Prescription Drug Abuse – What to Look For November 19, 2013 General CAP, Cooperative of American Physicians, Prescription Drug Abuse 0 By Ann Whitehead, JD, RN Vice President of Risk Management & Patient Safety Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified prescription drug abuse as an epidemic. A staggering statistic from the National Drug Abuse Institute reveals prescription drugs are the second most abused drug, behind marijuana, by seniors in high school. The CDC finds overdoses from prescription painkillers resulted in more deaths in 2010 than heroin and cocaine combined.1 Prescription drug abuse affects all age, race, gender, and socioeconomic classes. Here are two examples: the patient on an antidepressant prescribed by his psychiatrist was also taking a narcotic prescribed by an orthopedist. In a drug-induced haze, the man threw himself down a flight of stairs, breaking his neck; or the 83-year-old patient who recently came to the office for morphine who later tested positive for cocaine. Both patients create liability and treatment issues for their physicians. Although many types of prescription drugs are abused, there is currently a growing, deadly epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse. Nearly three out of four prescription drug overdoses are caused by prescription opioid painkillers. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the California Department of Justice are aggressively prosecuting individuals who prescribe opioids illegally and those who operate “pill mills.” Physicians face challenges when trying to spot the patient who may be abusing prescription drugs or possibly improperly sharing them with others. The following are some suspicious behaviors that may raise the red flag. The patient may: • Refuse to grant permission to obtain old records or communicate with previous physicians. • Demonstrate reluctance to undergo comprehensive histories, physical examinations, or diagnostic testing, especially urine drug screenings. • Request specific drugs (often because of the higher resale value of brand names). • Profess multiple allergies to recommended medications. • Resist certain treatment options. • Threaten doctors or display anger during visits. • Consistently target appointments at the end of the day or during off hours. • Repeatedly lose prescriptions. • Request escalation in dosages. • Demonstrate noncompliance with prescription instructions. A helpful tool for physicians is the “Opioid Overdose Toolkit: Information for Prescribers” recently released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).2 This guide offers tips on safe prescribing and preventing opioid overdose including: assessment, state drug monitoring programs, medication selection, prescription writing tips, use of naloxone, and deciding when to stop opioid. Lastly, if you get a call from the DEA or local law enforcement, contact the CAP Hotline for assistance. For more information about CAP, or to request additional information or risk management publications, please contact us at: MD@CAPphysicians.com, or call 800-356-5672. You can also visit our website at: www.CAPphysicians.com. 1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC grand rounds: Prescription drug overdoses – A U.S. epidemic. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep.2012; 61(1):10-13. 2 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA Opioid Overdose Toolkit” Information for Prescribers. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 13-4742. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 2013. Comments are closed.