Health Care Providers

One in six teenagers has used a prescription medicine to get high. Health care providers are in a powerful position to prevent this growing and devastating problem. The Medicine Abuse Project includes information for you to use with your teenage patients and their parents, as well as any patients for whom you may prescribe medicine. Providers of all specialties will find useful tools and resources below to help make this sensitive issue easier to bring up and discuss with patients. By learning more about how to reduce the supply of medicine available for diversion, screening your patients for substance abuse and advising your patients to monitor, safeguard and properly dispose of unused medicine, you can play an important role in preventing medicine abuse. Below is a wide variety of useful materials about medicine abuse for you and your patients.

Learn About The Issue

Prescription Drugs: Abuse and Addiction This report from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) summarizes recent key research findings, specific consequences for commonly abused medicines, and preventing and recognizing prescription medicine abuse. The report is also available in Spanish.
Prescription Painkiller Overdoses Are A Public Health Epidemic This CDC Fact Sheet includes compelling research on prescription medicine abuse and information about what health care providers can do.
Commonly-Abused Prescription Drugs This two-page handout from NIDA includes a chart of commonly-abused prescription medicines, facts about prescription medicine abuse and tips for parents on prevention.
Prescription Monitoring Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) This FAQ by the Alliance of States with Prescription Monitoring Program (ASPMP) is a brief summary of how prescription monitoring programs help track patient use of potentially addictive prescriptions and prevent “doctor shopping,” including a link to contact information about state prescription monitoring programs. This map demonstrates the rapid growth of prescription monitoring programs throughout our nation:
Tools to Help You Talk to Your Patients About Medicine Abuse SIMmersion enables providers to interactively role-play talking to patients about medicine abuse, based on extensive research with doctors and patients. You can practice what you might say and how you might say it, and learn likely replies from patients. The Medicine Abuse Project is partnering with SIMmersion to offer access to the library of e-learning materials and up to 10 exchanges with the patient each time you launch the simulation. Please note this program will not work on mobile devices.

Patient Education Materials

Preventing Teen Prescription Medicine Abuse: Fact Sheet This one-page summary of teen prescription drug abuse includes facts, figures and tips on what parents can do to prevent it.
Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs This two-page handout from NIDA includes a chart of commonly-abused prescription medicines, facts about prescription drug abuse, and tips for patients on prevention.
Patient Prescription Agreement This straightforward patient agreement can facilitate a discussion on proper use, safeguarding, and disposal of medication.
Prescription Safeguarding Information for Patients This National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) tip sheet has detailed information for patients on how to properly safeguard and dispose of medication.
Infographic: Getting Smart About Medicine Abuse Do you know that 1 in 6 teens has used a prescription drug in order to get high or change his/her mood? View our infographic to learn more surprising facts -- and share it with others.
Risk of Prescription Abuse Poster – General Audience This poster, which can be displayed in waiting rooms, examination rooms, offices, etc., raises awareness of the health consequences of improper use of prescription medicines and contrasts it with the benefits of safe and proper prescription drug use. Up to 25 free copies can be ordered from NIDA.
Risk of Prescription Abuse Posters – Targeting Teens These free posters from NIDA help warn teenagers about the risks of prescription medicine abuse – and are easy to display in waiting rooms, examination rooms, etc. One poster (in boy and girl versions) asks teens, “What can do you do without Rx drug abuse?” While another shows a prescription medicine bottle with warning signs such as “Side effects may include disappointment of family and friends.”
CDC Health-eCards: Personalize – Prescription Medicine Abuse Send this free e-card to your distribution list, including a personalized message specific to your practice.
Pass-Along Cards Designed to print on a standard 8x10” sheet that can be cut up into cards. Includes: a key statistic, a mini infographic and the number for The Partnership at Drugfree.org’s Toll-Free Parent Helpline.
Parents Toll-Free Helpline If you know a parent or caregiver struggling with a child’s drug or alcohol problem, please encourage them to call our Toll-Free parent helpline to speak to a parent specialist: 1-855-DRUGFREE (1-855-378-4373). It’s free, nationwide support in English and Spanish.

Tools for Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)

SBIRT: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment This seven-page resource from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) includes information on implementing SBIRT: what it is, how it helps and the steps in the process, including reimbursement.
SBIRT: Screening Page This SAMHSA webpage on screening provides links to numerous recommended screening tools and manuals for use in your practice, including CRAFFT for adolescents.
Screening for Drug Use in General Medical Settings: Quick Reference Guide This 9-page guide from NIDA is a reference on how to screen and assess for risk of drug abuse.

Best Practices and Association Guidance

The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM): October 12th Webinar ACPM is hosting a free webinar to give providers the knowledge, skills and tools to effectively counsel their patients about use, abuse, misuse and disposal of prescription pain medicine. Program objectives: (1) describe actionable steps clinicians and other healthcare providers can take to promote a provider-patient dialogue around proper use, storage and disposal of prescription medicine (2) identify resources that clinicians and other healthcare providers can use and share with their patients to promote proper and safe prescription pain medication use. The ACPM Clinical Reference Document covers the prescription abuse issue and related best practices.
American Dental Association: Prevention of Prescription Opioid Abuse- the Role of the Dentist. All providers can apply the critical information and concepts covered in this article to their practice, including use of SBIRT.
American College of Emergency Physicians Clinical Policy: Critical Issues in the Prescribing of Opioids for Adult Patients in the Emergency Department.
American Academy of Family Physicians Pain Management and Opioid Abuse: A Public Health Concern Position Paper.
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Preventing Misuse of Prescription Opioid Drugs Rich resource with practical information for providers on pain management therapy, prescribing opioids and related assessment tools. Includes additional resources nationwide, links to SBIRT screeners and tips for talking to your patients about opioids.
Management of Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain These 2010 guidelines (74 pages) come from the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Department of Defense.
Commentary: A Simple Checklist May Reduce Prescription Opiate Overdose A. Thomas McLellan, PhD, CEO, Treatment Research Institute, discusses using a 5-step checklist as part of responsible opioid prescribing and patient education.