Elite Pharmaceuticals Inc (ELTP)

[Hike]

http://www.hhs.gov/secretary/about/speeches/sp20150115.html

Common Interests; Common Ground

Finding a Way Forward, Together
HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell
New America Foundation
Washington, D.C.
January 15, 2015

Reducing Substance Use Disorders and Overdose Deaths (Opioids)

Part of building a health care system that keeps us healthy is reducing substance use disorders and overdose deaths.
For millions of Americans who rely on prescription pain killers known as “opioids” that are prescribed to them by their doctors, these drugs can be the difference between constant chronic pain or some welcome relief.
However these drugs can be deadly: In 2009, drug overdoses overtook every other cause of injury death in the United States, outnumbering fatalities from car crashes for the first time.
Meanwhile, in 2012 alone, 259 million opioid prescriptions were written -- enough for every American adult to have a bottle.
Rural America, including my home state of West Virginia, knows this issue all too well.
Moving forward, we hope to work with Members of Congress from both parties on the goals we share for driving down opioid dependency and overdose deaths.
This is a critical and complex public health challenge that requires a multifaceted approach.
We have an opportunity to work together on improving opioid prescribing practices by enhancing prescription monitoring, data-sharing, and clinical decision-making.
We also want to incentivize the development of abuse-deterrent opioids and expand the utilization of naloxone– a drug that’s used to reverse overdoses. And there is more we can do together in the realm of medication assisted treatment to help those who are addicted break that cycle.
Last session, Congress introduced more than a dozen pieces of bipartisan legislation to try to address this problem, many proposing ideas that would help fuel progress in some or even all three of these areas. And we should continue to work together.