Medical Professionals Step Into The Ring on Drug Abuse

Physicians do their part to help put a stop to prescription drug abuse. An article by the president of the American Medical Association (AMA) addresses how the medical field is doing what it can to cut down on drug abuse.

There’s new legislation currently in the works to provide a standardized system for physicians to see what pain pills have been prescribed for their patients.

A similar system was devised several years ago that allowed doctors to have access to such information, but due to inadequate funding the program never reached its full potential. There were also several issues with the system that allowed a good concept to be used, but its function never reached the point where it needed to be.

The AMA said that it is currently doing what it can to educate the industry as well as the public on drug abuse prevention. The professional organization’s position on the new legislation is that it hopes the profession could do what it can to stop drug abuse without a government mandate.

In a time where technology is utilized in nearly every industry, it seems only logical to expect that there could also be a system that could be readily available for physicians to log the pain pills they prescribe and to see if their patient had a doctor elsewhere prescribe such medications.

Federal officials are also trying to find ways to help the public be able to properly dispose of their prescription pain pills that they no longer need or that have expired. Leaving unused pills in the home is part of the problem when it comes to this type of drug abuse.

All these efforts seem to be a step in the right direction in removing the accessibility of the drugs, but for those who are severe drug abusers, they will be able to find illegal ways to obtain the fix that they need. Making it more difficult for them to get a hold of such pills may be the answer to cutting down abuse in the more general population.