Prescription drugs can help to alleviate symptoms and ease pain. Many people have them lying around their house in medicine cabinets or drawers. But what would you do if those pills got into the wrong hands? Say, the hands of your child or even one of their friends? Studies show that 50% of people who abuse prescription drugs age 12 and older obtain them from a friend or family member.
That’s why I want to inform you about this important day, DEA National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 27th. Disposing of unused prescription drugs is one of the most effective ways to keep them out of the hands that they shouldn’t be in. Head over to the website to find more info about DEA National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Please do your part in helping to stop this terrible epidemic. This is something very near to my heart as quite a few people that I know or have known either abuse or have abused prescription drugs. It tears families apart and ruins lives. I wouldn’t wish the outcome on anyone.
I was able to interview Dr. Catizone, Executive Director of NABP and a licensed pharmacist. I asked a few questions that I think we need answers to. Some of the answers seem to beat around the bush, though I suppose that’s what Doctors like to do. I don’t think we will come to any real solution until Doctors stop prescribing unnecessary drugs. In my heart, I truly believe that we are over-medicating our nation!
1. Why are Dr’s so quick to hand out prescription painkillers to their patients when it is not always necessary?
Catizone:
Many doctors want to help patients in pain, especially chronic pain associated with cancer and other debilitating disease states and conditions. They are careful in prescribing the most appropriate treatment for the patient, including appropriate pain medication if needed. These doctors are considering the patient’s medical history and current health when making a prescribing decision.
However, Food and Drug Administration, and other organizations have recognized that even legitimately prescribed pain medications are contributing, in part, to the epidemic of prescription drug misuse and abuse. In a blog article, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, notes that such prescriptions can lead to ?unnecessary adverse events, addiction, and death for some patients.?
To help address this issue, FDA has created online programming and resources to help educate prescribers about the best use of prescription pain drugs referred to as ?opioids,? including drugs such as Vicodin? and OxyContin?. The resources include information on when and for which patients these powerful pain drugs should be used. FDA has partnered with the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and the American Academy of Pain Management to help educate prescribers.
As part of this effort, FDA asks doctors to ensure that patients understand how to use opioid pain drugs appropriately, their potential risks, and how to properly dispose of them when they are no longer needed.
Current laws governing prescription drugs also address this issue, and new legislation is being considered that could tighten controls if passed into law. For example, drugs such as morphine and oxycodone are Schedule II controlled substance (CS) medications, which have the highest potential for abuse. Under federal law, Schedule II drugs cannot be refilled without another original prescription from the doctor.
With the aim of curbing prescription drug abuse, bipartisan legislation that would reclassify combination drug products containing hydrocodone as Schedule II CS was introduced to Congress on March 20, 2013. If products containing hydrocodone are reclassified as Schedule II CS, patients would be required to present an original prescription each time a prescription is filled, as they would no longer be able to obtain refills.
Some doctors prescribe pain medications when they are not needed to avoid conflicts with patients. A small percentage have taken part in and been convicted for schemes to illegally distribute such drugs to patients. One way some states are addressing this issue is by using prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) that track all CS prescriptions dispensed in the state. Depending on the state, some PMPs allow certain authorities, such as law enforcement personnel to examine PMP data to help identify these doctors.
However, a primary purpose of PMPs is to help doctors who are treating patients with a legitimate need for pain relief make the most appropriate prescribing decisions for their patients. In some states, prescribers may access the database to see if their patient has received CS prescriptions from other providers, for example. To enhance PMPs? ability to fight prescription drug abuse, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has developed NABP PMP InterConnect?. NABP InterConnect connects participating PMPs so that they can share data across state lines. For example, with NABP InterConnect, a prescriber in Ohio can view available prescription data from other participating states, and that data may be helpful if the patient has traveled to other states for care.
If you think someone in your family has a problem with prescription drug misuse or abuse, seeking advice and assistance from your family health care provider is advised. For example, your doctor can provide information and/or referrals to local programs that help identify abuse and treat addiction. Also, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides an online substance abuse treatment locator and links to resources about addiction and treatment on its Web site.
2. It would be nice if more Dr’s offered “natural remedies” for certain ailments rather than pharmaceutical. Can you refer any that do?
Catizone:
AWARXE encourages patients to ask their doctor questions about legitimate alternative treatments. Patients may wish to search for providers, possibly through their health care plans, that can provide nutrition advice or other appropriate therapy if recommended by their doctor.
If taking supplements or natural remedies, make sure to let your doctor and pharmacist know. Some products may interact with prescription medications.
In addition, everyone should be wary of health care fraud. Bogus products claiming to be a ?miracle cure,? ?revolutionary scientific breakthrough,? or ?alternative to drugs or surgery,? can cause serious health injury or delay proper treatment. FDA indicates that a product is fraudulent when it is deceptively promoted as being effective against a disease or health condition, but has not been scientifically proven as safe and effective for that purpose. Such products are promoted in newspapers, magazines, television infomercials, and on the Internet. As part of FDA’s continued efforts to raise awareness about health fraud scams, the agency has released a new consumer update highlighting ?6 Tip-offs to Rip-offs.?
3. Obviously, we should teach our children not to play in the medicine cabinet or touch medicine bottles. What other precautions can we take?
Catizone:
Be sure to store medications out of sight and reach of children and to lock them up when possible. The bathroom cabinet is often not the best place for medications.
You may want to lock your medications in a cupboard or a medicine safe, especially to avoid unintentional use by your child or misuse by family or visitors to your home. Safe places might be in a linen closet or dresser drawer, if these are secure and out of children’s reach.
You can also remind babysitters, houseguests, and visitors to keep purses, bags, or coats that have medicines in them out of sight and out of reach of children when they are in your home.
Both prescription drugs and OTC drugs should be securely stored.
If you have pills or medication that is no longer needed or has expired, dispose of it at an authorized DEA Take-Back location, or a local medication disposal program. The next DEA Take-Back Day is April 27, 2013 and collection sites will be located across the country.
More information about the DEA Take-Back Day and a link to the collection site locator is available on the AWARXE Medication Disposal page.
Parents can also follow general poison prevention guidelines to help protect very young children from accidental ingestion and experimentation with prescription drugs. For example, never call medicine candy to entice a child to take it.
Also, parents should start teaching children to never take a medication without approved adult supervision. Children can be educated that taking the wrong kind of medicine or too much medicine could make them very sick. More generally, parents can teach children to never put anything in their mouth if they are not sure that it is safe to eat.
The video ?STOP! Ask First? from the American Association of Poison Control Centers is a useful tool for educating young children on this issue. The video can be found on the Student page of the AWARXE Web site.
Modeling safe medication use for children can also help. There are numerous tips for safely administering medications to children on the Safety Tips for Children page of the AWARXE Web site.
To help teens, an important step is to talk with them about the serious dangers of prescription drug abuse. This step is important as many teens do not realize that abusing prescription drugs is just as dangerous as using illicit drugs. For example, a recent survey revealed that less than 36% of 8th grade students see occasional nonmedical use of Vicodin or OxyContin as a great risk. However, most 8th grade students perceive regular marijuana use and occasional heroin use as a great risk.
There are many resources on AWARErx.org that can help initiate conversations with your children. For teens, a video recommended by AWARXE, called The Road to Nowhere, tells the story of a teen who experimented with prescription drugs at a party and became addicted to the drugs. A link to the video is available on the AWARXE Get Local Oklahoma page. Also, the AWARXE Student page includes resources for elementary school students, as well as for middle school and high school students.
Cited Sources
- FDA joins with health professional organizations in encouraging prescribers to seek training to safely prescribe opioid pain medicines, FDA Blog: http://blogs.fda.gov/fdavoice/index.php/2013/03/fda-joins-with-health-professional-organizations-in-encouraging-prescribers-to-seek-training-to-safely-prescribe-opioid-pain-medicines/
- Open Letter to Prescribers, FDA: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/ucm330614.htm
- Safe Prescribing Act of 2013: (HR 1285) http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:H.R.1285: & (S 621) http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:S.621:
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration online substance abuse treatment locator: http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/TreatmentLocator/faces/quickSearch.jspx
- 6 Tip-offs to Rip-offs: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm341344.htm
- AWARXE Medication Disposal: http://www.awarerx.org/get-informed/find-disposal-information
- AWARXE Students page: http://www.awarerx.org/students
- AWARXE Safety Tips for Children: http://www.awarerx.org/get-informed/appropriate-use/safety-tips-for-children
- AWARXE Get Local Oklahoma: http://www.awarerx.org/get-local/oklahoma
I did not receive any form of compensation for this post. Prescription drug abuse is something that I feel strongly about and I just want to spread the word about DEA National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day to hopefully help put a stop to this! Opinions expressed are my own, take it or leave it.