UTAH: Bureaucrats concerned about 9000 prescribers writing <1 opiate Rx/day

Pharmacists launch campaign educating people about the dangers of opioids

Pharmacists launch campaign educating people about the dangers of opioids

VIDEO ON LINK

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah health leaders unveiled a new plan to help fight opioid overdoses.

Drop in at any pharmacy across the state during the month of May, and you’ll notice stickers on the bottle caps of prescription opioids.

“Every time a patient opens that bottle, they’ll see that sticker and be reminded, ‘Hey, this is kind of a dangerous medication,” said Greg Jones, Director of the Pharmacy at Harmons, and the Chair of the Utah Board of Pharmacy.

It’s part of a new campaign called, “Talk to Your Pharmacist Month.” The label serves as a cue to talk to your pharmacist about the dangers of taking opioid prescriptions.

“Our bodies can build tolerance to opioids, meaning we need to take more to get the same effect. This drug tolerance can lead to physical dependence, addiction, abuse, and even overdose,” said Dr. Angela Dunn, Deputy State Epidemiologist for the Utah Department of Health.

Twenty-four Utahns lose their lives every month to prescription opioid overdoses. The Utah Department of Health and Utah Pharmacy Association are working to prevent deaths in our state. Often times, people don’t recognize what they are.

“If you’re not sure, ask your prescriber, ask your pharmacist when you pick the prescription up, and they can help you better understand,” Jones said.

Health leaders point to their data that shows a troubling trend.

In January of 2016, there were more than 21,000 opioid prescriptions written by 9,000 prescribers. That’s a monthly average of 23 opioid prescriptions per prescriber.

“We also know that females receive more opioid prescriptions than males. Males are prescribed more high dosages,” Dunn said.

People underestimate the dangers of opioids.

“They think my doctor gave me this prescription. My pharmacist filled it. I’m gonna be just fine,” Jones said. “And they don’t understand how dangerous the medications can be by themselves, and especially taken with other medications.”

You can also pick up Naloxone over the counter. It’s a life-saving drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Here’s information on where and how to get a naloxone kit.

“If you’re prescribed an opioid you can pick that Naloxone kit up for yourself, or if you’re concerned about one of your children or you’re a caregiver for a parent, you can pick up that prescription as well,” Jones said.

Saturday, April 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is National Drug Take Back Day. It’s a good opportunity for you to clean out your medicine cabinets and dispose of the old prescription medications you have lying around.

 

One Response

  1. This is stupid. This all really started back when they came out with time released Percocet-Oxycodone. OxyContin, because of that a medicine that has been around for years ( Tylenol & Hydrocodone) was moved to a schedule 2 narcotic. If I recall right it was OxyContin people were breaking into pharmacies to obtain this specific drug. Why ? Because as most time released medicines this one can be shot , snorted. but not Tylenol and hydrocodone also known as Norco, Lortabs, Vicodin.
    I am sorry but I have never liked the strong medicines and it has caused so much trouble for physicians along with patients. This opioid problem really needs to be addressed correctly. The pharmaceutical companies need to be held accountable for all these new medicines.
    Now they try and treat a person who has only been on Norco, Lortabs with a worse drug SUBOXONE. To me Suboxone is in same category as methadone, If you take time out and read about it and prolong uses it is worse than many medicines. I had a choice twice to get on it but well to get off the pain medicine I was on really is not hard so I chose to get rid of all SUBOXONE.
    The FDA needs to go back and re-evaluate Norco’s, Lortabs, Vicodin and the patients that take them. They really need to change scheduling on those because yes some can chew them up but cannot shoot them like all this new medicine. Hydrocodone is a man made synthetic form of codeine . Sorry but call someone else a drug addict while I show you every MRI, CT, and so much more to support my health. Lost in Texas

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