Narcotics in the medicine cabinet: Provider talk is key to lower risk
Summary/Excerpts
Rates of prescription pain medication addiction and death have increased in the United States, leading to major policy initiatives to limit access to narcotic pain medications. For adolescents, a known point of access to narcotic pain medication is pills in the home, left over from a prior prescription. In January 2016, the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health asked a national sample of parents of children 5-17 years old about their experiences with pain medication prescriptions for their children.
Key Statistics
Only one third of parents (33%) said that the prescribing provider discussed what to do with the child’s leftover pain medication.
One half of parents (50%) reported their child had leftover pills from a pain medication prescription.
Twice as many parents with no provider discussion kept leftover pain pills at home compared to parents whose provider discussed what to do with leftover medication.
Citation
Clark S, Singer D, Matos-Moreno A, Kauffman A, Schultz S, Davis M. Narcotics in the Medicine Cabinet: Provider Talk Is Key to Lower Risk, vol. Vol 26 Ann Arbor, MI: C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, University of Michigan; 2016.