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Pharmaceutical Drug Abuse

Pharmaceutical Drug Abuse. Counterfeit Drugs. Current State of Affairs. National drug prevalence studies indicate a sharp increase in prescription drug abuse beginning in the early to mid 1990s

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Pharmaceutical Drug Abuse

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  1. Pharmaceutical Drug Abuse Counterfeit Drugs

  2. Current State of Affairs • National drug prevalence studies indicate a sharp increase in prescription drug abuse beginning in the early to mid 1990s • According to the 2005 National Drug Threat Assessment published by National Drug Intelligence Center the rate of abuse for pharmaceuticals appears to be stabilizing at high levels • The availability of prescription drugs has also shown a marked increase since the early 1990s

  3. The Demand for Drugs • The rate of abuse for prescription drugs is relatively high compared with rates of abuse for other drug types • National Survey On Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) in 2003 indicated that 6.3 % of persons aged 12 or older reported non-medical use of a prescription-type: • Pain reliever • Tranquilizer • Stimulant (including both illicit and prescription methamphetamine) • Sedative (not including over-the-counter drugs) • These prescription drugs were reported second only to marijuana (10.6%) and much higher than cocaine (2.5%) and heroin (0.1%) for rates of abuse

  4. Availability of Prescription Drugs • Doctor Shopping • Prescription Fraud • Unscrupulous Physicians • Pharmaceutical Theft • Internet • Counterfeit drugs

  5. Doctor Shopping • Individuals will visit several different doctors • Invent or exaggerate symptoms to receive prescriptions • People will visit doctors they think more likely to write them a prescription • They will have prescriptions filled at several different pharmacies to help evade detection by the pharmacist

  6. Prescription Fraud • Methods employed for fraud: • Forging or altering of prescriptions • Producing counterfeit prescriptions • Calling in fictitious prescriptions to pharmacies by impersonating a physician • Methods of detection: • Written in unfamiliar handwriting (forged, altered or counterfeit prescriptions) • Often without abbreviations • The quantities, directions, or dosages differ from normal usage • Resemble textbook examples • Appear to be photocopied

  7. Unscrupulous Physicians • Writing Illegal prescriptions • Writing fraudulent prescriptions to obtain drugs for personal use • Charging a fee to write prescriptions for patients without a legitimate need for the drugs • Sometimes collaborate with unscrupulous pharmacists • Dispense drugs, known to be unnecessary, for an additional fee • Doctors or pharmacists in nursing homes over order drugs from wholesalers and sell them to questionable distributors

  8. Pharmaceutical Theft • Pharmacies • Manufactures • Distributors • Importers/ exporters Source: NDIC (DEA)

  9. Internet • Offer drugs without prescriptions or physician consults • Recruit corrupt physicians to write fraudulent prescriptions • Distribute counterfeit drugs • Occurrence in the US is increasing • Typically produced in India and China • China, Nigeria, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia- as much as 60% of the drugs sold are counterfeit

  10. How to Avoid Counterfeit Drugs • Know your medications • Size, shape, color, texture, taste, and side effects • Look at the packaging • Contact your doctor or pharmacist if there are changes/tampering in the packaging or label • Buy from a safe reputable source • Check with the State Board of Pharmacy http://www.tsbp.state.tx.us/ • The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy at www.nabp.net • Make sure the pharmacy is properly licensed • Online pharmacies will display a seal from State or National Boards of Pharmacy • Verify the seal, don’t take the company’s word

  11. Reporting Counterfeit Drugs • Contact a pharmacist who will know if the color, shape, size, etc. have changed • Report suspicions to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) • If you bought the drug by mail, by telephone, or in person, contact the FDA’s Medwatch program: • 1-800-332-1088 • http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/ • If bought on the Internet, use the online form or call: • http://www.fda.gov/oc/buyonline/buyonlineform.htm • 1-800-332-1088 • Seek medical attention if you have consumed a drug you think to be counterfeit

  12. What’s being done to stop Pharmaceutical drug abuse? • State-wide Electronic prescription monitoring programs • National Electronic Prescription Monitoring Program • Proposed as the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting (NASPER) Act of 2002. • Signed by President Bush on Aug. 11, 2005 • It tracks Schedule II, III, and IV drug prescriptions • Pharmacists would report: • The patient's identification number • The drug, date, and quantity dispensed • The prescribing physician • The dispensing pharmacy. • Data entered into the NASPER system could be used to track: • Patient drug use • Prescribing patterns of medical practitioners • Prescription rates and patterns for specific drugs • Prescription patterns in specific geographic locations • Prescription patterns for longtime users

  13. Sources • http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs11/12620/pharma.htm • http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/counterfeit/report02_04.html • http://www.fraud.org/fakedrugs/ • http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8145/8145drugs.html • https://nsduhweb.rti.org/ • http://www.nasper.org/nasper_becomes_law.htm

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