New Prescribing Guidelines - How can we use them?

The Utah Department of Health released new guidelines Thursday designed to help reduce prescription drug deaths (according to a Deseret News Article)

Some of the key recommendations for medical providers include:

1. Give alternatives to opioids before prescribing them; start with something less potent first, particularly for acute pain.


2. Screen for risk of abuse or addiction before initiating prescription opioids


3. Use methadone rarely, if ever, to treat acute pain. Also, it should only be prescribed by those who know the risks and are prepared to carefully monitor patients who take it.

See article: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705293368/New-rules-aim-to-stem-overdoses.html?pg=1

We have been conducting 12 different focus groups with community members. In each focus group members consistently said doctors (dentists and medical doctors) were contributing to the prescription drug abuse problems in Utah County by making these drugs easy to obtain and prescribing too many at one time.

Question for Coalition Memebers

• How can we utilize these guidelines to help reduce deaths in Utah County?
• How can we utilize the guidelines to educate the medical community?
• How can we utilize the guidelines to educate the public?
• Ofter any other general feelings about how these guidelines will curb overdose deaths.

NOTE: I (Kye) recently met with our partners in the North IHC Council, chaired by Mayor Heber Thompson. One of the IHC employees said he would give representatives of our coalition time on their monthly staff meeting - about 100 Utah County physicians come to those meetings.

Pharmacies need a Drug Take Back Program - Tell the DEA

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is seeking citizen feedback on making prescription drug disposal easier for consumers. Current federal law prohibits pharmacies from taking back prescription pain relievers. Federal law only allows law enforcement agencies (registered with DEA) to take back these drugs.

Research shows that individuals integrate health behaviors that are easy to implement with limited barriers. Currently the barriers surrounding the proper disposal of controlled drugs dispensed through a prescription are so significant that citizens are either (1) not disposing these harmful drugs – making them more available to abusers, or (2) citizens are disposing of the drugs irresponsibly in the toilet or in our landfills. The most environmentally friendly disposal method is incineration (method used by law enforcement and pharmacies).

SMART will be submitting the following recommendation to the DEA: "The DEA should, Rewrite DEA rules allowing pharmacies and hospitals to accept unused, outdated prescription pain relievers, thus reducing the significant barriers facing Utah County citizens to properly dispose of their prescription drugs."

AFTER THE DEA ALLOWS PHARMACIES TO TAKE BACK - THEN WHAT?
We need pharmacies and hospitals to support our effort of proper disposal. The Oregon legislature is currently considering a bill would require drug manufacturers to establish pharmaceutical take-back programs (for article see: http://news.opb.org/article/4479-bill-proposes-take-back-program-unused-consumer-drugs/.

SMART Utah County needs to follow Oregon's lead by working with legislators and pharmaceutical companies to reduce the availability of prescription drugs to abusers. We need representatives of these organizations working with us to reduce drug abuse. Do you agree?