WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Rx for death: National overdose deaths rise, but state deaths fall

When it comes to preventing prescription-drug overdoses, Washington is very effectively swimming against the tide of a tragic preponderance of other states.

Most states have failed to establish strategies for overcoming the mounting incidents of prescription-drug overuse. Says a recent report: “… prescription drugs are now to blame for the majority of fatal drug overdoses in the U.S., surpassing the number of deaths related to heroin and cocaine combined.” [Emphasis added.] In fact, Washington is one of only six states with more than a few significant policies firmly in place to stop this perilous scourge. Here’s a newspaper item on the report. Also, you might want to click this highly informative report-link titled Prescription Drug Abuse: Strategies to Stop the Epidemic.

Legislation approved and signed into law in the Evergreen State three years ago is largely responsible for our good marks. It was a fatal prescription-drug overdose in 2009 in Southwest Washington that prompted the ultimately successful 2010 legislation. Prime-sponsored by Rep. Jim Moeller, the measure directed five statewide organizations to adopt new rules on chronic, non-cancer pain management. Established by the Medical Quality Assurance Commission, the Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, the Podiatric Medical Board, the Dental Quality Assurance Commission and the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission, these new rules emphasize the following elements of guidance on:

  • Dosing criteria, including a dosage amount that cannot be exceeded without consulting a pain-management specialist.
  • Seeking specialty consultation and the ways in which electronic specialty consultations may be sought.
  • Tracking clinical progress by using assessment tools that focus on pain interference, physical function, and overall risk for poor outcomes.
  • Tracking the use of opioids.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasizes that bolstering drug-safety programs might well reduce the rate of overdoses. More than 75 percent of the people who abuse prescription painkillers are in fact using drugs for which someone else originally got the prescription. An increase in opioid addiction here in Washington and all across the country first set off this public-health emergency several years ago. Opioid-related deaths had topped highway deaths as the No. 1 killer in the United States.

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