Opioid-abuse solutions are featured in a new 30-second ad that conveys pharmacy’s sincere, personal, and ongoing commitment to this issue. NACDS hopes the ad also will strike an appreciative tone for the pharmacists who do so much on the front lines of healthcare delivery.
About the Opioid Solutions Ad
In a post on Medium, NACDS President & CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE, writes, “I want to invite you to view the National Association of Chain Drug Stores” 30-second message on one of the vitally important commitments made by pharmacies and pharmacists. That commitment is to serve as part of the solution for the prevention of opioid abuse while also caring for those suffering with pain.
“No doubt, addressing this issue in such a short span of time is not easy. There is so much more to say, because there is so much more being done – by pharmacies and pharmacists, by others in healthcare, by law enforcement, and by many others…However, concise communication often is a prerequisite for the larger conversation – one in which NACDS has been, and will remain, engaged.”
About Pharmacy’s Opioid Abuse Solutions
To help prevent opioid abuse, pharmacies remain committed to doing their part. Their work includes the following areas:
- compliance programs;
- drug disposal;
- patient and community education;
- security initiatives;
- fostering naloxone access;
- stopping illegal online drug-sellers and rogue clinics;
- philanthropic programs;
- and more.
About NACDS’ Public Policy Recommendations
In addition to the initiatives already underway in pharmacies, NACDS’ public policy recommendations include:
- electronic prescribing;
- drug disposal;
- supply limits for a patient’s first prescription to treat temporary pain, with important exceptions for chronic pain and pain associated with cancer, with other illnesses, and with end-of-life care;
- prescription drug monitoring plans;
- health plan design;
- and pain management.
