The week of September 18-24 was designated “Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week.”[iv] As a pharmacist, I know that opioid medications can be beneficial in controlling certain types of pain. However, this benefit must be weighed against the risks associated with these medications.
Image Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[iii]
The Epidemic
The number of opioid prescriptions in the US quadrupled from 1999 to 2014, while the number of American reporting chronic pain remained constant.[v]
Opioid pain medications like Opana, OxyContin and Percocet were originally used to treat short term-pain, such as after a surgery or accident, and for long-term pain associated with cancer. Today, we see these medications prescribed and utilized more commonly for all forms of pain and over longer periods of time.
The diagram below highlights opioid prescribing patterns in the US. In some states, including NC, the number of painkiller prescriptions per 100 people is equal to or exceeds 100.[vi]
There are many sources of misused opioid prescriptions. The majority, approximately 60%, of misusers obtain opioid medications from a friend or relative, either for free, by stealing or by buying them.[vii]
The Dangers
Imagine you are in a car accident and have persistent back pain that makes it difficult for you to sit and stand
comfortably. The doctor prescribes an opioid medication used regularly to control your pain. Soon you find that you have become dependent on this medication—even after your back feels better.
This scenario happens more often than we think. The danger of opioids is that they can become addictive to any user. For this reason, they should only be prescribed in appropriate cases.
In addition to risk for addiction, these medications are dangerous because of side effects like sedation and respiratory depression. These effects can be compounded when combined with other medications. For example, a common drug interaction with Xanax (a medication used for anxiety) can lead to slowed breathing, oversedation and possible death.
Action Steps
The fight against the opioid epidemic requires action from everyone. Prescribers and pharmacies are more regularly monitoring those taking opioid medications. In North Carolina, the Board of Medicine and Board of Pharmacy have strategies to control these medications to decrease utilization and death from opioid abuse and overdose.
The opioid reversal agent, naloxone, is more readily available from retail pharmacies. Efforts are being made to increase access to treatment for addiction. Communities are educating the public on the dangers of opioids and offering “take-back” programs for disposal of unused opioid medications.
In July, the US Senate passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, the first major federal legislation on addiction in 40 years. The purpose of this law is to expand education, strengthen state monitoring programs and create new treatment programs.
Real progress can only result when doctors, nurses, pharmacists, patients, government officials, community leaders and the family and friends of those affected work together to put an end to the opioid epidemic.
Pharmacist on Staff for Clients
As the new MedCost Pharmacist, I discuss pharmacy management strategies with clients and brokers to control the explosion of drug costs. Prior authorizations, step therapy programs and quantity limits can be frustrating and disruptive. But we know that these utilization management strategies are key in controlling costs.
Our partnership with OptumRx, ensures that members take safe, effective medications appropriate for their conditions, while implementing cost-saving strategies.
Image Source: Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plan -2015l[i]
Our goal at MedCost is to help ensure that our clients’ covered members are being treated appropriately and safely, without the risk of exorbitantly high costs. This will not only be the most cost-effective strategy, but it can result in members with healthier, happier lives.
[i] “The Opioid Epidemic: By the Numbers,” US Health & Human Services, June 15, 2016, http://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/Factsheet-opioids-061516.pdf (accessed September 26, 2016)
[ii] “Injury Prevention & Control: Opioid Overdose,” Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/index.html (accessed September 22, 2016).
[iii] Ibid.
[iv]Office of the White House Press Secretary, September 16, 2016, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/09/16/presidential-proclamation-prescription-opioid-and-heroin-epidemic (accessed September 22, 2016).
[v] Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, March 16, 2016, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/rr/rr6501e1.htm(accessed September 22, 2016).
[vi] “Injury Prevention & Control: Opioid Overdose,” Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/prescribing.html (accessed September 22, 2016).
[vii] Ibid.
[viii] Bruce Lee, “With the Excise Tax in Their Sights, Employers Hold Health Benefits Cost Growth to 3.8% in 2015,” Mercer, November 19, 2015, http://www.mercer.com/newsroom/national-survey-of-employer-sponsored-health-plans-2015.html (accessed September 22, 2016).
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