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OMA Medicine in OR Winter 2015 2016

Oregon Tackles Escalating Public Health Epidemic By Cliff Collins know someone who has been addicted, or know someone who has taken opiates not prescribed for them. The Oregon Coalition for Responsible Use of Meds reports that Oregonians are prescribed more than 100 million opioid pills every year, double the amount since 2000. About one-third of Oregonians have a prescription for opiates, and three-fourths of those who took opiates for non-medical reasons took medications prescribed to someone else, usually to a friend or family member. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded that some 19,000 Americans died in 2014 from overdoses of prescription painkillers, compared with 10,600 who died from heroin overdoses. Reports from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration show that Oregon has been at or near the top for the past few years for the highest rate of prescription pain medication abuse in the nation. In addition, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has documented that the majority of drug overdoses in Oregon now are associated with prescription opioids, and total deaths from a drug overdose in the state have surpassed those from motorvehicle accidents. Statewide work underway to address problems The OMA’s Opioid Task Force is one of several multidisciplinary efforts to raise public awareness, educate both providers and patients about the risks of prescription opiates, and prevent misuse, abuse, overdose and death caused by addiction. The largest such initiative is led by the Oregon Coalition for Responsible Use of Meds, founded in 2013 at the behest of the governor and the OHA. It includes state agencies, providers, health systems, pharmacists, public health professionals, educators, prevention organizations, researchers, community members and business leaders. Part of the coalition’s charge is to convene summits throughout Oregon to develop regional action plans to confront the opioid epidemic, said Dwight Holton, chair of the coalition and executive director of Lines for Life. “Locally generated solutions are more effective,” said Holton, citing as an example that even though 70 percent of Oregon clinicians are accessing and using the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), only 40 percent are employing it in Central Oregon, meaning local providers must work on improving awareness and use of it. He also noted the progressive work in Southern Oregon led by Jim Shames, MD, medical director and health officer for Jackson County. Shames was instrumental in the formation of Oregon Pain Guidance, a collaboration of health care providers in continues  SECOND-YEAR MEDICAL STUDENT MARISSA LUCK’S interest in learning more about prescription opioid problems stemmed from seeing a family member prescribed too many painkilling medications. “The use of heavy narcotics did not seem like the best way to treat this patient’s chronic pain,” said Luck, who wants to advance her own knowledge around helping patients in pain while also avoiding the chance they will become addicted. Luck, who attends Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), joined the Oregon Medical Association’s Opioid Task Force, which first met in December, and is comprised of volunteer members representing a diverse range of clinicians, medical leaders, residents and students. “The goal of the task force is to explore what we can do as a medical family to address what has become a societal problem,” said Beth Irish, co-chair of the task force. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll reports that more than half of Americans either know someone who died from an overdose of prescription opiates, have been addicted themselves, w ww.TheOMA.org Winter 2016 11


OMA Medicine in OR Winter 2015 2016
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