Most patients who overdose can get new prescriptions

A new study has found that nearly all people who overdose on prescription opioids or painkillers still get their prescriptions renewed. Doctors tended to prescribe opioids are lower dosages after an overdose compared to the 90 days leading up to the event, suggesting some providers were actually aware of what happened, or that patients asked for less of the drug.

“The intent of this study is not to point fingers but rather use the results to motivate physicians, policy makers and researchers to improve how we identify and treat patients at risk of opioid-related harms before they occur”, LaRochelle said. The overdoses examined in the report were serious enough to send patients to emergency rooms or get them admitted to hospitals, so they should not have escaped their doctors’ attention.

More precisely, these patients had been taking an assortment of painkillers, such as codeine, hydrocone, tramadol, oxycodone and hydromorphone.

Just this week, Brown University’s medical school and Rhode Island Hospital were awarded $916,851 and $788,403 respectively to integrate extensive training in substance abuse screening and intervention into the curriculum to help future doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and social workers better address opioid addiction and overdose.

Eight percent of those whose prescriptions were stopped went on to have another overdose in the next two years, which is lower than those who continued to have a prescription, but still concerning, Larochelle said.

Dr. Jessica Gregg of Central City Concern in Portland, Oregon, told Reuters by email that there are no communication mechanisms within health plans or through governmental organizations to inform opioid providers when a patient experiences an overdose. Additionally, because patients’ health insurance records include hospitalizations and prescriptions, there could be a way to implement prior authorizations for patients after an overdose before they are able to obtain another opioid prescription.

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There is no evidence that opioids are effective in treating chronic pain, yet many patients say they depend on the drugs to function, Larochelle said. The rate of narcotic prescription painkillers hit all the record high in the United States. The authors reported that 70 percent of the overdose survivors got their prescriptions from the same physician. Almost half of those surveyed by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health believed, incorrectly, that a group of opioids made with hard shells or other abuse deterrents were less addictive than their counterparts.

Researchers and doctors claim that there is no way to know when a patient has overdosed as there is no national system in place.

Reed’s recent efforts also included his support the drive for Rhode Island to be eligible for more federal money through the CDC’s Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention for States program, which will invest $20 million in 16 states to provide more resources and expertise to help prevent overdose deaths.

From a cohort study of patients who had overdosed on opioids, 7% experienced a second overdose during a 2-year follow-up period.