Deborah Davidson is the Membership Director of the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE)
As we all know, there’s a delicate balance between ensuring the availability of prescription medications to treat medical conditions and ultimately staying healthy and protecting our communities against prescription drug abuse. When abuse and addiction do happen – which is an unfortunate truth for families and communities across the U.S. – it’s vital that prevention, treatment and recovery resources be immediately accessible. Imagine for one minute if you could visit one online resource to find the information that you’re looking for, whether it was a toolkit that raises awareness about prescription drug abuse or provides information about access to treatment and recovery resources for a loved-one.
The National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) has created such a resource – the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention: Resources for Community Action – providing valuable tools, from web sites, brochures and webinars, to videos and community tool kits. This online resource provides links to information appropriate for individuals, health care professionals and communities in need. A directory to leading advocacy/nonprofit organizations and federal agencies with current science-based resources on drug abuse and addiction is also included. Resources are organized into four categories: prescription drug abuse awareness, prevention, treatment and recovery, supplying easily accessible information that you can incorporate into your prevention and intervention strategies. Here’s what you’ll find in each section.
Awareness
If raising AWARENESS is your goal, you will find a range of resources from leading advocacy groups/nonprofit organizations and federal agencies that offer prescription drug abuse awareness information.
- Taking a prescription medication intentionally in any way that differs from how it was prescribed by a health care professional or for another purpose is prescription drug abuse.
Prevention
PREVENTION provides resources designed to deter prescription drug abuse and addiction.
- Scientific research has raised awareness about how drugs affect the brain and behavior. PReventing prescription drug abuse can prevent addiction and its related consequences.
Treatment
If you’re interested in identifying TREATMENT resources, this section is for you! From definitions to online and face-to-face resources, you’ll find the treatment information you need.
- Prescription drug abuse is a complex issue but a treatable one. Multiple courses of treatment may be needed for the patient to make a full recovery.
Recovery
From a New PATH and the Association of Recovery Schools to SAMHSA and Young People in Recovery, RECOVERY supplies the information you need to effectively address this issue “on the ground” as well as from policy and programmatic perspectives.
- Recovery approaches must be tailored to address each patient's drug abuse patterns and drug-related medical, psychiatric, and social problems.
Want to Join NCPIE’s Effort to Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse?
Do you have a resource you’d like us to highlight? Send your information to NCPIE by completing and submitting this online form, and it will be considered for inclusion in the guide.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the guest author and should not be interpreted to be those of the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention.
Deborah Davidson is the Membership Director of the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE). NCPIE, organized in 1982, is a non-profit coalition of diverse member organizations committed to improving communication of information on appropriate use of medicines to consumers and health care professionals. Over the last decade in addition to her membership responsibilities, Ms. Davidson has helped produce a variety of important educational resources that address prescription drug abuse prevention, the importance of medicine adherence, acetaminophen safe-use and other relevant topics. To learn more, visit www.talkaboutrx.org.
USP & NCPIE
USP has served continuously on NCPIE’s board of directors since our founding in 1982, and is a voting board member within the healthcare professional organizations membership category. USP’s Nelufar Mohajeri, M.A., M.C. Director, Member and Professional Relations Legal, serves as the NCPIE board representative. Additionally, NCPIE is a USP Convention member organization.
USP's mission is to improve global health through public standards and related programs that help ensure the quality, integrity, safety and benefit of medicines and foods. As part of that work, USP supports outreach efforts by member organizations such as NCPIE, along with USP's own efforts to underscore the impact of global access to quality medicines.
