CVS/pharmacy Continues Commitment to Fight Drug Abuse, Now Sells No Prescription Necessary Opioid Drug Reversal Med in NJ
CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health, is reinforcing its longstanding commitment in the fight against the nationwide epidemic of prescription drug abuse with a number of efforts launching this past month.
Most notably, CVS/pharmacy has expanded the availability of the opioid overdose reversal medicine, naloxone, in several states, including New Jersey. The medication was already available at CVS/pharmacy without a prescription in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Naloxone is now available without a prescription at CVS/pharmacy locations in 12 additional states: Arkansas, California, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.
How is 16K our of 44 K determined as MOST ?
“Over 44,000 people die from accidental drug overdoses every year in the United States and most of those deaths are from opioids, including controlled substance pain medication and illegal drugs such as heroin. Naloxone is a safe and effective antidote to opioid overdoses and by providing access to this medication in our pharmacies without a prescription in more states, we can help save lives,” said Tom Davis, RPh, Vice President of Pharmacy Professional Practices at CVS/pharmacy. “While all 7,800 CVS/pharmacy stores nationwide can continue to order and dispense naloxone when a prescription is presented, we support expanding naloxone availability without a prescription and are reviewing opportunities to do so in other states.”
In addition, CVS Health is currently participating in a research project with Boston Medical Center and Rhode Island Hospital to support a demonstration project of pharmacy-based naloxone rescue kits to help reduce opioid addiction and overdose deaths.
Since opiate addiction is a mental health disease… and Naloxone is a “opiate neutralizer ” how can anyone believe that Naloxone will help reduce opiate addiction… If a addict is not ready to be clean and stay in recovery.. all the Naloxone is going to give them another chance to keep on abusing whatever substance they “like” and helps them deal with the monkeys on their back and/or demons in their head… or if their OD was an attempt at suicide.. they get to try it again. Even if they go thru an addiction recovery program.. and they return to their previous friends, environment or other triggers.. their chances of remaining in recovery quite disappears.
CVS/pharmacy has also renewed its Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program, in which it has teamed up with the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids to donate drug collection units to police departments around the country to help their communities safely dispose of unwanted medications, including controlled substances.
“Our Safer Communities program has donated more than 400 drug collection units to local law enforcement around the country since last year, resulting in almost seven tons of unused medication being collected in our communities,” said Davis. “We are pleased to continue this program with the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and provide a permanent drug disposal solution at local police departments.”
Police departments interested in receiving a drug collection unit can apply at www.cvs.com/safercommunities.
Also, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will hold National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday, September 26. On that day, hundreds of CVS/pharmacy locations around the country will host local law enforcement collection events in store parking lots from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. To locate a participating collection site, visit http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/.
Other on-going initiatives at CVS/pharmacy to combat prescription drug abuse include:
- Availability of postage-paid Environmental Return System envelopes at all of its pharmacies with which customers can send their unwanted medications for secure and environmentally-safe disposal.
- Identification of physicians who exhibit extreme patterns of prescribing high risk drugs such as pain medications and suspension of dispensing their controlled substance prescriptions.
- Advocating at the federal and state levels to implement policy changes to curb prescription drug abuse, such as mandatory electronic prescribing of controlled substances and improved prescription drug monitoring programs.
Filed under: General Problems
Wow, the war against is getting bigger, as the resistance is still low.
Like that one physician who is suing them, Item #2 should be of interest as defamation or libel if the physician is not under any investigation…..hmmm….was that doctor looking at making it a class action??? And how does the pharmacy know the doctor is under DEA investigation. I worked several stores filling questionable doctors but the patients were legit and we knew which ones were not (like they kept enough legit patients to keep the practice legit}, however, NO ONE EVER…DEA, AG, MEDICAL BOARD, IBOP TOLD US the doctor was under investigation. It wasn’t until 2 years after I was no longer working for this chain, 2 of the doctors were under federal indictment for Medicare fraud and the bad narcotic prescribing was also in the indictiment but was not the major reason they were arrested, tried, convicted and had their licenses revoked. (even though a few patients died from ODs and they sent in undercover agents to the office to prove the bad narcotic issues). The more the DEA conducts its witch hunts and shuts down doctors, who’s left…other doctors that pick up those chronic pain patients so of course their prescribing patterns are going to go up on writing for pain meds. I hope that doctor wins his defamation suit big time. Then there are the ones you are very positive and have evidence the doctor is a ‘pill mill’ but complaints fall on deaf ears….and he is still practicing today as far as I know. I no longer work for that company.
And how about verifying licenses as you have stated before. I heard Greencastle IN had a huge discovery of meth labs. Gee….sounds like that electronic system designed to stop someone from buying more than the legally allowed amount of Sudafed is working so well. My son and I discussed how easy it is to get a fake Dr Lic with number and name online and several of those and you can really fool the electronic system because there is no verification from our state BMV
The War on Drugs is a HUGE FAILURE and apparently they never learned from Prohibition