Buyback Program of Unused Prescription Opioids in US Rural Communities, 2017-2018

Oncologic drug repository programs in the United States: a review and comparison

As cancer affects 40% of all Americans during their lifetime, the financial burden of cancer care represents a significant contribution towards the overall cost of health care in the United States. Cancer drug repository programs offer a unique solution for patients who have limited financial ability to access medications while reducing medical waste. We reviewed all state legislation in the United States regarding cancer drug repository programs. Five states have oral anticancer drug (OACD)-specific drug repository programs, while 28 states have generalized drug repository programs. Iowa's statewide, mail-order OACD repository program is the preeminent example of an effective and efficient program, which should be replicated across the country. Many states have passed legislation allowing for drug repository programs but have struggled to translate such legislation into active programs due to lack of funding and management. We offer recommendations across policy, manufacturing, institutional, health care professional, and patient domains in order provide optimal patient care.

Evaluating a health system-wide opioid disposal intervention distributing home-disposal bags

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate a health system-wide intervention distributing free home-disposal bags to surgery patients prescribed opioids.

DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING

We collected patient surveys and electronic medical record data at an academic health system.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted a prospective observational study. The bags were primarily distributed at pharmacies, though pharmacists delivered bags to some patients. The primary outcome was disposal of leftover opioids (effectiveness). Secondary outcomes were patient willingness to dispose and factors associated with disposal (effectiveness), recalling receipt of the bag (reach), and recalling receipt of bags and disposal over time (maintenance). We used a modified Poisson regression to evaluate the relative risk of disposal. Inverse probability of treatment weighting, based on propensity scores, was used to account for differences between survey responders and non-responders and reduce nonresponse bias.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS

From August 2020 to May 2021, we surveyed patients 2 weeks after discharge (allowing for home opioid use). Eligibility criteria were age ≥18, English being primary language, valid email address, hospitalization ≤30 days, discharge home, and an opioid prescription sent to a system pharmacy.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

We identified 5134 patients with 2174 completing the survey (response rate 42.3%). Among respondents, 1375 (63.8%) recalled receiving the disposal bag. Among 1075 respondents with leftover opioids, 284 (26.4%) disposed, 552 (51.3%) planned to dispose, 79 (7.4%) did not plan to dispose, 69 (6.4%) had undecided, and 91 (8.5%) had not considered disposal. Recalling receipt of the bag (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-1.37) was positively associated with disposal. Patients who used opioids in the last year were less likely to dispose (IRR 0.82, 95% CI 0.73-0.93). Disposal rates remained stable over the study period while recalling receipt of bags trended up.

CONCLUSIONS

A pragmatic implementation of a disposal intervention resulted in lower disposal rates than prior trials.

Bringing Opiates Off the Streets and Undertaking Excess Scripts: A novel opiate reclamation and prescription reduction program

BACKGROUND

Opioid diversion and misuse continue to present problems in modern medicine. The "opioid epidemic" has claimed more than 250,000 lives since 1999, with studies pointing to prescription opioids as the culprit for future opiate misuse. Currently, there are no well-described, data-driven processes to educate surgeons on reducing opiate prescribing, informed by personal practice patterns. We designed and implemented a novel opiate reclamation and prescription reduction program for surgeons to reclaim unused medications and decrease prescribing using individual provider data.

METHODS

We performed a prospective collection of all unused opiate pain medications for general surgery postoperative patients from July 15, 2020 to January 15, 2021. Patients brought their unused opiates to their routine postoperative follow-up appointment, where they were counted and disposed of in a secure drug take-back bin. Reclaimed opiates were totaled, analyzed, and reported to the providers, who used their individual reclamation rates to refine prescribing habits.

RESULTS

During the reclamation period, 168 operations were performed, with a total of 12,970 morphine milligram equivalents of opiate prescribed by 5 physicians. A total of 6,077.5 morphine milligram equivalents (46.9%) were reclaimed, which is the equivalent of 800 5-mg tablets of oxycodone. A review of these data led to a 30.9% decrease in opiate prescriptions by participating surgeons in addition to the reclamation of an additional 3,150 morphine milligram equivalents over the next 6 months.

CONCLUSION

Continuous monitoring of the medications returned by patients now continues to inform our providers' prescribing practices, decreases the amount of opiates in the community, and improves patient safety.

Patient Willingness to Dispose of Leftover Opioids After Surgery: A Mixed Methods Study

We examined how convenience and financial incentives influence patient willingness to dispose of leftover prescription opioids after surgery. We also identified additional barriers and facilitators to disposal.

Background

In the United States, up to 70% of surgical patients are prescribed opioids and up to 92% will have leftover tablets. Most do not dispose of leftover opioids, increasing the risk for opioid-related harm. Current interventions promoting opioid disposal have shown mixed success.

Methods

We conducted a mixed methods study using a standard gamble survey and semi-structured interviews. Participants estimated willingness to dispose in 16 scenarios with varying convenience (time requirements of <5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes) and financial incentives ($0, $5, $25, $50). We estimated the likelihood of disposal using a multivariable mixed effects modified Poisson regression model. Semi-structured interviews explored how convenience, financial incentives, and other barriers and facilitators influenced decisions to dispose.

Results

Fifty-five participants were surveyed and 42 were interviewed. Most were willing to dispose when the time required was <15 minutes. Few were willing to dispose if the process required 60 minutes, although a $50 financial incentive increased rates from 9% to 36%. Anxiety about future pain, opioid scarcity, recreational use, family safety, moral beliefs, addiction, theft, and environmental harm also influenced decision-making.

Conclusions

Interventions promoting opioid disposal should focus on convenience, but the selective use of financial incentives can be effective. Tailoring interventions to individual barriers and facilitators could also increase disposal rates.

Opioid-Involved Overdose Vulnerability in Wyoming: Measuring Risk in a Rural Environment

BACKGROUND

Between 2009 and 2019 opioid-involved fatal overdose rates increased by 45% and the average opioid dispensing rate in Wyoming was higher than the national average. The opioid crisis is shaped by a complex set of socioeconomic, geopolitical, and health-related variables. We conducted a vulnerability assessment to identify Wyoming counties at higher risk of opioid-related harm, factors associated with this risk, and areas in need of overdose treatment access to inform priority responses.

METHODS

We compiled 2016 to 2018 county-level aggregated and de-identified data. We created risk maps and ran spatial analyses in a geographic information system to depict the spatial distribution of overdose-related measures. We used addresses of opioid treatment programs and buprenorphine providers to develop drive-time maps and ran 2-step floating catchment area analyses to measure accessibility to treatment. We used a straightforward and replicable weighted ranks approach to calculate final county vulnerability scores and rankings from most to least vulnerable.

FINDINGS

We found Hot Springs, Carbon, Natrona, Fremont, and Sweetwater Counties to be most vulnerable to opioid-involved overdose fatalities. Opioid prescribing rates were highest in Hot Springs County (97 per 100 persons), almost two times the national average (51 per 100 persons). Statewide, there were over 90 buprenorphine-waivered providers, however accessibility to these clinicians was limited to urban centers. Most individuals lived further than a four-hour round-trip drive to the nearest methadone treatment program.

CONCLUSIONS

Identifying Wyoming counties with high opioid overdose vulnerabilities and limited access to overdose treatment can inform public health and harm reduction responses.

Analysis of unused prescription opioids and benzodiazepines remaining after death among Medicare decedents

BACKGROUND

Millions of opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions are dispensed near end-of-life. After death, patients' unused prescription pills belong to family members, who often save rather than dispose of them. We sought to quantify this exposure in Medicare beneficiaries.

METHODS

We estimated the share of decedent Medicare beneficiaries who potentially left behind opioid or benzodiazepine pills at the time of death using Part D claims of a 20 % national sample of Medicare beneficiaries between 2006-2015 linked to the National Death Index.

RESULTS

We estimated that 1 in 6 Medicare beneficiaries who died between 2006-2015 potentially left behind opioid pills, and 1 in 10 who died between 2013-2015 potentially left benzodiazepines as well. Leftover pills were more common among younger, dually enrolled, and lower-income beneficiaries, as well as beneficiaries living in non-urban areas and those with a history of mental illness, drug use disorders, and chronic pain. North American Natives and Non-Hispanic Whites had higher proportions than Black, Hispanic, and Asian decedents.

CONCLUSIONS

Opioids and benzodiazepines are commonly left behind at death. Policies and interventions that encourage comprehensive and safe medication disposal after death may reduce risk for intra-household diversion and misuse of prescription opioids and benzodiazepines.