Prescription Opioid Abuse in the US

Factors Contributing to the severity of the problem

Role of Pharmaceutical Industry

Role of Physicians

Correlation/Causation between availability of drug & abuse

Social acceptability of using medications for different purposes

Potential Solutions Intended to Mitigate Abuse [must be evidence-based & data-driven]

Advancements in Science-- Deterrent based formulas for medications

Laws/Regulations: Federal, State, and Local levels [no organization or agency can address the problem alone; coordinated response is required]

Expansion of/Requirement to use the Prescription Monitoring Database

Successfully implemented frameworks to emulate

Public is not well-informed

Why does this public health crisis need to be addressed?

Social Responsibility: Ethical/Moral Obligation

Economic burden on society

Negative Fiscal Impact

Increase in number of overdose-related deaths

"Real-time" data: providing the ability to become aware of a problem before it become a full blown crisis

Who is affected?

Geographical region

Socioeconomic Class

Race, Age, Gender, Sex

Case Analysis: Purdue & OxyContin

Aggressive Marketing Techniques

Misrepresentation of Addictive Components

Doctor Profiling

Financial Incentives to Sales Representatives

Regulatory Oversight

FDA

Asymmetric Information

Regulatory Oversight

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Health, social, & economic welfare of the country

"Environmental Availability" of drugs due to: 1) increase in number of prescriptions, 2) social acceptability, 3)aggressive marketing by pharmaceutical companies

Improved education for patients & healthcare providers [physicians, pharmacists, etc.]

Development of a more convenient & environmentally responsible disposal method to remove unused medication from the home

Reduce prevalence of pill mills & doctor shopping through targeted enforcement efforts

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"Multi-pronged strategy that minimizes the intrinsic risks of opioid medications & make effective, long-term treatments available

Drastic increases in the number of prescriptions written & dispensed

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