A Solution to Controlled Substance Abuse: Community Partnerships

Abstract

Controlled substance abuse is a serious societal issue, particularly at the level of the actual addiction itself. Opioid analgesics are painkillers that are nationally recognized as a major cause of death by overdose. A number of policies and regulations have been put in place to curb addiction, without much success. One potential solution is to strengthen community partnerships between pharmacies, clinics, physicians and other medical care providers such that communication is improved and red flags can be addressed more quickly. These partnerships have more potential than individual parties because information is gathered from multiple different areas of the issue. Using information from multiple aspects of the issue, a solution can be created to reduce addiction at multiple points. Partnerships may be able to help prevent double filling of prescriptions, doctor shopping, and over-prescribing reducing the amount of drugs on the street. By reducing the amount of drugs available on the streets, lower amounts of addiction will occur and hopefully prevent it.