Prescriptions for painkillers vary between states
Depending on the state you are in, doctors may be more apt to issue prescriptions for powerful painkillers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the use of narcotic drugs varies widely among the states. Alabama was reported as the state with the highest number of narcotic painkiller prescriptions, issuing nearly three times the amount issued in Hawaii.
Tom Frieden, the director of the CDC shared in a news conference that the inconsistency of prescriptions across the nation is a problem because there are so many deaths as a result. Every day 46 people die from an overdose of prescription painkillers, he also added. You can see more about prescription painkillers ending in death on our blog here.
The CDC also shared that the highest prescribing states for narcotics are all in the south with Alabama, Tennessee, and West Virginia taking the lead. Even though the south is developing a bad record, the CDC found that where there has been enforcement there is significant improvement. Florida death rates rose 61 percent between 2003 and 2009. After officials started enforcement plans the death rate for prescription drug overdoses decreased 23 percent between 2010 and 2013. Prescriptions for the painkillers oxycodone, methadone, and hydrocodone declined in prescriptions and also declined parallel with deaths.
For states that need to improve prescription drug abuse the CDC suggest:
-Improving prescription drug monitoring programs which help identify doctors and pharmacies that are overprescribing narcotics;
– Strictly regulate pain clinics;
-Increase the access to substance abuse treatment.
For more information on prescription drug abuse or on getting help visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Source: Philly.com, Prescriptions for powerful painkillers vary widely among states: CDC, Dennis Thompson, July 2, 2014.