[{"innerBlocks":[],"name":"core\/freeform","postId":2813,"blockType":{"name":"core\/freeform","keywords":[],"attributes":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"providesContext":[],"usesContext":[],"selectors":[],"supports":{"className":false,"customClassName":false,"reusable":false},"styles":[],"variations":[],"apiVersion":3,"title":"Classic","description":"Use the classic WordPress editor.","category":"text"},"originalContent":"McKesson Corporation, the largest pharmaceutical distributor in the nation, sent a letter on Tuesday to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie\u2014who serves the Trump Administration as chair of the President\u2019s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis\u2014with a series of policy and technology recommendations to enhance the fight against addiction.

\u201cOur country\u2019s opioid abuse epidemic is affecting communities across America at increasingly alarming rates,\u201d Pete Slone, senior vice president of public affairs at McKesson, told Christie. \u201cThe opioid epidemic is a complicated, multi-faceted public health crisis that cannot be solved by any one stakeholder. We believe it needs to be addressed through a comprehensive approach that includes the doctors, patients, pharmacists, insurance companies, government payers, distributors, manufacturers, law enforcement and regulators.\u201d

Also See:<\/b> Trump opioid order sees role for telemedicine, remote prescribing<\/a>

McKesson\u2019s recommendations include:

\u2022\tRequiring all payers and providers to use opioid management programs;

\u2022\tRequiring e-prescribing for all controlled substances across the nation;

\u2022\tHarnessing the Food and Drug Administration\u2019s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies program;

\u2022\tFully leveraging data analytics to identify patients most at risk;

\u2022\tIntegrating a National Patient Safety Network into the pharmacy dispensing process, including cash prescriptions and prescriber e-prescribing processes;

\u2022\tImproving information sharing among prescription drug monitoring programs;

\u2022\tPermitting partial refills to reduce risks associated with an excess of unused pills;

\u2022\tRequiring the Drug Enforcement Agency to work closely with industry and medical and pain communities to revisit the annual quota on the production of opioids;

\u2022\tEnacting a national policy to limit the number of opioids prescribed, such as PhRMA\u2019s recent proposal to limit pills to a seven-day supply for acute pain treatment;

\u2022\tPrioritizing a National Patient Safety Network for Safe Dispensing and Prescribing of Opioids; and

\u2022\tLeveraging the expertise and experience of pharmacists to address the opioid epidemic.

\u201cEducation alone, however, is insufficient to fully address the opioid crisis,\u201d Slone continued. \u201cTo make the most informed dispensing decisions, pharmacists need robust, real-time information that can draw upon and analyze data across all 50 states.\u201d

The tool to achieve this, Slone adds, is a National Patient Safety Network that would identify red flags and alert dispensers when patient safety issues are identified. \u201cFor example, in instances where there may be non-medical use of opioids, the Network would notify the pharmacist who could voluntarily check the prescription monitoring program before prescribing.\u201d

The commission\u2019s final report to the President is expected this week. The panel issued an interim report at the end of July, which called on Trump to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency and recommended\u2014among other recommendations\u2014that the federal government provide funding and technical support to states to improve interstate data sharing between state-run prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) to better track prescriptions written for addictive medications.
","saveContent":"McKesson Corporation, the largest pharmaceutical distributor in the nation, sent a letter on Tuesday to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie\u2014who serves the Trump Administration as chair of the President\u2019s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis\u2014with a series of policy and technology recommendations to enhance the fight against addiction.

\u201cOur country\u2019s opioid abuse epidemic is affecting communities across America at increasingly alarming rates,\u201d Pete Slone, senior vice president of public affairs at McKesson, told Christie. \u201cThe opioid epidemic is a complicated, multi-faceted public health crisis that cannot be solved by any one stakeholder. We believe it needs to be addressed through a comprehensive approach that includes the doctors, patients, pharmacists, insurance companies, government payers, distributors, manufacturers, law enforcement and regulators.\u201d

Also See:<\/b> Trump opioid order sees role for telemedicine, remote prescribing<\/a>

McKesson\u2019s recommendations include:

\u2022\tRequiring all payers and providers to use opioid management programs;

\u2022\tRequiring e-prescribing for all controlled substances across the nation;

\u2022\tHarnessing the Food and Drug Administration\u2019s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies program;

\u2022\tFully leveraging data analytics to identify patients most at risk;

\u2022\tIntegrating a National Patient Safety Network into the pharmacy dispensing process, including cash prescriptions and prescriber e-prescribing processes;

\u2022\tImproving information sharing among prescription drug monitoring programs;

\u2022\tPermitting partial refills to reduce risks associated with an excess of unused pills;

\u2022\tRequiring the Drug Enforcement Agency to work closely with industry and medical and pain communities to revisit the annual quota on the production of opioids;

\u2022\tEnacting a national policy to limit the number of opioids prescribed, such as PhRMA\u2019s recent proposal to limit pills to a seven-day supply for acute pain treatment;

\u2022\tPrioritizing a National Patient Safety Network for Safe Dispensing and Prescribing of Opioids; and

\u2022\tLeveraging the expertise and experience of pharmacists to address the opioid epidemic.

\u201cEducation alone, however, is insufficient to fully address the opioid crisis,\u201d Slone continued. \u201cTo make the most informed dispensing decisions, pharmacists need robust, real-time information that can draw upon and analyze data across all 50 states.\u201d

The tool to achieve this, Slone adds, is a National Patient Safety Network that would identify red flags and alert dispensers when patient safety issues are identified. \u201cFor example, in instances where there may be non-medical use of opioids, the Network would notify the pharmacist who could voluntarily check the prescription monitoring program before prescribing.\u201d

The commission\u2019s final report to the President is expected this week. The panel issued an interim report at the end of July, which called on Trump to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency and recommended\u2014among other recommendations\u2014that the federal government provide funding and technical support to states to improve interstate data sharing between state-run prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) to better track prescriptions written for addictive medications.
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McKesson gives White House 11 tips on how to fight opioid epidemic