(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON—Prescription painkillers are responsible for more fatal overdoses in the United States than heroin and cocaine combined. And while most states have programs to curb abuse and addiction, a new report from Brandeis University shows that many states do not fully analyze the data they collect.
Experts from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Center of Excellence at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management systematically assessed prescription drug monitoring programs and found a patchwork of strategies and standards. Their report also outlines best practices that all U.S. states and territories can use to improve their effectiveness.
"An epidemic of prescription drug abuse is devastating American families and draining state and federal time, money and manpower," said Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "Law enforcement and health officials are doing heroic work and, thankfully, this report provides a roadmap to help them further."
Among the study's primary conclusions: prescription drug monitoring programs should shift from a reactive to a proactive approach.
"Being proactive is the key to success in the fight against prescription painkiller abuse," said John L. Eadie, Director, PDMP Center of Excellence at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University. "While doctors may routinely collect and report data to a state program that signals where and when prescription painkillers are likely being misused, the program might not share that information with others who can best use it."
"State programs should analyze the data they collect," Peter Kreiner, Principal Investigator of Brandeis' Center of Excellence, continued, "and reach out to prescribers, pharmacists, insurers, law enforcement agents and others who can prevent powerful narcotics from falling into the wrong hands. Where this is already taking place, it has proven to be very effective."
"Good things happen when state prescription drug monitoring programs shift to a proactive strategy," said Dr. Nathaniel Katz, assistant professor of anesthesia at Tufts University School of Medicine. "Not only can it prevent painkillers from being misused or distributed illegally in the first place, but it can also enable health professionals to identify patients who need help overcoming addiction."
By the end of 2001, the report found that 16 states had authorized the creation of prescription drug monitoring programs; within 11 years that number had grown to 49. Today, 41 states have programs in operation.
The paper identified several practices with demonstrated effectiveness. For example:
States that collected prescribing data for all controlled substances (e.g., anti-anxiety medication as well as painkillers) reported lower rates of doctor-shopping (visiting multiple doctors to obtain prescriptions) than other states.
The rates of fatal painkiller overdoses grew more slowly in three states using state-issued prescription forms with uniquely configured page numbers, a practice designed to curb fraud.
Proactively sending alerts about possible abuse to physicians and pharmacists was associated with decreased prescription sales and lower rates of doctor-shopping.
Analyzing trend data helped law enforcement agencies identify "pill mills" that were illicitly distributing prescription painkillers.
Boosting doctors' participation in and utilization of prescription drug monitoring programs was associated with reduced fatal prescription painkiller overdoses.
"BJA has historically provided strong support for the promulgation and dissemination of best practices," said Denise O'Donnell, Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, "and we are gratified by the publication of this paper, which provides much needed guidance and support for how states can most effectively utilize their prescription drug monitoring programs."
The Pew Health Group, a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts, provided funding for the research.
"Protecting patients from medical risks and ensuring their access to safe and effective therapies are significant goals for Pew," said Allan Coukell, director of medical programs for the Pew Health Group. "Prescription painkillers clearly play an important role in modern medicine, but their abuse is also responsible for mounting deaths, suffering and health care costs. These researchers' work will advance the vital actions already being taken to attack this problem."
INFORMATION:
About Pew Health Group
The Pew Health Group conducts research to form pragmatic policies that prevent unnecessary health risks. It is part of The Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit organization that applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life. Learn more at www.PewHealth.org.
END
Walking to a beat could be useful for patients needing rehabilitation, according to a University of Pittsburgh study. The findings, highlighted in the August issue of PLOS One, demonstrate that researchers should further investigate the potential of auditory, visual, and tactile cues in the rehabilitation of patients suffering from illnesses like Parkinson's Disease—a brain disorder leading to shaking (tremors) and difficulty walking.
Together with a team of collaborators from abroad, Ervin Sejdic, an assistant professor of engineering in Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering, ...
A new study of high-tech startups that participated in the Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC) shows that these entrepreneurs have a much higher rate of success than typical new ventures and are therefore more likely to contribute to job growth.
The study by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship spans the 11-year life of the RBPC, the world's richest and largest business plan competition, which comprises teams of graduate students from throughout the world. The comprehensive and longitudinal study offers insights into the experiential factors that can ...
It's a high-pressure environment within solid tumors. Abnormal blood and lymphatic vessels cause fluids to accumulate, and the uncontrolled proliferation of cancer cells within limited space leads to the buildup of what is called solid stress. Both types of pressure can interfere with the effectiveness of anticancer treatments, but while strategies have been developed that reduce fluid pressures, little has been known about the impact of solid stress or potential ways to alleviate it. Now a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team has identified factors that ...
If two birds meet deep in the forest, does anybody hear? Until now, nobody did, unless an intrepid biologist was hiding underneath a bush and watching their behavior, or the birds happened to meet near a research monitoring station. But an electronic tag designed at the University of Washington can for the first time see when birds meet in the wild.
A new study led by a biologist at Scotland's University of St. Andrews used the UW tags to see whether crows might learn to use tools from one another. The findings, published last week in Current Biology, supported the theory ...
PASADENA, Calif.—At any given moment, millions of cells are on the move in the human body, typically on their way to aid in immune response, make repairs, or provide some other benefit to the structures around them. When the migration process goes wrong, however, the results can include tumor formation and metastatic cancer. Little has been known about how cell migration actually works, but now, with the help of some tiny worms, researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have gained new insight into this highly complex task.
The team's findings are ...
Los Angeles, CA (September 20, 2012) SAGE and The Society for Medical Decision Making are pleased to announce the release of seven new reports that will have a significant impact on modeling techniques in health care research and medical decision making. Written by the Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force, a special group of leading experts in decision analysis, economics, simulation, and health policy, these reports were published in a special issue of Medical Decision Making (MDM), a SAGE journal.
"The history of decision and economic modeling to support health ...
Investigators at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have identified two promising therapies to treat patients with acute megakaryocytic leukemia (AMKL), a rare form of leukemia where the number of cases is expected to increase with the aging population.
The disease is characterized by an overload of white blood cells that remain forever young because they can't mature into specialized cells. Published in a recent issue of the journal Cell, the study found that the drug with the generic name alisertib (MLN8237), induced division and growth of healthy ...
The pressures of global trade may heighten disease incidence by dictating changes in land use. A boom in disease-carrying ticks and chiggers has followed the abandonment of rice cultivation in Taiwanese paddies, say ecologist Chi-Chien Kuo and colleagues, demonstrating the potential for global commodities pricing to drive the spread of infections. Their work appears in the September issue of ESA's journal Ecological Applications.
After Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, active cultivation of rice paddies fell from 80 percent to 55 percent in just three ...
Scientists and forecasters have been analyzing Tropical Storm Nadine using various NASA satellites as NASA's Global Hawk flew over the storm gathering information. Both the Global Hawk and NASA's TRMM satellite noticed that Nadine has continued to display tropical characteristics, indicating that it has not transitioned to an extra-tropical storm.
Forecasters noted that Nadine could have started transitioning into an extra-tropical storm, because there was little significant rainfall near Nadine's center of circulation yesterday, Sept. 19. However, satellite data and ...
Tried-and-true techniques could help optimize oilseed yield for biodiesel production, according to studies conducted by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.
For more than 30 years, near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy has been used as a rapid and nondestructive method for measuring protein, moisture, and oil levels in whole grains. Now Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research leader Dan Long is studying how to use remote sensing tools to quickly assess seed oil quality and quantity before and after harvest.
ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific ...