Preventing Prescription Drug Misuse and Abuse - Opioids

Please distribute to all providers in your practice.

Prescription drug misuse and overdose is a national epidemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nationally, each year, prescription narcotics result in more fatal overdoses than heroin and cocaine combined and, in 2015, surpassed auto accidents as the number one cause of accidental deaths. In California, deaths involving opioid prescription drugs have increased 16.5 percent since 2006. In 2012, there were more than 1,800 deaths from all types of opioids – 72 percent involved prescription opioids. In Alameda County, deaths from opioid misuse tripled between 2005 and 2014 and hospitalizations for opioid-related, non-fatal overdoses increased by over 74 percent. This advisory provides actions and resources to help clinicians safely prescribe opioid prescriptions.

• Full Alameda County Public Health Department Advisory
• CURES 2.0 (California’s Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System)