OxyContin Abuse
Purdue Pharma created an awareness guide to decrease OxyContin
abuse in to “reduce prescription drug abuse and diversion,
without compromising patient access to proper pain control”.
They have outlined ten points for patients to follow including:
1. EDUCATION OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
Purdue Pharma is a leader in supporting healthcare professional
education through grants to medical societies, hospitals, and other
healthcare organizations. These non-promotional educational programs
-- led by experts in pain management -- teach healthcare professionals
how to properly assess and treat patients suffering from pain, as
well as how to recognize and reduce diversion of prescription drugs
by drug traffickers and abusers. A number of programs have been
targeted in those regions of the country that have been most affected
or have the most potential to be affected by the diversion and abuse
of prescription medications.
2. TAMPER-RESISTANT PRESCRIPTION PADS
Prescription fraud -- the alteration, forgery, or counterfeiting
of a physician's prescription -- is one of the most common sources
of diversion in the U.S. Purdue Pharma is providing tamper-resistant
prescription pads to physicians, free of charge, in states with
the highest incidence of and potential for drug diversion. These
pads include several security features intended to thwart common
types of prescription fraud and have been distributed to over 10,000
doctors.
3. PAINFULLY OBVIOUSTM, A PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE AWARENESS
AND EDUCATION INITIATIVE FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Purdue Pharma created PAINFULLY OBVIOUSTM as a public service to
educate parents, teachers, and students about the dangers of abusing
prescription medicines. Prior to the Painfully Obvious initiative,
there was no national program to address the abuse of prescription
medicines among this age group. The company is working with the
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (www.cadca.org)
and other prevention organizations to pilot the Painfully Obvious
initiative in areas where abuse of prescription medicines has been
identified. Free educational materials can be accessed at www.painfullyobvious.com.
4. OPIOID THERAPY DOCUMENTATION KITS/MEDICAL GUIDELINES
Purdue Pharma regularly provides healthcare professionals with important
information about the proper prescribing of opioid analgesics. Since
1997, Purdue Pharma representatives have distributed opioid therapy
documentation kits to medical professionals and educated them on
the proper use of these assessment and documentation tools. Purdue's
representatives have also distributed hundreds of thousands of copies
of guidelines on the proper use of controlled substances published
by the Federation of State Medical Boards, the American Pain Society,
and numerous federal and state health agencies. These materials
emphasize the need to properly evaluate patients, help teach physicians
about proper documentation, and alert healthcare professionals to
the possibilities of abuse and diversion. Purdue representatives
have reviewed these materials with tens of thousands of physicians.
5. ABUSE AND DIVERSION BROCHURES
Purdue Pharma has developed brochures providing valuable information
on how healthcare professionals can recognize and help prevent abuse
and diversion of prescription medicines. These materials have been
distributed to more than 500,000 physicians and 60,000 pharmacists
throughout the country-both by mail and by Purdue field representatives
who carefully review the information with healthcare professionals.
6. PRESCRIPTION MONITORING PROGRAMS
"Doctor Shopping" - the practice of misleading physicians
in order to obtain multiple, improper prescriptions - is a widespread
form of drug diversion. Purdue Pharma has endorsed the development
of state prescription monitoring programs to help detect diversion
of prescription medicines throughout the United States, provided
these programs meet appropriate standards for effectiveness, do
not impede patient care, ensure privacy, and protect practitioners
from inappropriate interference. Currently, very few states have
adequate monitoring systems.
7. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS WITH THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY
To foster a better understanding of appropriate pain management
practices and combat abuse of prescription medicines, Purdue Pharma
has developed and implemented educational programs with numerous
law enforcement groups, including the National Association of Drug
Diversion Investigators (NADDI), several State Attorneys General,
and the National Association of State Controlled Substance Authorities
(NASCSA).
8. ABUSE, DIVERSION, AND ADDICTION RESEARCH
Purdue Pharma established the RADARSTM System (Researched Abuse,
Diversion, and Addiction-Related Surveillance System) - a research-based
initiative overseen by an independent panel of experts - to study
the prevalence and nature of abuse and diversion of controlled prescription
medications. The system is designed to obtain valuable information
on the relative rates of misuse, abuse, addiction, and diversion
of commonly prescribed prescription pain medicines. While the RADARS
System complements existing publicly available monitoring systems,
it is the first effort to study prescription drug abuse and diversion
on a national scale, and is designed to gather data in a more timely
fashion than current publicly accessible databases.
9. CROSS-BORDER SMUGGLING
Purdue Pharma has taken significant steps to thwart diversion of
its product from Mexico and Canada to the United States. In the
summer of 2001, Purdue Pharma changed the identifying markings on
tablets exported to Mexico and Canada to assist law enforcement
in determining the country of origin in drug seizures.
10. ABUSE-RESISTANT MEDICINES
Purdue Pharma has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to test
and develop new forms of pain relievers that will be resistant to
abuse while still providing safe and effective pain control to patients
with pain. This work is challenging, but represents the number one
priority at the company's research laboratories. Purdue Pharma is
working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to solve the
complex patient safety and efficacy issues associated with these
products prior to bringing them to market.
top of page
|
Prevalence
of 
