Transcript Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention

When the general
public hears or thinks
of “drug
problems,”
they tend to think of
Marijuana,
Heroin,
Cocaine,
Crystal Meth,
Etc.
They think of
Guns,
drug cartels in Mexico
or Columbia,
poppy fields,
and
killings
But the real drug epidemic today starts
with a prescription pad…
and the entire
supply line is within
our home towns
As a public health
issue, the misuse of
prescription drugs
surpass the problems
from illegal drugs
CONSIDER THESE
STATISTICS
“…1 in 5
high school students in the United
States has taken a prescription
drug, such as OxyContin, Percocet,
Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin, or Xanax,
without a doctor’s prescription.”
-CDC Press Release, June 3, 2010
-CDC, Unintentional Drug Poisoning in the United States, July 2010
-CDC, Unintentional Drug Poisoning in the United States, July 2010
Emergency Department visits
involving nonmedical use of
prescription narcotic
pain relievers rose 111%
from 2004-2008.
-CDC Press Release, June 17, 2010
-Georgia Bureau of Investigation
-CDC, Unintentional Drug Poisoning in the United States, July 2010
How did this come about?

A number of new drugs were brought to
market in the 1990s to treat pain and
depression

As a society, we medicate more
conditions today than ever before

The potency of some of these drugs
provide a pathway to lifetime addiction

Insert Dr. Norton Slides here
Once the chemistry in the brain
changes and the body becomes
addicted, it never goes back to
normal / addicts never recover,
they can only hope to control
what they ingest
The result is shattered lives, broken homes, and
suffering by all those around the addict
How do they get on the street
and into the wrong hands?
An ethical doctor writing a Rx for a real
medical cause (well intended)
 A doctor with a regular practice over
prescribing to satisfy a patient demands
(grey area)
 A “pill mill” doctor writing Rx for pay
without a real medical reason (illegal)

Unused drugs are stolen from unsecure
medicine storage in homes and used or sold
Addicts shop for different doctors that are
lenient or careless in prescribing
Some
chronically ill patients
routinely sell part of their
reoccurring prescriptions
Addicts
drive hundreds of
miles to find pill mills

We don’t have to go to Mexico and fight
drug cartels

We only have to look within our own
State and communities for the solutions

PDMP is critical to control
 Statewide
 Three
Capital Campaign
Comprehensive Initiatives
 Multiple
Potential Collaborative Partners
The MAG Foundation was established in 1967
as a mechanism for physicians to support
philanthropic projects that advance scientific
medicine and public health in Georgia. The
Foundation promotes a healthier patient
population in the state, and each
contribution enhances the integrity of the
medical profession and the sanctity of the
physician-patient relationship. For additional
information, go to www.mag.org/foundation.

As a result of an alarming, explosive increase in
prescription drug abuse across widely diverse populations,
we need statewide comprehensive drug policies and
programs with practical solutions resulting in measurable
outcomes of behavioral changes.
Creation and implementation of an educational
awareness program will require a collaborative,
coordinated effort sustained by multiple collaborative
partners. These partners include, but are not limited to,
judicial, law enforcement, education, public health,
physicians, pharmacists and other allied health
professionals as well as the business community.
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA (MAG) FOUNDATION
“THINK ABOUT IT”
Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention
Comprehensive
Drug Policy for
Georgia
Education
Public
Safety Methods:
Disposal & Storage
Professionals
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA (MAG) FOUNDATION
“THINK ABOUT IT”
Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention
Comprehensive Drug Policy for Georgia
Chief Collaborative Partner
Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI)
Partners
Attorney
General
Department
of
Community
Health (DCH)
Department
of Justice
(DOJ)
Drug
Enforcement
Association
(DEA)
Federal
Bureau of
Investigation
(FBI)
Georgia
Composite
Medical
Board
Health &
Human
Services
(HHS)
Housing &
Urban
Development
(HUD)
Public Health
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA (MAG) FOUNDATION
“THINK ABOUT IT”
Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention
Safety Methods:
Disposal & Storage
Disposal
Environmental
Protection Agency
(EPA)
Hospitals
Law Enforcement
Safe Storage
Pharmacy
Associations
(Envelopes)
Centers for
Disease Control (CDC)
In Home Lock Boxes
(Home Depot, Lowes,
Ace Hardware, etc.)
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA (MAG) FOUNDATION
“THINK ABOUT IT”
Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention
Education
Public
Pharmacists
Physician
Allied Health
Professionals
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA (MAG) FOUNDATION
“THINK ABOUT IT”
Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention
Education
Public
Peer
Counselor
Program
Department
of
Community
Health (DCH)
Architects
Association
Home
Builders
Association
Chambers &
Other
Business
Associations
Speakers
Bureau
Foundation
Promotion
&
Advertising
Medical
Association of
Georgia (MAG)
Foundation
Georgia Bureau
of Investigation
(GBI)
Television
After School
Programs
Schools
Board of
Education
Parent Support
Organzations
Scouts
YMCA
Colleges
Newspaper
High Schools
Recreational
Centers
Social Media
Middle Schools
Elementary
Schools
Others to be
Determined
Civic Groups
Religious
Organizations
Senior
Citizen
Centers
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA (MAG) FOUNDATION
“THINK ABOUT IT”
Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention
Education
Physician
Specialty Societies
Georgia
Chapter,
American
Academy of
Pediatrics
(GAAP)
Georgia
Society of
the
American
College of
Surgeons
(GACS)
Georgia
Obstetrical
and
Gynecological
Society
(GAOBGYN)
Georgia
Academy of
Family
Physicians
(GAFP)
Georgia
College of
Emergency
Physicians
(GCEP)
Georgia
Chapter
American
College of
Physicians
(GAACP)
Georgia
Orthopedic
Society
(GOS)
Georgia
Society of
Clinical
Oncology
(GASCO)
Georgia
Neurological
Society
Georgia
Dental
Association
Georgia
Neurosurgical
Society (GNS)
Georgia
Society of
Interventional
Pain
Physicians
Georgia
Urological
Association
(GUA)
Georgia Society
of
Ophthalmology
(GSO)
Georgia
Psychiatric
Physicians
Association
(GPPA)
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA (MAG) FOUNDATION
“THINK ABOUT IT”
Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention
Education
Pharmacists
Georgia
Poison
Control
Georgia
Medical
Group
Managers
Association
Private
Hospice
Therapists
Hospital
Allied Health Professionals
Hospitals
Home Health
Care
Druge Abuse
Centers
Georgia
Nurse
Practitioners
Assoiciation
Georgia
Physician
Assistant
Assoication
Coroners
Association
Drug
Coalitions
Georgia
Nursing
Home
Association
Physicians
Prescribe Prudently
Pharmacists
Dispense Attentively
Public
Use, Store & Dispose
Judiciously
Kris McCall
678.303.9284
[email protected]
Medical Association of Georgia Foundation, Inc.
1849 The Exchange
Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30339