Chasing the monkey: Fighting prescription opioid abuse in the Midwest

One of the most pressing public health issues the United States is currently facing is the prescription drug abuse epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 16,651 people died of prescription painkiller overdoses in2010 2009; nonmedical use of prescription painkillers costs the US healthcare system more than $72.5 billion each year. The problem of prescription drug misuse  and abuse is complex, requiring a multi-disciplinary approach. Public health, medicine, and law enforcement agencies have come together in several states to establish policies and programs to prevent overprescribing and mitigate the dangerous effects of prescription drug misuse and abuse at the state level. Indiana launched the Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force that developed the provider toolkit, Do No Harm, to educated prescribers of the new prescribing rules set forth by the Indiana Medical Licensing Board and set a standard for safe, effective pain management.This presentation will share the process of developing the Toolkit and its implementation in practices across the state.