We have been hearing for years about the opioid crisis our country is facing, a crisis that was partially brought about by abuse of prescription pain relievers. From Congressional investigations, to Executive branch actions, to a letter from the Surgeon General, many of our country’s leaders are concerned about the epidemic and are constantly trying to craft solutions.
The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, an organization committed to helping families struggling with their son or daughter’s substance abuse, created the “Search and Rescue” campaign, a prescriber education campaign developed with support from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that gives healthcare providers the resources they need to prescribe opioids responsibly and prevent the misuse and abuse of medicine in their practices. The campaign was piloted in Maryland and Rhode Island in 2014, and expanded to six states in 2015. On September 15, 2016, the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids announced the national launch of the campaign.
The goal of the “Search and Rescue” campaign is to equip prescribers with skills to be proactive in identifying and helping patients at risk for prescription drug abuse. The campaign will attempt to connect prescribers to training, information, and resources that can help educate them, and the FDA encourages them to share the educational content with their peers.
FDA and Partnership Comments on “Search and Rescue”
Dr. Janet Woodcock, the Director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), is, along with the FDA, “proud to support this campaign to educate and inform providers about the risks of addiction and the misuse and abuse of opioids in their efforts to treat their patients’ pain responsibly and prevent the misuse and abuse of these drugs.” She further noted, “educating the healthcare community on appropriate prescribing of prescription opioid medications is a cornerstone of the FDA’s Opioid Action Plan, and continues to be a top priority for the agency, as well as for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and across the federal government.”
According to Marcia Lee Taylor, President and CEO of the Partnership, “Today’s opioid epidemic has reached alarming and tragic proportions, with 78 opioid overdose deaths occurring daily in the United States. Addressing this dire national problem requires a multi-pronged approach, involving parents, educators, community leaders, treatment professionals and healthcare providers. The Partnership is proud to apply its communications expertise to the challenge of reaching and helping educate prescribers, who can and must be a huge part of the solution.”
The Website
The Search and Rescue website offers many resources for providers, including information on each state’s PDMP, brief educational videos, a database with accredited CME/CE REMS-compliant activities, an opioid risk assessment, links to a SAMHSA treatment locator to help patients find a local opioid treatment program, and a quick fact sheet for prescribers.
Other Ways Search and Rescue is Helping
The “Search and Rescue” campaign makes innovative use of social media, optimized search, and earned media to reach family physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, focusing on sending them to the website to learn more.
The Partnership is working with other national organizations, including the American Medical Association Task Force to Reduce Prescription Opioid Abuse, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dental Association (ADA), and others, to promote “Search and Rescue” to their members.