“I think it’s changed a lot, even in just the last five years,” says Schieber. “There seems to be a general acceptance that this is okay; that being on some of these things over a long period of time is fine, and it’s not.” According to Schieber, it was by coincidence that he became involved with the project. “One day I was doing pharmacy interviews for applicants of the college, and I was paired with Ken Hale. We were just chatting and he brought up this new Generation Rx Initiative. I expressed an interest and later he asked if we would be a pilot site for the program.” After his meeting with Hale, Schieber almost immediately became immersed in the new program. Along with other professionals, he helped to create the Generation Rx Tool Kit, a group of documents and resources including a PowerPoint presentation, handouts, and videos that assist community leaders in presenting information on this troubling trend. And his efforts have made an impact, earning him the inaugural Cardinal Health Generation Rx Champions Award at the 2010 OPA Conference. This past spring Cardinal Health, a healthcare product company, partnered with the College of Pharmacy to help further enhance the scope of the project. Through the company’s assistance, both monetarily and in resources, Generation Rx has become a powerful tool for prescription drug abuse prevention.
Facts about prescription abuse in Ohio • Unintentional drug poisoning became the leading cause of injury death in Ohio in 2007, surpassing motor vehicle crashes and suicide • Ohio’s death rate due to unintentional drug poisonings increased more than 300 percent between 1999 and 2007 • Between 2003-2006, 96% of all unintentional poisoning deaths in Ohio were due to drugs/medications • In 2008, prescription opioids caused more overdoses in Ohio than heroin and cocaine combined
Who is at Risk? - Everyone • The highest rate of death in 2006-2008 was for 45-54 yearolds • While males have a 1.5 higher rate of death from opioid poisoning, females are the fastest growing at-risk group. • Statistics show there is a greater death rate in southern Ohio • 4 out of the top 5 drugs abused by 12th graders are prescription or non-prescription medications • In 2007, 26.5% of high school students reported using a prescription drug without a prescription one or more times in their life Above information based on findings from the Ohio Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics (2010).
What can you do? • • • • • • • • •
Learn more about the issue Don’t share medications with others Model safe medication taking behaviors Talk with your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, friends and neighbors Tell a friend about the dangers of prescription drug abuse Make a presentation to a PTA, faith organization, Rotary or other community organization about this issue Store prescription medications in locked or otherwise secure locations Dispose of medications properly Participate in or start a medication disposal day in your community
College of Pharmacy students presented on the “Generation Rx Initiative” during the annual conference at the University of Utah School on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependencies
The Script - Fall 2010
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