Prescription Practices Eyed at Heroin Task Force Briefing

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Reps. Frank Guinta, R-NH, and Ann McLane Kuster, D-NH, held a briefing of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, to share new information with Congress about the connection between use of painkillers and heroin addiction, according to a press statement.

New studies are showing that the majority of heroin users migrated to the drug after taking prescription painkillers, like OxyContin and Hydrocodone, according to the meeting on April 12, 2016. The use of the painkillers has created both a black market for the prescriptions but also death, more than even illegal heroin produces.

The briefing featured Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Dr. Grant Baldwin, who demonstrated the federal agency’s new prescription guidelines, as well as Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who spoke “about structural impediments, such as insurance payment schedules and a dearth of alternative pain medications, to reforming opioid prescription practices,” according to the statement. Dr. Mehul Desai, president of the International Spine, Pain & Performance Center, also emphasized the risk of denying pain medication to legitimate patients, in addition to the risks of over-prescription.

Both members of Congress are also worked together on the STOP ABUSE Act.

The legislation, according to the Reps., “would strengthen cooperation among federal, state and local governments, responding to the public health crisis.” The panelist agreed that both doctors and patients need more thorough, timely information, while also working together to protect patient privacy

“Our Task Force invited today’s experts to brief us on the best solutions for patients themselves,” Guinta said. “Most of all, they need more complete information, and so do doctors, especially at the Veterans Administration. There, the federal government can be especially helpful in spreading alternative pain management practices, which can be effective. I’m glad my House colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, were able to join us in our effort to raise public and professional awareness.

Kuster added, “Four out of five heroin users start on the path to addiction after misusing prescription drugs. We need to get upstream of the problem to prevent our citizens from getting hooked in the first place. I was proud to host today’s hearing, where we heard from a number of experts about what it will take to implement new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rules.”

The Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic was founded by Kuster and Guinta.