FDA Wants to Reduce Prescription Drug Abuse through New Program

Posted on November 3, 2009

At least 1.5 million preventable deaths occur each year as a result of prescription drug abuse, according to the Institute of Medicine, and the cost of these injuries and deaths is estimated at about $4 billion annually. Children are often the victims: One study found that between 2003 and 2006, more than 9,000 children were accidentally exposed to prescription drugs such as codeine and morphine.

As a result, the Food and Drug Administration wants to reduce the abuse and misuse of prescription drugs, saying that at least 50,000 hospitalizations a year could be prevented if people used greater care in dispensing and taking the drugs.

FDA commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg said the FDA intends to work with physicians, pharmacists, insurers, drug companies, patients, and parents to develop a list of specific problems and a strategy for addressing them. "When I first started looking at this, I was stunned at the scope of the problem," she said as she announced the new "Safe Use" program.

Some measures may call for voluntary action on the part of the drug industry and medical community, and some may require new FDA regulations, Hamburg added. Steps may include providing better information to consumers, improving the dispensing devices that accompany drugs, and urging caregivers and patients to follow the directions of the drug maker. The agency will also look for ways to reduce intentional misuse, drug abuse, and self-harm, Hamburg said.

"Simply putting out a warning label [on a medication] does not insure safe and effective use in the real world," said Janet Woodcock said, a physician who directs the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "We can’t overlook this and say, ‘These guys are not using this right and that’s not our problem.’”

Divider

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.