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Thursday, April 24, 2014
Independent Pharmacies Seek Greater Role in Fighting Prescription Drug Abuse
By Celia Vimont | April 23, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Addiction,Community Related, Drugs, Prescription Drugs & Prevention
As the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) gears up for another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 26, the group representing independent pharmacists says its members are eager to help their communities get rid of unwanted or expired drugs year-round.
According to the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), more than 200 tons of medications have been collected at more than 1,600 participating community pharmacies across the country since it created the voluntary Dispose My Meds program in 2009. Many of the medications being dropped off for safe disposal at community pharmacies come from excess mail-order prescriptions that are auto-shipped to patients, whether they want the medication or not.
“Our members are your mom-and-pop community drug store,” says Carolyn C. Ha, PharmD, NCPA’s Director of Professional Affairs and Long-Term Care. “More than half our members are from rural towns with populations of 20,000 or less. The pharmacists know their patients really well. The pharmacists are community leaders, they answer many healthcare questions and are committed to addressing prescription drug abuse.” Many people come into their local pharmacy asking what to do with their unused or expired medicines, often because they have teenagers and don’t want them poking around the medicine cabinet, or because they have grandchildren and don’t want them at risk of accidental poisoning.
People in small towns also want a safe place to dispose of medications, because of concerns they could end up in the water supply if they flushed them down the toilet, Ha noted.
Current DEA regulations do not allow pharmacies to accept unwanted or expired controlled substances including prescription opioid painkillers such as oxycodone or hydrocodone, stimulants such as Adderall or Ritalin, or benzodiazepines like Valium or Xanax. The agency is working to change those rules, and the NCPA supports those changes, according to Ha.
The DEA has proposed new regulations to give the public more options for disposing of unwanted prescription drugs, such as painkillers and sedatives. The new rules are designed to reduce the amount of highly-abused prescription drugs on the streets. The DEA proposes that law enforcement agencies and pharmacies serve as collection boxes for certain medications. The agency also recommends implementing mail-back programs to safely dispose of the drugs.
Under the proposed rules, for the first time, groups outside of law enforcement would be allowed to collect unused drugs for disposal. The proposal would also allow authorized retail pharmacies to voluntarily maintain collection boxes at long-term care facilities. The DEA also calls for continued use of prescription drug “take-back” events. No date has been set for the new regulations to be finalized.
“Pharmacies are a good place for people to drop off medications, because it gives people an opportunity to ask pharmacists questions, and some people may not be comfortable dropping them off at a police station,” Ha says.
If pharmacies are allowed to collect controlled medications such as opioids, the DEA rules will give specific guidance about security measures that need to be in place, to ensure the medications are not diverted. “Pharmacies are held to extremely tight regulatory controls regarding dispensing medications, so we think it’s a natural fit that we should be able to take them back as well,” observed Ha.
Many of the medications community pharmacies collect are the remains of 90-day supplies ordered from insurance companies. Some are expensive specialty drugs, such as inhalation solutions used in nebulizers by people with respiratory conditions, or diabetes drugs and supplies such as test strips and lancets used to test blood sugar levels. “Often, it’s cheaper for patients to order a 90-day supply, even if they don’t need it,” Ha says. The group has documented many cases in which patients or their families have brought in thousands of dollars of mail-order medication.
Some community pharmacies are barred from taking back any medications because of state or local regulations. Those pharmacies that do collect medications generally do so at no cost.
To find the community pharmacy nearest you that collects medications, visit www.disposemymeds.org, and click on the “Pharmacy Locator” tab on the top right side of the page.
Photo credit: National Community Pharmacists Association
FDA Panel Votes to Recommend Against Approving Morphine-Oxycodone Opioid
By Join Together Staff | April 23, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed inGovernment & Prescription Drugs
An advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted Tuesday against approving a combination morphine-oxycodone painkiller, NPR reports. The drug, Moxduo, would be the first medication to combine both opioids in one capsule.
Moxduo’s manufacturer, QRxPharma, says the drug is intended to provide faster relief from moderate to severe pain, with fewer side effects than currently available opioids.
The vote against recommending approval of the drug was unanimous. The panel also voted unanimously that QRxPharma had not proved the drug is less likely to cause potentially life-threatening respiratory suppression, compared with taking oxycodone or morphine alone.
“I certainly wish that there was an opiate that could be counted on to decrease respiratory depression, and maybe one day there will be,” said panel member Gregory Terman of the University of Washington.
The panel questioned whether Moxduo offers any advantages over using oxycodone or morphine alone, the article notes. Panel members disagreed on whether studies conducted by the company showed Moxduo provides better pain relief, fewer side effects or lower risks of potentially fatal complications. Some experts said they were concerned the drug could be more easily abused than opioids such as Vicodin or Percocet.
The FDA is not required to follow its panels’ recommendations, but generally does so.
In a statement, QRxPharma Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer John Holaday said, “We are obviously disappointed in the outcome of today’s meeting, but remain confident in the advantages of Moxduo compared to morphine and oxycodone. This is a necessary therapy for patients with moderate to severe acute pain. We are committed to bringing to market safer therapies for pain, such as Moxduo, and preventing opioid abuse.”
Insurers Should Use Prescription Monitoring Databases to Reduce Overdoses: Report
By Join Together Staff | April 23, 2014 | 1 Comment | Filed in Healthcare,Insurance, Prescription Drugs & Prevention
Health insurers should use state prescription monitoring databases to reduce overdoses from abuse of opioids and other prescription drugs, according to a new report.
Sharing data between prescription monitoring databases and insurers would allow the companies to better detect inappropriate prescribing and dispensing, according to the report by the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Center of Excellence at Brandeis University.
Most health insurance programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and workers’ compensation programs, only see data about prescriptions for which their particular plans have paid, MedicalXpress reports. PDMPs provide a patient’s complete outpatient prescription history for controlled substances. Allowing insurers to see all of their enrollees’ activity, including prescriptions paid for by other insurers, would allow them to spot patients who are “doctor shopping,” or who are acting in collusion with a street dealer, the report noted.
“At a time when the misuse and abuse of prescription opioids has reached epidemic levels, it’s important that third party payers be able to use states’ prescription monitoring data to make sure these drugs are prescribed appropriately,” Peter Kreiner, Principal Investigator of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Center of Excellence, said in a news release.
“Opioid abuse is the most urgent issue in workers’ compensation,” said Bruce Wood, Director of Workers’ Compensation with the American Insurance Association. “Giving workers’ compensation payers access to PDMP information would permit them to see if an injured worker is getting opioids from multiple sources.”
The report is the result of a meeting of more than 75 medical insurers, federal agency leaders and state PDMP administrators. It was discussed this week at the National Rx Drug Abuse Summit in Atlanta.
Those in Recovery Should Speak Out, Give Hope to Others: Drug Policy Official
By Join Together Staff | April 23, 2014 | 1 Comment | Filed in Addiction &Recovery
People in recovery from substance abuse should speak out and give hope to others in similar situations, according to the Acting Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Michael Botticelli, speaking at a forum in New Haven, noted 23 million Americans are recovery. Only about one in nine people with a substance use disorder receive treatment, he said. Botticelli said stigma and denial about substance abuse are obstacles to treatment, the Associated Press reports.
Botticelli is in long-term recovery from addiction, celebrating more than 24 years of sobriety.
“We know that one of the biggest reasons people don’t ask for help is shame and denial,” he said. “We need to break that silence. We’ve done it with other diseases and we can do it with substance use and we can do it with recovery.”
Music Festival Organizers Plan Greater Security to Prevent Drug-Related Deaths
By Join Together Staff | April 23, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Community Related, Drugs & Prevention
Organizers of the Electric Zoo music festival say they are planning tighter security this year, after two drug-related deaths occurred at last summer’s event.
The three-day festival, held in New York City over Labor Day weekend, will include drug-sniffing dogs, extensive pat-downs, and undercover officers who have a background in narcotics investigations, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Last year, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg canceled the last day of the festival after the deaths occurred.
The festival’s promoters, Mike Bindra and Laura DePalma, said they plan to hold the festival at the same location. They note they have not yet received a site permit from the Department of Parks and Recreation, but added that usually happens later in the year.
If the festival takes place, fans will be required to view an anti-drug public service announcement online in order for their festival wristbands to activate. The event will start later in the day, to reduce exposure to the sun. In addition, the organizers will scrutinize vendors more closely. The festival may place “amnesty bins” at the gates, so fans can drop off illicit substances before they are searched. These bins are used at music festivals in Europe. They were also used last year at a music festival outside Atlanta called TomorrowWorld, which attracted 50,000 fans.
“We don’t want to be finger-wagging,” Mr. Bindra said. “‘Just say no to drugs,’ we can all agree, has been ineffective in the past.”
Last year’s Electric Zoo festival included safety measures such as on-site emergency treatment centers, free bottled water, and periodic safety announcements. After the event, the promoters brought together an advisory board of doctors, security consultants and DJs to prevent future drug-related deaths.
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