Yesterday I went to a program on Long Island hosted by the Long Island Association about the opioid crisis on Long Island. While there are symposiums that address how to stop the problems of overdoses and drug addiction with education at the schools and in the community, there was nothing said about the public learning the dangers of pain medication the moment a pain medication prescription is written.
The I-STOP program which monitors prescription drugs and arresting clinicians who are over-prescribing doesn't help the person or the family of the person who died. Punishing for what can be honest mistakes may deter the next clinician from writing a prescription, what about those people who need the medication - it doesn't help the person who has overdosed or is already addicted.
Medication errors, over-prescribing, addiction or dependency can be best avoided if the patient is informed to have someone with them following a medical procedure, surgery or injury before they are given the prescription.
The warning is not offered at the hospital discharge or before. Warnings to have a support person are not given when the prescription is given or picked up at the pharmacy. Written material does no good if a person cant read, doesn't understand the information or the warnings. As patient advocate is becoming a common term, such as bring an advocate with you to the doctor or hospital, we need to give them the tools of what are they there for. Monitoring a friend or family members medication is a way to help avoid improper use of medication.
The father of a son who died from an overdoes shared the heartbreaking story of his son's addiction after a phyocal injury. Why aren't we talking about the reason so many people become addicted "after the injury". Maybe because family gets involved only after the addiction or dependency has already started. www.pulsecenterforpatientsafety.org
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