Mmeateta__-— [{ MeastsSetoeo rs Combating The Opioid Epidemic In Appalachia (NAPSA)—According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the aMENGEMCY numberoffatal opioid overdoses has quadrupled since 1999. A 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that every day, more than 1,600 young adults and about 3,100 adults aged 26 or older misuse a pain medicationforthefirst time. It is not too late, however, to change this trajectory. Individuals, government agencies, and businessesare taking steps to reduce the problem—and you can be partofthe solution. What You Can Do Nearly 54 percent of those who misused prescription painkillers obtained them from a friend orrelative and only about 11 percent of unused medication is disposed of correctly. Public health experts say it’s vital you manageall prescription medications appropriately by: Never using another person's prescription, and never giving your prescrip- tion medications to others. Storing prescription stimulants, seda- tives and opioids safely. Properly discarding unused or expired medications according to FDA guidelines or at U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration collectionsites. WhatOthers Are Doing A pharmaceutical wholesale distributor that safely and securely delivers medications and medical supplies ofall kinds, from the hundreds of manufac- turers who make them to the thousands oflicensed pharmacies that give them to patients, Cardinal Health, launched its Opioid Action Program,a pilotinitiative that will deliver much-neededfrontline tools to help prevent opioid abuse and support first responders in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. Aspart ofthis effort, the companywill: 1. Purchase approximately 80,000 doses of the lifesaving, overdose-reversing drug Narcan (naloxone HCl) Nasal Spray 4mg,anddistribute them,free,forfirst re- sponders and law enforcementofficials. 2. Significantly ramp up existing support for successful drug “takeback” and education programs. ‘This initia- tive continues the work done, for sev- eral years, through the Cardinal Health Foundation’s partnership with The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. Community workers, individuals and businessescan all work together to address the opioid epidemic. 3. Invest $3 million to expand grants focused on youth prevention education, prescriber opioid awareness and reduc- tion efforts, and community responses to the epidemic. ‘The grants fund community collaboratives amonghealth care, law enforcement, education, business, service providers, government, funding or- ganizationsand volunteer organizations. 4. Partner with the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University to share curricula that address opioid misuse and treatmentwith other medical schools. Onegoalis to expand the numberof physicians who get Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) waivers to prescribe treatments for opioid use disorder. Explains Dr. Nick Hagemeier, Asso- ciate Professor at the Gatton College of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State Univer- sity, and Research Director of ETSU’s Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and ‘Treatment: “Combining multiple evidence-based approaches, and using them simultaneously, can help turn the tide of the opioid epidemic.” ‘This initiative is rooted in Cardinal Health’s goal of preventing the diversion of controlled substances to illegitimate use and investing in programsthat provide communities with necessary tools to fight this epidemic. The company operates a state-of-the-art system using advanced analytics, technology, and onthe-ground deploymentofinvestigators to evaluateall pharmacies, scrutinize all pharmaceutical shipments, and identify, block and report suspicious orders of pain medications. Learn More For further information about the Opi- oid Action Program, visit www.Cardinal Health.com/OpioidActionProgram.
