while preserving legitimate patient access
to necessary treatment. The guidelines urge
pharmacists to verify the legitimacy of each
patient, prescriber and prescription, in addition to
ensuring the medication, dose and quantity of a
product used is safe and appropriate.
Prescribers are also encouraged to regularly
monitor their patient’s use of opioid drugs; utilize
physical exams and urine tests to spot evidence of
misuse; and educate each patient about the risks
of opioid treatment, only then approving such a
prescription after a screening and consideration of
non-opioid alternatives.
The draft best practices initiative further urges
both professions to expand the use of the West
Virginia Controlled Substance Monitoring Program;
educate patients about safe use, storage and disposal
of opioid drugs; and incorporate naloxone into opioid
treatment discussions.
When opioids prove appropriate and necessary,
the initiative seeks to ensure these highly addictive
painkillers are prescribed and dispensed at the lowest
effective dosage rate, consistent with expert medical
advice. The proposal applies exclusively to adult
patients and does not impact those suffering pain
associated with active cancer treatments or palliative
and end-of-life care.
I believe these prescribing and dispensing
guidelines balance the need for safe and effective
pain management treatment for West Virginians,
while addressing our state’s serious opioid epidemic.
Our initiative is gaining steam every day.
Currently, we have received support from a broad
coalition of experts, including the state’s Boards of
Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine, the Professional
Registered Nurses Board, law enforcement groups
and many health care societies and professionals.
Everyone will need to work together if we truly want
to take back our communities.
incinerators to assist in the disposal of unwanted and
expired medication. I’ve also teamed with the state’s
Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine for a
series of public service announcements to empower
patients to question their need for opioid therapy.
In May, I partnered with Ohio Attorney General
Mike DeWine for a large conference in Williamstown
to engage the faith-based community. I hope success
from that event will result in similar faith-based
conferences across West Virginia.
All of that follows efforts to transfer $10 million
from my office’s Consumer Protection Fund in hopes
the Governor’s Office and state Legislature could use
the money to spur drug abuse treatment and reduce
the backlog of drug tests at the West Virginia State
Police crime lab.
On other fronts, a partnership with the U.S.
Attorney’s Office recently netted its fourth
criminal drug conviction in northern West
Virginia. This partnership, along with our
aggressive enforcement actions against entities
within the supply chain and through the state’s
efforts to attack this problem holistically, will help
rid West Virginia of this terrible epidemic.
Our state’s people are dying at an alarming rate.
The time is now for all of us – government
officials, medical professionals, law enforcement,
faith-based leaders and the community at large —
to do everything possible to put an end to these
senseless deaths.
Generations of West Virginians are at risk if we
don’t do everything imaginable to make progress now.
Patrick Morrisey serves as attorney general for
West Virginia.
My office remains committed to that mission.
Together with the best practices initiative, I
recently unveiled plans to purchase four drug
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