Combating the Prescription Painkiller Epidemic: A National Prescription Drug Reporting Program

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Prescription Drug ◽  
The United States ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Prescription Drug Abuse ◽  
Drug Abusers ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Drug Problem ◽  
Payment Systems ◽  
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs

Prescription painkiller abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. In the past year, approximately one out of twenty Americans reported misuse or abuse of prescription painkillers. Several factors contribute to the prescription painkiller epidemic. Drug abusers use various methods—such as doctor shopping, paying with cash, and filling prescriptions in different states—to avoid detection and obtain prescription painkillers for illegitimate uses. A few rogue physicians and pharmacists, lured by substantial profits, enable drug abusers by illegally prescribing or supplying controlled substances. Even ethical physicians rarely have adequate training to recognize and address prescription drug abuse, and as a result, prescribe painkillers to patients who are not using them for legitimate medical purposes. Similarly, although the majority of pharmacies have taken steps to combat drug abuse and reduce prescription painkiller dispensing, under current reporting systems, pharmacists lack visibility into several important indicators of drug abuse. As a result, even the most vigilant pharmacists find it extremely difficult to identify and detect drug abuse with certainty.While state governments have established prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) to crack down on prescription drug abuse, these programs have proven to be inadequate. The programs currently suffer from inadequate data collection, ineffective utilization of data, insufficient interstate data sharing, and constraints on sharing data with law enforcement and state agencies. By contrast, third-party prescription payment systems run by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) or health insurers have been effective in detecting prescription drug abuse. This paper suggests that a national prescription drug reporting program building on existing PBM networks could be significantly more effective than existing state PDMPs in detecting prescription drug abuse.

Whatever Happened to the Decade of Pain Control and Research?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Coleman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Prescription Drug ◽  
Pain Control ◽  
The United States ◽  
Prescription Drug Abuse ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Felony Conviction ◽  
Drug Diversion

This chapter discusses how the pharmaceutical industry’s actions affected the accomplishments of the Decade of Pain Control and Research, which began on January 1, 2001, following almost two decades of rising concern over the inadequate treatment of chronic pain in the United States. To tell the story of this decade we must describe the accompanying problem of drug diversion and abuse. The development in 1995 of a new opioid product called OxyContin, its aggressive marketing, the morbidity and mortality associated with its misuse, and the eventual felony conviction in 2007 of the drug’s sponsor for fraudulent claims and marketing practices, affected the Decade in unexpected ways. The response by Congress and the regulatory community to what they termed an “epidemic” of prescription drug abuse produced long-lasting policy changes. The chapter also touches on the peculiar and sometimes troubling relationship between the regulators and the regulated.

How Predictors of Prescription Drug Abuse Vary by Age

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 1027-1043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Arkes ◽  
Martin Y. Iguchi
Keyword(s):  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Prescription Drug ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Prescription Drug Abuse ◽  
Drug Abusers ◽  
Age Group ◽  
The Past ◽  
Nonmedical Use ◽  
Race Ethnicity

Previous studies that have identified the predictors of prescription drug abuse have either focused on a specific age group or pooled all age groups together into one sample. This approach constrains the predictors to have the same effect across age groups. In this study, we use the 2001 to 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to estimate separate models across five age groups for the past year nonmedical use of prescription drugs. The results indicate that several factors (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity marital status, other substance use) have quite different correlations with prescription drug abuse across age groups. This suggests that more accurate profiles of prescription drug abusers can be obtained by estimating separate models for different age groups.

Abuse-Deterrent Formulations in the Treatment of Chronic Pain

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanford M Silverman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Prescription Drug ◽  
Treatment Guidelines ◽  
Immediate Release ◽  
The United States ◽  
Prescription Drug Abuse ◽  
Opioid Overdose ◽  
Long Acting ◽  
Opioid Diversion

Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing problem in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), enough opioid pain relievers were sold in 2010 to provide every adult in the United States with the equivalent of a typical dose of 5 mg of hydrocodone every 4 hours for 1 month. Many solutions have been proposed to address this problem, including treatment guidelines, political solutions (statutory changes), Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), and technological innovations. Many opioid products are manipulated (crushed, snorted, injected, etc.) to facilitate abuse. Since extended-release/long-acting (ER/LA) opioids contain a large amount of opioid contained in a single delivery system, they are a favorite target of abusers. In short, the goal of an abuser is to convert an ER/LA opioid into an immediate-release one. Abuse-deterrent formulations (ADFs) are intended to make manipulation more difficult or to make abuse of the manipulated product less attractive or less rewarding. One such technological solution is the development of ADFs for opioid pain medications. The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) guidelines for industry released in 2015 establish the rationale and methodology for the development of ER/LA opioids that contain abuse-deterrent properties. The goal is to deter abuse, realizing that it is impossible to prevent abuse. Key words: abuse-deterrent formulations, abuse-deterrent opioids, CDC guidelines, FDA opioid guidelines, opioid abuse, opioid deaths, opioid diversion, opioid overdose, prescription drug abuse, REMS 

scholarly journals Prescription Drugs and the US Workforce: Results from a National Safety Council Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 1;23 (1;1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa Abd-Elsayed
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Prescription Drug ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Workplace Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Drug Misuse ◽  
Prescription Drug Abuse ◽  
Prescription Drug Misuse ◽  
National Safety Council

Background: The cost of chronic pain in the United States is extremely high. Opioids are one of the most common medications prescribed for the treatment of chronic pain, and their misuse and addiction have been of concern. It has been found that opioids are frequently abused and negatively impact the American workforce. Objectives: The objective of this study was to obtain data on US employers’ concerns and priorities, perceptions of prescription drug abuse, perceived impact of prescription drug use on the workplace, identification of and response to drug abuse, perceived ability to handle prescription drug abuse in the workplace, and workplace initiatives, employee assistance programs, employee drug testing, workplace prescription drug training, insurance coverage of alternative treatment, and overall preparedness to deal with the issue. Study Design: This research used an employer proprietary questionnaire created by members of the National Safety Council in cooperation with market research experts at B2B International. Setting: Employers surveyed via an online survey represent diverse industries and geographical areas. Methods: The research was conducted using a proprietary questionnaire. Participants were recruited from a sample of verified panelists through Research Now, and fieldwork was conducted online by B2B International. This report is on 501 interviews that each represent a US employer with 50 or more employees. The employers sampled are extremely diverse in not only size and industry, but also geography and centralization. Results: Our results showed that 67% of employers reported concerns related to prescription drug misuse, which was comparable to workplace violence and more concerning than the use of illegal drugs. Sixty-one percent reported concerns related to prescription opioids, which was a higher concern than using anti-anxiety medications, stimulants, and even heroin. Limitations: Survey study with descriptive analysis with limited sample. Conclusions: Prescription drug misuse and abuse concern American employers. Their side effects are clear, but employers are less likely to acknowledge their detrimental business effect. Employers report being unprepared for dealing with issues related to this; however, the firms with programs in place feel more prepared to deal with misuse and abuse. Key words: Prescription drugs, US workforce, chronic pain

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