This article provides an excellent recap of the second National Rx Drug Abuse Summit held April 2-4, 2013, in Orlando, Florida. Nearly 900 people from 49 states and two other countries attended the conference.
“A national outcry about the human cost of prescription drug abuse is needed if efforts to stop this national epidemic are to be successful. People of great passion and perspective are here wanting to make an impact in their communities,” said Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-5th), chair of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, whose efforts to address prescription drug abuse have been recognized nationally.
“The first step is we have to admit there is a problem,” said Rogers, co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse. “I don’t think the country is there yet. We’ve got to face up to it. We’ve got to make this known … and that we’re not going to hide from it.”
Source: WorkersCompensation.com – April 12, 2013
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is asking three federal agencies to step up efforts to
The 2013 National Rx Drug Abuse Summit will focus on ways to make an Impact in the fight against prescription drug abuse. The Summit is the largest national collaboration of professionals from local, state, and federal agencies, business, academia, clinicians, treatment providers, counselors, educators, state and national leaders, and advocates impacted by Rx drug abuse.
Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems
Prescription painkillers are responsible for more fatal overdoses in the U.S. than heroin and cocaine combined. And while most states have programs to curb abuse and addiction, a new report from Brandeis University shows that many states do not fully analyze the data they collect.
The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), issued guidance this June to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) encouraging them to “utilize prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) as an additional resource to maximize safety in patient care pursuant to applicable state guidelines.”
A Rhode Island Hospital researcher has found that the use of electronic prescription drug monitoring programs (PMPs) may have a significant impact on the demand for drug treatment programs and how prescribers detect and respond to abuse of painkillers. The study by Traci C. Green, PhD, MSc, research scientist in Rhode Island Hospital’s department of general internal medicine is published in the journal Pain Medicine.The study found that prescribers’ use of an electronic PMPs may influence medical care and decisions, especially with opioid abuse detection, and is associated with clinical responses to suspected doctor shopping or diversion.
Days after a landmark prescription drug abuse law took effect, the law appears to have already effected changes in the medical field and positioned Kentucky as a leader in battling prescription drug abuse.
On June 21, in Indiana and Ohio, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched a pilot program that promises to give prescribers another powerful tool for combating prescription drug abuse. The Enhancing Access to PDMPs Project is designed to test the feasibility of connecting a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) to other health information technology (Health IT) systems to help emergency department physicians deliver better and more timely care to patients needing substance abuse treatment.
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