Resources
The Indiana Attorney General's Prescription Drug Abuse Task force is made up of over 80 state legislators, law enforcement, health officials, physicians, members of the medical community, pharmacists, state and local agencies and educators. The task force is working together to provide resources for health care providers specific to prescription drug misuse and abuse.
The goal is to begin educating the public about the new opioid prescribing rules and recommendations for physicians and the impact on healthcare delivery. Shifting the current paradigm of pain management requires physicians to shift the focus to the functionality of the patient, not just pain control. Resetting the expectations of the public will require patients to be more actively engaged in their treatment.
The provider toolkit titled, First Do No Harm: The Indiana Healthcare Providers Guide to the Safe, Effective Management of Chronic Non-Terminal Pain was developed by the Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force’s Education Committee under the leadership of Dr. Deborah McMahan. This provider toolkit, based on expert opinion and recognized standards of care, was developed over many months with the input of healthcare providers representing multiple specialties and all corners of the state. First Do No Harm provides options for the safe and responsible treatment of chronic pain, including prescriptions for opioids when indicated, with the ultimate goals of patient safety and functional improvement. It was developed as an interactive compendium to the new Medical Licensing Board rules addressing Opioid Prescribing for Chronic, Non-terminal Pain to give healthcare providers tools they can use to comply with the rule.
The Task Force's Education Committee also created a poster that summarizes the new law on prescribing of opioids and the key prescribing recommendations as outlined in the toolkit for your reference. Please feel free to print and use as a guide for your practice:
Other helpful documents
- Stakeholders' Challenges and Red Flag Warning Signs Related to Prescribing and Dispensing Controlled Substances
- Purdue Extension: Preventing Drug Overdoses
- Agreement for safe and effective controlled substance prescriptions
- Sample pain policy letter
- 2013 IPLA INSPECT Knowledge and Use Survey
- The Medical Licensing Board's Opioid Prescribing Rules effective as of November 6, 2014
Educational video for pharmacists to help them identify the warning signs of prescription drug abuse and diversion when dispending controlled substances. The video entitled "Red Flags, " was created by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) and the Anti-Diversion Industry Working Group (ADIWG) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY9BDgcdxaM