Aussies ignorant on opioid addiction, but not pharmacists
Megan HagganMegan Haggan — 28/07/2016
A huge proportion of Australians believe negative stereotypes about people with opioid addictions, but pharmacists are, for the most part, a significant exception.
So says Bee Ismail, CEO of ScriptWise .. http://www.scriptwise.org.au/ , which has released the results of a survey showing Australians lack awareness about opioid painkiller addiction and who it happens to.
On average around a third of people think that a person dependent on opioid painkillers is “their own worst enemy,” (38.1%) “a junkie,” (36.6%) and that “they have weak willpower” (31.6%).
And 60% of men surveyed said that opioid dependent people are “undeserving of help” (40% of women believed the same).
Just over half the population remain unaware that it is possible to become addicted to painkillers including codeine, ibuprofen and paracetamol.
Australians also associate opioid painkiller addiction with certain types of people: when asked about the physical attributes of those addicted to opioid painkillers, words such as ‘fidgety’, ‘skinny’, ‘high anxiety’, and ‘unemployed’ were used.
Australians believe drug users are most at risk to becoming addicted to opioid painkillers (46.7%), while only around 20% believe that high earners (19.5%) or career-focused professionals (19.2%) could become dependent on opioid painkillers.
Ismail told the AJP that she was not surprised by the survey results, and that the stigma caused by these attitudes makes it more difficult for people who become addicted to legal opioids to come forward and seek help.
Khachan had “no idea” that codeine was addictive. Within two years, she was taking 92 tablets every day and became severely ill.
“We’ve had a number of people approach us in the last 24 hours, saying they don’t know where to get help for themselves or their family member because there’s such a stigma about it,” Ismail says.
“If I’m being completely honest, it’s pharmacists who have been the health professional that people are actually more comfortable talking to about this.
“Pharmacists are generally more than happy to talk to patients about what to do next to seek help, probably because they’re the ones who see that end of it, when a person is trying to take advantage of the system.”
She says that she has heard many stories of people seeking help from GPs – for themselves or family members – but not being given adequate information about treating their addiction.
“I’m not saying GPs aren’t aware, but really it’s the pharmacists who actually want to do something about it,” Ismail says.
“They’re the perfect person to talk to about the pharmaceutical drug itself, and they’re more than happy to give the time of day, too.”
She says that ScriptWise will continue to work with pharmacy to produce resources for those seeking help, as well as information for pharmacists; in the meantime, more work needs to be done to support GPs to help their patients as well.
Ismail also praised the Pharmacy Guild and other pharmacy stakeholders for their work in developing MedsASSIST, and says she hopes for a real-time monitoring tool, accessible by GPs, for codeine-containing prescription drugs as well.
“It’s quite shocking to realise that in Australia, where we do have quite a decent health care system, there’s still no way we’re actually able to monitor what a patient’s medical history is,” she told the AJP.
“MedsASSIST has been an amazing tool and hopefully we can take it forward so that a GP can see, at the point of prescription, the patient’s history.”
She urges pharmacists to continue their good work with patients living with pain and addiction issues and says she hopes that the general attitude of Australian consumers will change over time.
“This is ultimately a health issue and a public health crisis – we need to change the way we speak around the issue, and treat it like the disease it is,” Ismail says. “All I can say to pharmacists is to continue to do what you do.”
OxyContin maker Purdue is exploring bankruptcy, reports say
"Come ON people all over everywhere! .. Don't pay money for this death!"
By Drew Armstrong | Bloomberg | Mar 04, 2019 | 1:40 PM
More than 700,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses from 1999 to 2017, and more than two-thirds of those were related to opioids. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
OxyContin maker Purdue is exploring bankruptcy, reports say More than 700,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses from 1999 to 2017, and more than two-thirds of those were related to opioids. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma is preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing as it faces hundreds of lawsuits over its role in the U.S. opioid epidemic, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The drugmaker has hired advisors to prepare for a potential filing, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Bankruptcy would let the company negotiate claims with some of the more than 1,500 cities, states, local governments and other entities that have sued Purdue and other health companies over their roles in the opioid epidemic.
Purdue spokesman Robert Josephson declined to comment on the reports.
“We are, however, committed to ensuring that our business remains strong and sustainable,” Josephson said in an email. “We have ample liquidity and remain committed to meeting our obligations to the patients who benefit from our medicines, our suppliers and other business partners.”
The lawsuits against drugmakers and distributors have opened up the potential for billions of dollars in liabilities as governments grapple with mounting human and financial costs of the opioid epidemic.
More than 700,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses from 1999 to 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than two-thirds of those were opioid-related. While the epidemic of addiction and death began with prescription pills marketed by Purdue and other drug companies, it has shifted to include heroin and synthetic compounds like fentanyl.
Purdue and other drugmakers have said they didn’t act improperly in marketing their medicines.
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