Fighting the Prescription Drug Overdose Epidemic

In arecent press release, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the launch of “Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States,” a new program to help states end the ongoing prescription drug overdose epidemic. Annual awards will be given to advance prevention in the following areas:

• Enhancing prescription drug monitoring programs.
• Putting prevention into action in communities nationwide and encouraging education of providers and patients about the risk of prescription drug overdose.
• Working with health systems, insurers, and professional providers to help them make informed decisions about prescribing pain medication.
• Responding to new and emerging drug overdose issues through innovative projects, including developing new surveillance systems or communications campaigns.
• Better understanding and responding to the increase in heroin overdose deaths.
• Investigating the connection between prescription opioid abuse and heroin use.

Sixteen states were selected to receive funds through the program: Arizona, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin.