Sunday, June 10, 2012
Commentary: Responding to America’s Medicine Cabinet Epidemic
By Congressman Hal Rogers | June 8, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs,Government & Prescription Drugs
A high school homecoming queen and a Hollywood bombshell. A rural sheriff and a college rugby-player. A small-town pharmacist and an expectant mother.
These individuals may not appear to have much in common – but tragically these are all among the thousands of lives fallen prey to the abuse of pain pills around our country. The Centers for Disease Control has described this as a national epidemic, and the statistics don’t lie.
While overdose deaths from prescription opioids have long exceeded deaths from heroin and cocaine combined, alarmingly in 2009, prescription overdoses also overtook motor vehicle crashes as a leading cause of accidental death. As a result of dangerous misconceptions about the recreational use of painkillers, ourmedicine cabinets have become more dangerous than our cars.
When this problem began to take root in southern and eastern Kentucky, we realized the unique nature of prescription drug abuse would require a multi-pronged solution. At the local level, our Kentucky communities coalesced around an organization called Operation UNITE (Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education). UNITE has harnessed the energy of health, law enforcement and community leaders in a coordinated fight against pain pill abuse. At the same time, undercover UNITE detectives zero in on drug dealers, and school counselors help start up meaningful alternatives to youth drug use through UNITE clubs and extracurricular activities. Thousands of mothers, daughters, fathers and sons have been given a second lease on life through UNITE’s treatment programs or by participating in a drug court.
People in our region of Kentucky have taken a stand, and the nation is taking note. At the first of its kind National Rx Drug Abuse Summitin Orlando earlier this year, leaders from around the country joined with UNITE to think strategically about the path forward. Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske, federal and local law enforcement, organizations like The Partnership at Drugfree.org, public health officials, prosecutors and medical researchers all rallied together to share ideas for reducing drug abuse in rural and urban communities alike and mending families ripped apart by this scourge.
For my part, through the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse, I have worked to alert Washington decision-makers to the serious dangers posed by our nation’s fastest growing drug threat. Members of the Caucus collaborate across the political spectrum toward immediate and long-term policy solutions in our battle against prescription drug abuse.
This week, I was particularly proud to speak at the Annual Meeting for the Alliance of States with Prescription Monitoring Programs (ASPMP). Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are among the most efficient and cost-effective tools in our arsenal, bridging the gap between legitimate medical need and potential misuse. Since Congress established a grant program at the U.S. Department of Justice in 2002, the number of states with authorized PDMPs has tripled from 15 to 48; however, a secure interstate exchange system to combat so-called “doctor shopping” has lagged.
I was pleased to stand with these trailblazing members of ASPMP as they voted to adopt the PMIX Architecture – a landmark, consensus-based set of technical standards to facilitate interoperability among state-run PDMPs. Soon data exchanges will allow doctors, pharmacists and investigators to sniff out the interstate doctor shopping that has fueled the pill pipeline in our country.
While this marks a huge victory for those of us who have been engaged in this fight for years, our work is far from done. This is an epidemic which crosses socioeconomic and gender lines and which threatens the very fiber of our society. I would encourage you to reach out to your Member of Congress and request that he or she join the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse or cosponsor one of the several measures that seek an end to the abuse of painkillers; only together can we curb this rising tide.
Rogers has served Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District since 1981 and is currently serving as Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. As part of his efforts to fight this growing epidemic, Rogers joined with Representatives Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) and Stephen Lynch in forming the bi-partisan Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse, which aims to raise awareness of abuse and to work toward innovative and effective policy solutions, incorporating treatment, prevention, law enforcement and researc
Thursday, June 7, 2012
CALLING All CHRISTIAN ...
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Commentary: Peer Recovery Coaches: Expanding the Career Ladder
By Mary Jo Mather | June 5, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Research
In a coffee shop. In a treatment center. At the library. At a sober living home. These are all settings where peer recovery services take place. Whether volunteers or staff, the role of a Peer Recovery Coach (PRC) is a legitimate and important one within the continuum of care, and IC&RC is proud to be developing the first, international credential for PRCs.
In recent years, a rapidly growing segment of the addiction recovery workforce has been made up of PRCs, who use their personal experiences of recovery to facilitate it and build resilience of persons with addiction, mental illness, or co-occurring substance and mental disorders. Many PRCs provide these valuable services as volunteers and in community settings, but seek the objective verification that certification provides.
A 2008 report from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment wrote:
“Recovery support services are non-clinical services. Many recovery community organizations have established recovery community centers where educational, advocacy and sober social activities are organized. Peer recovery support services are also offered in churches and other faith-based institutions, recovery homes/sober housing.”
Wherever they are, PRCs form the connecting tissue between professional systems of care and indigenous communities of recovery. They are specifically trained to assist people in accessing a broad range of support services including education, employment, health care, housing, day care, transportation and counseling for co-occurring problems.
Unlike a sponsor, the PRC usually works – as a volunteer or staff member – within a formal organization that is bound by accreditation, licensing and funding guidelines. Another distinction is that PRCs start coaching clients before they have formally entered recovery, continue the relationship even in the face of relapse and check-in with clients after they have disengaged from active participation in mutual aid groups.
Responding to demand in their jurisdictions, several IC&RC Member Boards – Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Pennsylvania – developed Peer Recovery credentials, and it soon became clear that there is a growing need for a credentialing process at the reciprocal level.
An IC&RC Task Force, headed by Kristie Schmiege of Michigan, explored and recommended standards for two levels of PRC, which were adopted by board vote in October, 2011. The organization is in the process of developing the formal job task analysis and written examination for the credential.
The 2008 report emphasized that “maintaining the peer-ness of peer recovery support services and resisting the pressure to professionalize these services is a key challenge.” As we developed the standards for the first-ever international PRC credential, IC&RC believes we have met this challenge.
Mary Jo Mather is the Executive Director of IC&RC, the largest addiction and prevention credentialing organization in the world. Today, IC&RC represents 78 member boards and 45,000 professionals from 25 countries and 47 U.S. states and territories. IC&RC’s seven credentials include counselors, clinical supervisors, prevention specialists, criminal justice and co-occurring disorders professionals.
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Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Workplace Insurers Spend More Than $1 Billion on Narcotic Painkillers
By Join Together Staff | June 4, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Insurance &Prescription Drugs
Costs related to narcotic painkillers are growing for workplace insurers, which are currently spending an estimated $1.4 billion on the drugs, The New York Times reports. The companies are facing payouts to workers with injuries who are being treated with opioids, including many who do not return to work for months—or who don’t return at all.
Opioids can increase disability payouts and medical expenses by delaying employees’ return to work, if the drugs are used too often, too early in treatment, or for too long. A study by the California Workers Compensation Institute conducted in 2008 found workers taking high doses of opioids to treat injuries, such as back strain, were out of work three times longer, compared to those with similar injuries who took lower doses of medication.
A 2010 study by the insurer Accident Fund Holdings found that when disability payments and medical care are combined, the cost of a workplace injury is nine times higher when a strong painkiller such as OxyContin is used, compared to when an opioid is not used, the article notes.
“What we see is an association between the greater use of opioids and delayed recovery from workplace injuries,” Alex Swedlow, the head of research at the California Workers Compensation Institute, told the newspaper.
Although there is little evidence that opioids provide long-term benefits in treating common workplace injuries such as back pain, these drugs are widely prescribed for these problems.
Insurance industry data shows that between 2001 and 2008, opioid prescriptions as a percentage of all drugs used to treat workplace injuries rose 63 percent. Costs have also increased. To reverse this trend, some states have issued new pain treatment guidelines, or are expected to do so.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Get State Certified in Pennsylvania
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
'Bath salts': Officials say the synthetic drug in disguise was behind recent ‘cannibal’ attack
Dangerous drug mimics the effects of cocaine, LSD and methamphetamine
Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 3:12 PMBY MEGHAN NEAL / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/bath-salts-officials-synthetic-drug-disguise-behind-cannibal-attack-article-1.1086791#ixzz1wRQdJR8u
Containers of ‘bath salts,’ a dangerous synthetic drug sold under names like ‘Ivory Wave’ and ‘Vanilla Sky.’
MIAMI-DADE POLICE DEPT/AP
This combo photo shows Rudy Eugene, 31, left, who police shot and killed as he ate the face of Ronald Poppo, 65, right, during a horrific attack in Miami Saturday.
The “cannibal” attacker who chewed off another man’s face in a gruesome crime in Miami Saturday is suspected to have been under the influence of a dangerous drug sold under the innocuous name “bath salts.”
The victim of the attack, a homeless Miami man, was in critical condition Monday after 75% to 80% of his face was chewed off, CNN reports. Police said the attacker, Rudy Eugene, 31, exhibited “insane” behavior similar to other violent incidences linked to bath salts.
Eugene was shot and killed by police during the attack.
Bath salts, also known by street names like “Ivory Wave,” “Vanilla Sky,” “Bliss,” and “Purple Rain”, made headlines last year after a rush of emergency room visits, thousands of calls to poison centers and several deaths. The man-made, synthetic drug is made from amphetamine-like chemicals and causes a unique combination of effects on the brain.
“If you take the worst attributes of meth, coke, PCP, LSD and Ecstasy and put them together, that’s what we’re seeing sometimes,” Mark Ryan, the director of the Louisiana Poison Center, told the New York Times.
The powdery substance comes in a small packet, and can be inhaled, swallowed or injected, according to a report from the National Institutes of Health.
The drug is manufactured by street chemists and sold in convenience stores or online, often legally. Sellers were able to sell the drug legally since its emergence in 2009 by marketing the substance as either bath salts or “plant food” or “insect repellant,” and stipulating “not for human consumption” on the label.
A 50-milligram packet usually sells for $25 to $50, reports say.
Use skyrocketed throughout last year, mostly by teens and young adults, until in October the DEA banned three chemicals used to make the drug.
Several states have issued a ban on the drug but no federal ban exists.
Users experience a mix of physical and psychological symptoms. The stimulant can cause excited delirium and severe hallucinations. Users can become violent and suicidal. People often experience a super-human strength, and long-lasting euphoria or paranoia, reports say.
The health consequences, like high blood pressure and rapid heart rate, can be fatal.
Because of the nature of the symptoms the drug has been linked to many violent and crazed crimes and deaths like the recent “zombie” attack.
Last year, a man in Indiana climbed a flagpole on the side of a road and jumped into traffic. Another man in Pennsylvania broke into a monastery and stabbed a priest, and a woman in West Virginia scratched herself 'to pieces' because she thought there was something under her skin, the New York Times reported.
Nudity is common because the drug causes body temperature to rise so fast and so high people feel like they're burning up and take off their clothes, reported the Daily Beast.
The powerful stimulant can cause super strength and in many cases hospital officials or police say it takes several people to hold down a user, the Times reported. The person often won’t respond to a stun gun or taser, the paper said.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has classified bath salts as a Schedule 1 drug, labeling it as highly addictive and illegal. The agency banned mephedrone, MDPV and methoyne, the common ingredients in the drug.
The ban is in place for a year while the DEA studies whether it should be made permanently illegal.
However, banning synthetic drugs if often ineffective, experts say. Bath salts are a designer drug, meaning the chemical concoction can be tweaked slightly and classified as a new drug, making it easy to skirt around the law.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Video Game Trains Doctors to Fight Prescription Drug Abuse
By Join Together Staff | May 29, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inHealthcare, Prescription Drugs & Prevention
A new video game helps doctors learn how to determine if patients asking for painkillers truly need them. The game is part of an effort at Northwestern University in Chicago to help physicians fight prescription drug abuse.
The game trains doctors to identify deceptive behavior by patients who are likely to abuse prescription painkillers, according to The New York Times. The technology is similar to what the FBI uses to train agents in interrogation tactics, the article notes.
Doctors are taught to look for warning signs of drug abuse, such as a history of family problems. They also learn to observe signs of nervousness, such as fidgeting, finger-tapping and breaking eye contact.
The game is in its final phase of testing. It is designed for primary care and family doctors, who often are not comfortable evaluating patients’ need for painkillers, according to the newspaper.
“This isn’t something medical students have traditionally been trained for,” said Dr. Michael F. Fleming, whose research was used to design the game. “These are hard conversations to have.”
The game will soon be available online to medical schools and health care providers, for a fee. The game includes about 2,000 statements by a patient. Doctors can select from more than a thousand possible responses. The dialogue is based on interviews with more than 1,000 patients who received opioids for pain.
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