Pharmacist – the last line of defense from drug abuse

Author: Mike Connolly

[tweetable]The number of prescription abuse cases in America is shooting up. It has seen a 33% increase of drug abuse [/tweetable]  over the past five years. The irony is that, the number of Americans abusing prescription drugs is higher than the number of cocaine, hallucinogen, methamphetamine and heroin abusers combined. When this is the scenario, the entire responsibility trickles down to one person – the pharmacist who comes across as the last line of defense from drug abuse.

How can a pharmacist avoid drug abuse?

• Be aware of the state requirements for dispensing controlled substances.
• Understand the popular drugs of abuse in your area
• Know the local prescribing practices
• Know your local prescribers and their signatures
• Observe the behavior of your patients
• Use the state prescription drug monitoring program
• Pay attention to enforcement actions
• Keep in constant touch with prescribers
• Keep a tab on other pharmacies if you receive a prescription that was denied by them or if you deny a prescription
• Communicate with law enforcement and regulatory agencies (State Board of Pharmacy, State Medical Board, local DEA office, and local sheriff’s office or police department).

Frequent education to Pharmacists is important. Although, these pharmacists get to know about the government and regulatory norms reading about them in the dailies and other medium, it’s the responsibility of drug manufacturers to educate all the pharmacists on the possible ways of the drug misusage. It’s also the responsibility of drug prescribers, medical practitioner and Medical Institutions to educate Pharmacists about the trends of drug abuse cases they have come across in the recent past.

Lake B2B also plays a small role in fighting against prescription abuse. Our Pharmacist Mailing List is frequently updated. It is segmented to such niche target audience, that you can invest in a specific area, local, or SIC code to target your campaign.

To know more about our Pharmacist email List and other pharmacy related mailing databases, leave your message here. Let’s start our fight against prescription abuse, together!