Prescription Drug Abuse: A Call to Action

This presentation will explore the Obama Administration's primary blueprints for decreasing prescription drug overdose deaths in the United States: The National Drug Control Strategy and the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan.

The Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan creates four focus areas for addressing this problem: 1) improving education for the public, patients and healthcare providers, 2) supporting the expansion of state-based prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), 3) recommending more convenient and environmentally responsible disposal methods to remove unneeded or expired medications from circulation, and 4) reducing the prevalence of pill mills and doctor shopping through enforcement efforts. The presentation will address each of these four pillars.

The National Drug Control Strategy recognizes that prevention through early detection and treatment of prescription drug misuse or abuse by a health care professional is a cost-effective approach to solving this problem. The Strategy also recognizes the importance of making antidotes like naloxone widely available and educating the public about its use. The Administration has prioritized reducing overdose deaths, setting a specific goal to reduce such deaths by 15% by 2015. The presentation will discuss methods for implementing early intervention and treatment programs and increasing utilization of naloxone for first responders.