State-Issued Prescription Forms

The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed a continuing trend in the nonmedical use of prescription medications, notably opioid analgesics, which accounted for 75% of prescription drug non-medical use in 2006. In 2006, in response to this growing “pharmacoepidemic,” the Office of National Drug Control Policy set a goal of reducing past month prescription drug abuse by 15% over the next three years. The challenges of meeting this mandate to curb the rising tide of prescription drug abuse and diversion are daunting, with the primary policy challenge remaining to reduce drug diversion and drug abuse without creating additional barriers or limiting access by patients with a legitimate need for such medications. The use of state-issued, paper-based prescription forms remains one potential solution.