CEO DATELINE - PhRMA supports limiting opioid supplies to patients
CEO DATELINE - PhRMA supports limiting opioid supplies to patients
- September 28, 2017 |
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Walt Williams
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The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America announced Wednesday that the group will support policies limiting the supply of opioid-based medications to seven days for acute pain treatment—a move supporters hope will combat the current U.S. opioid epidemic.
In a statement, PhRMA CEO Stephen Ubl said patients too often receive a 30-day supply of opioid medicines for minor treatments or short-term pain. Overprescribing and dispensing can lead to the pills turning up in the wrong hands, he added.
"Appropriate script limits, when combined with improved prescriber education and better coverage of treatment alternatives, can help ensure proper prescribing and reduce the risk of abuse," Ubl said. "Given the scope and scale of this crisis, we believe this is the right thing to do."
Ubl made the announcement during a hearing held that same day by the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.
The association has been working with the commission, National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration to develop a public-private partnership that will accelerate the development of non-opioid and non-addictive pain medicines. In addition, the groups are exploring medication-assisted treatments for long-term addiction recovery. http://onphr.ma/2hwVPhv
The pharmaceutical industry has been accused by critics of creating the current opioid epidemic by encouraging the overprescription of addictive opioid medications—a claim the industry denies.
Forty-one state attorneys general recently announced they were joining together to investigate the industry's role in the spike of opioid addictions and overdose deaths in the past decade, NPR reported. http://n.pr/2xyrCoQ
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