Guest AuthorThe prescription drug program Florida legislators created in 2009 to monitor controlled substances has helped reduce the number of Floridians who suffer from prescription drug addiction. Medications provide great benefit to patients when used correctly and under the guidance of their treating physician. Some opiod drugs are now being crushed into powder or injected and used by addicts to get high, which results in numerous deaths and rising healthcare costs each year.
While Florida has made great strides in dealing with this problem, more needs to be done to limit the abuse of prescription drugs. Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto and Rep. Jeanette Nunez have introduced legislation – SB 728 and HB 1021 – requiring health insurers in Florida to cover the new abuse-deterring opioids. These bills make sense. They ensure Floridians get the medication they need while also reducing abuse.
I live with numerous autoimmune conditions that require multiple medications daily, some to manage the terrible pain I experience. My treatment plan includes seeing my physicians regularly, taking my medications, and a combination of exercise, massage therapy, physical therapy and getting enough rest. My treating physicians know if I need pain medications or other treatments and have the knowledge to prescribe my pain medicines when needed.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved new pain medications, some with new technology that makes it harder to alter the drugs while still getting the same benefit. These new medications include extended-release formulas and technologies that make the drug inactive if crushed or injected. These drugs are designed to stop working if crushed, chewed or physically altered in any way. Extended release pain medications deliver the medicine through the patient’s body slowly, which allows consistent levels of medication to stay in the patient’s system. Unfortunately, these two safeguards alone won’t end this growing problem.
Prescription drug abuse has led to a dramatic rise in overdose deaths during the past 15 years. In 2012, nearly 2.1 million Americans suffered from substance abuse problems related to opioid pain relievers. We must encourage further development of these medications to help reduce the number of overdose deaths in Florida and across the nation. We certainly hope that Florida’s lawmakers will support current legislation making these new medicines more available.
These newly developed medications are not the only answer to this problem, but they are a major step in the right direction. This legislation will make it easier for physicians to prescribe abuse-deterring medications and will limit the risk of addiction in patients who legitimately need the medications. As a patient and leader of a patient advocacy organization, I urge Florida legislators to support SB 728 and HB 1021 and enact them into law.
Sandi Frear is Vice President of Lupus and Allied Diseases Association, Inc. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
