The Lake County Opiate Task Force is mobilizing a broad spectrum of community stakeholders – spanning education, law enforcement, health and human services agencies, hospitals, parents, and others – to reduce the devastating impacts of drug abuse and addiction in our community. As a physician, dentist or pharmacist, we’re asking you to play an important role in that effort.
In particular, we ask you to do two important things:
1.
Use the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS) system to check each of your patients and customers before you write or fill a prescription.
Use the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS) system to check each of your patients and customers before you write or fill a prescription. OARRS is a tool that allows prescribers, pharmacists and certain law enforcement officials to quickly identify drug seeking behaviors and thus help keep potentially dangerous medications out of the hands of addicts and abusers. An OARRS Prescription History Report also helps assure that your patient is getting the appropriate drug therapy and is taking his or her medication as prescribed.
To access OARRS click here. www.ohiopmp.gov
For easy, step-by-step instructions on requesting Patient Rx History Reports using OARRS, click here.
2.Be vigilant about watching for aberrant medication-related behaviors in your patients and customers.
Be vigilant about watching for aberrant medication-related behaviors in your patients and customers. In particular, these ten signs have been identified as red flags:
- Request for higher medication doses
- Early refills
- Request for specific pain medications
- Extra medications because of travel
- Lost medications
- Multiple unsanctioned dose escalations
- Deterioration in work or social functioning
- Refusal to comply with random drug tests
- Concurrent abuse of alcohol or other drugs
- Use of multiple physician and pharmacies
What you need to know as a physician, dentist or pharmacist:
