Prescription Drug Abuse

Almost one-fourth of opioids prescribed for chronic pain are misused, a new study concludes. A review of studies found average rates of misuse were 21 to 29 percent. Average rates of opioid painkiller addiction were 8 to 12 percent.

The Department of Health and Human Services will provide more funds to distribute the opioid overdose antidote naloxone to first responders and family, USA Today reports.

A number of drug companies are trying to develop strong painkillers that don’t make people high, according to The Wall Street Journal. Such drugs would be less likely to be abused.

A new study finds prescription painkillers are largely to blame for an increase in the death rate among white women ages 15 to 54 in the United States over the past 15 years, The Washington Post reports.

Doctors and nurses should undergo random drug testing, argues a leading medical ethicist. “I am sorry to say that addiction and the abuse of drugs are not really a part of the discussion about making medicine safer,” says Arthur L. Caplan, PhD.

Only 53 percent of primary care physicians use their state prescription drug monitoring program, according to a new survey. The national survey found 72 percent of doctors were aware of their state’s program.

Schools in two states are starting to use new programs designed to fight prescription painkiller abuse, Reuters reports. The programs, being rolled out in Illinois and Pennsylvania, are designed for middle school and high school students.

Policymakers believe abuse-deterrent formulations of medications are so important, that they are considering legislation that requires they be used for all extended-release/long-acting opioid prescriptions. However, many of those policymakers haven’t considered how much this is going to cost, and who is going to bear that cost.

The Obama Administration’s 2016 budget proposal includes increased funding for programs designed to fight prescription drug abuse, according to The Hill.

Almost 42 percent of American adults who drink also use medications that can interact dangerously with alcohol, according to a new study. Among adults 65 and older, the rate rises to almost 78 percent.

The diversion and abuse of prescription painkillers decreased slightly between 2011 and 2013, after increasing substantially from 2002 to 2010, according to a study in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. The findings suggest the U.S. may be making progress in controlling prescription opioid abuse, the researchers say.

Heroin overdose deaths increased 39 percent from 2012 to 2013, a new government report finds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced 8,257 Americans died of a heroin overdose in 2013, according to The Huffington Post.

Drug overdose deaths may peak in 2017, experts at Columbia University predict. By 2034 the overdose rate could fall back to rates last seen in the early 1980s, they say.

This year Medicare has started examining prescribing data to identify physicians who write large numbers of prescriptions for narcotic painkillers and stimulants. Next year Medicare will be able to kick doctors out of the program if they are found to be prescribing in abusive ways.

A group of senators working to reduce the toll of prescription drug abuse sent letters to government officials and health groups this week, urging them to continue fighting what they called a national epidemic.

Young adults who do not attend college are more likely than their peers who are enrolled in school to abuse prescription painkillers, according to new research.

Approximately one-third of “doctor shoppers” cross state lines to obtain prescriptions, according to a new study. These people search for multiple physicians who will prescribe them narcotic painkillers and other prescription drugs.

A survey of primary care doctors nationwide finds almost half say they are less likely to prescribe narcotic painkillers compared with a year ago. Ninety percent of those surveyed say they are concerned about prescription drug abuse in their communities.

Overdose deaths involving heroin nearly tripled from 1999 to 2012, a new government report concludes. Overall, drug overdose deaths more than doubled.

A new study finds teenagers who have been prescribed medications for sleep problems or anxiety are much more likely to abuse them, compared with teens who have never received prescriptions for these drugs.

Almost one-fifth of college students say they abuse prescription stimulants, a new survey finds. The most commonly abused stimulants are medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, such as Ritalin, Adderall and Vyvanse.

The percentage of women dependent on opioids during pregnancy more than doubled from 1998 to 2011, a new study finds. The overall rate of opioid dependency in pregnant women remains low, at 0.39 percent.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents surprised National Football League team medical staffs on Sunday with inspections. The agents were looking for evidence of drugs dispensed to players illegally to keep them on the field in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, The Washington Post reports.

Critics charge the Internet’s central administrator is not doing enough to crack down on illegal online pharmacies, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) says its powers are limited.

Buprenorphine maintenance therapy is more effective than detoxification for patients being treated for prescription opioid dependence, a new study finds. The researchers, from Yale University, said primary care doctors do not have evidence-based guidelines to decide between the two treatments.