large-scale effort like the one announced by the Obama administration does the nation have a chance of defeating this epidemic.